Genre: Middle Grade LGBTQ Fantasy
Publisher: Labyrinth Road, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books
Publishing Date: February 6, 2024
Synopsis:
What would you do if no one could see you? In this surreal adventure, a boy who is used to being overlooked literally becomes invisible, only to realize there may be far more dangerous threats in his school than bullies.
Sixth grade takes a turn for the weird when Hector Griggs discovers he has the ability to turn invisible. Sure, ever since Hector’s former best friend Blake started bullying him, he’s been feeling like he just wants to disappear…but he never thought he actually would. And then, Hector meets another invisible boy, Orson Wellington, who has an ominous “I’m stuck here. Stuck like this. It’s been years. The gelim’s hunting me and it’ll get you, too.” It turns out, there is more than meets the eye at St. Lawrence’s Catholic School for Boys, and if Hector is going to save Orson–and himself—from the terrifying creature preying on students’ loneliness and fear, he’ll need to look deeper. With the help of a mysterious new classmate, Sam, can Hector unravel the mysteries haunting his school, and discover that sometimes it takes disappearing to really be seen?
My Review:
I read many middle-grade books last year, and I started loving them. This middle-grade novel, “The School for Invisible Boys” by Shaun David Hutchinson, is way more interesting and thrilling than the MG books I read before.
Hector, a sixth-grade kid, finds out accidentally that he can turn invisible. He started exploring his powers and found another invisible boy, Orson, whom Hector had never seen in his school before. Hector started digging for the truth about Orson and found out something terrible.
The plot starts with Hector trying to find ways to save Orson from where he was trapped. Hector was such a sweet boy, but so many bad things happened to him. His stepdad and stepbrother didn’t treat him well, and his best friend, Blake, turned out to be the worst bully in his school. The author’s way of expressing the pain Hector was going through was very well executed.
The interesting thing about this book is that it was engaging until the very end. Usually, the middle-grade books I have read had good messages, but they didn’t have the thrill this one has. I am not saying those are bad, but I haven’t read this sort of thrill in MG novels mostly in YA novels.
The character development of every character was amazing at the end. It was all so gradual and made sense. For instance, Hector’s brother, Jason, didn’t treat him well at the beginning of the story, but then, nearing the end, he was protective. It shows that he loved Hector all along but never expressed himself.
The climax was good. I definitely didn’t see the twist coming. Also, I loved how the author ended the story. The cover and the title couldn’t be more perfect for the story.
“The School for Invisible Boys” gives Stranger Things vibes for sure. Overall, this is such an amazing fantasy thriller story with significant themes.
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you TBR and Beyond Tours for providing me with the arc of this book.
Click here for Tour schedule to see more reviews.
Book links:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
About the author:
Shaun was born in West Palm Beach, Florida on the first of May 1978. He was a bad student who enjoyed sleeping through class, debate, theater, and being a pain in the ass. In college, he studied medieval and renaissance literature before abandoning his degree to work in I.T. doing database design. Shaun is now a full-time author living in Seattle.
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