Amy Reed

I've been meaning to make an account on goodreads for over a year but always found a reason to postpone it. I finally did it because HOLY SHIT this book is amazing. The voice is powerful, the story is profound, and the characters are the kinds of girls I'd want to grow up to be if I was a) not already a grownup and b) a girl. This book is exactly the kind of book I needed to read in the current dismal state of the US, and I hope it finds its way to everyone else who needs it right now.

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales (http://darkfaerietales.com/)

Quick & Dirty: What do you do when you survive from terminal cancer but can’t cope with living?

Opening Sentence: “Let’s go to the cafeteria,” Stella says.

The Review:

Wow, bloody wow. How do I find words to describe this book? It’s touching, heartbreaking and so emotional. Needless to say, I adored it.

As you may already know, I try very hard not to read the synopsis of a book I am reviewing. Purely because I like the show more not knowing and guessing what will happen as the book progresses. Invincible is told from Evie’s perspective, a teenage girl suffering from cancer, I predicted that she would survive and there would be a love story, which leads us back to the ever popular The Fault In Our Stars. Although I was sort of right, there are zero similarities to TFIOS.

Evie’s friends, family, doctors, even Evie herself have accepted the harsh reality of her cancer and are practically saying their goodbyes in case it’s the last time they see her. Then overnight, the tables turn. Evie is miraculously recovering whereas her fellow hospital friend, Stella, takes a turn for the worst.

For so long, my life was on hold. Now my death is on hold, and it’s just as irritating. What a bizarre thing for life to feel so inconvenient. How unnatural to want to get it over with.

Unlike other illness focused stories, here we see what happens when a terminally ill person recovers, and in this case it’s as mentally and emotionally painful as contracting the disease in the first place.

No one knows what to do with me now that I’m alive. There’s no protocol for how to treat someone who comes back from the dead. There are so many books about grief and loss, about saying good-bye to the people you love. But there is no book about taking back that good-bye.

I loved and hated Evie’s character. She’s survived the worst but she’s wasting her life with alcohol and drugs, and destroying any lasting relationships she has. We can see this is an act of self-guilt and anger at her friend’s loss and because she thinks she’s the cause of it, not to mention that it’s almost as if they swapped places and Stella died in Evie’s place.

At the same time, there’s so much emotional trauma the girl is going through and she’s just not coping with it. I couldn’t help but sympathise, of course she would feel guilty at the miracle she didn’t ask for and doesn’t think she deserves. The writing is amazing, I could feel Evie’s heartache, which is probably why I connected with her character.

My two favourite characters were Stella and Caleb so it saddens me that Stella died early on and we didn’t see much more of Caleb once Evie makes her miraculous discovery. It’s so difficult to describe Stella’s character, she’s adventurous, brave, strong and completely crazy!

She held on to that poor giraffe’s head, screaming bloody murder until her mom finally managed to pull her down, and as she fell to the floor she made one last dramatic proclamation, calling everyone “heartless bloody dickholes.” Parents covered their kids’ ears; her mom swiped her on the side of her face with the back of her hand, and I decided Stella was both the most beautiful and bravest person I had ever seen in my life. She was showing all the fear and fury I felt but could never let out. She wasn’t pretending to be anything she wasn’t.

This is the kind of book that makes you wonder why you haven’t read it before now! Amy Reed is someone to watch out for.

Notable Scene:

“Evie,” he says, his voice cracking. There are tears running down his face. “You keep acting like you’re invincible, but your life is falling apart. I can’t stand around watching you self-destruct. I love you too much. Nobody’s invincible, not even you.”

FTC Advisory: Katherine Tegen Books/HarperTeen provided me with a copy of Invincible. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. show less

“But just because she's not helpless doesn't mean she doesn't need help.”

-5 stars-

Before going into this review, I would like to mention that this book has a couple of trigger warning… rape and sexual assault, heavy sexism, homophobia, and harassment (both verbal and physical). If you are triggered by these things, then please keep in mind before reading. Take care of yourself and know that you are perfect just the way you are.

Yes, yes, yes.
To be honest, I really want everyone to show more read this book. The book was so heart breaking and made me sob. The fact that this actually happens to people really makes me upset and hate people.
If you liked the book Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu, then I highly highly recommend giving this book a read.
Like I said before the review, it is quite a heavy book, but I actually quite liked it because it really made me feel for all of these girls, not just the one's that have been assaulted/raped, but for Grace- being the new girl.
The Nowhere Girls covers so many good topics that really need to be spoken about more often. I actually really loved the 3rd point of view of this book. I'm usually not a big fan of 3rd point of view in books, but honestly, I think it just enhanced the book, making it 10 times better.
I could not praise Amy Reed enough. The literal writing of this book... It's so incredibly heartfelt and so relatable being a girl. Absolutely admire Amy Reed for writing such an amazing book.
Overall, amazing amazing book! I couldn't recommend this book enough!

“Because unlike boys, girls turn inward. They hide. They adapt, even if it hurts. Because they are not screaming, people assume they do not suffer.” show less

WOW!!!!! This book just left me speechless, with goosebumps and a lot of thoughts swirling in my head. I’m not sure if I can express anything properly in this review but I’m definitely going to try.

Grace is a white Christian girl who is new to the town of Prescott after her minister mother is forced out of her old church for preaching about a more progressive version of Jesus. Now, all she wants is to live her life in high school without making any waves and probably find some normal show more friends. Rosina is queer latina teen who wants more from her life than just working her ass off at her uncle’s restaurant and taking care of her cousins. She also feels very invisible and insignificant for being a poor brown lesbian girl in a small town. Erin is a very smart socially awkward girl who wants to be a marine biologist learning about the numerous life forms living under the water. She has Asperger’s syndrome and she follows her own rigid set of rules to get through every day and finds solace in watching Star Trek. She is very empathetic and hopes that she could be void of her emotions like her favorite android character because she wants to escape the emotional overload that she feels sometimes.

When these three girls come together to do something to bring justice to Lucy – a rape survivor who was bullied and shamed and denied justice – the “Nowhere Girls” are born. But this book and the group are not just about this one issue. Through the group, all the girls come together, have discussions about their lives and choices, their expectations, their need to be seen and valued and loved as equals. This book is about so much more:

A girl who believes in her faith and prays to find purpose in her life and do good.
A girl who wants to forget all the trauma that she has experienced and just get through the day in a normal way.
A girl who is conflicted about loving her family that is also suffocating her dreams.
A girl who is resigned to faking it while being with a guy because she believes she is worthless and her “no” means nothing.
A girl who enjoys sex and is confident enough to ask for what she wants.
A smart girl who wants to look and dress pretty but believes that she has to choose between beauty and brains.
A cheerleader with a love for dancing who can’t get behind the idea of her body being on display and judged for it.
An athletic girl who is stereotyped as a lesbian and goes so unnoticed that she believes even being taken advantage of might be better.
A closeted trans girl worried if she would be accepted by the group of girls in her school.
A black girl tired of white feminism which is so indifferent to her struggles.
The patriarchy that treats women as second class citizens only good for serving men.
The culture that perpetuates the notion that women like being with a strong man, women dressed a certain way are asking for it and excuses the actions of boys “for being boys”.
The hypocrisy of being called a slut for enjoying sex while being named a prude for not putting oneself out there.
The men who don’t call out the sexism and misogyny around them because they don’t want to lose their friends.
The men and women who would do anything to maintain the status quo and not ruffle any feathers.
The parents who believe their kids and fight for the truth alongside them.
The parents who are complicit in furthering the misogynistic attitudes in their kids.
This book made me think a lot, question my own beliefs and attitudes and actions till date and what I can do better in my life. It also reaffirms the need for listening to the victim, stop blaming them and female solidarity. Though it is unfortunate that this book seems so realistic in this day and age, but this is the world we live in and I recommend everyone to read this book and introspect. show less