Transparent by Natalie Whipple

Transparent

Natalie Whipple

368 pages

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: 21th May, 2013

Rating: Enjoyed it +

Fiona McClean is not like any usual teenager we are use to see. She's invisible. Yes, the invisible girl. All the benefits this feature could bring to a person, to Fiona's is a curse. Being invisible is a priceless weapon and even family can see you this way. Fiona's father is the boss of a mafia mob and he's been using Fiona for his own purposes. Since she was little, her father taught her the game of stealing, the game of bribing and some other games not recommended for children. In just a few words, Fiona's been doing her father's dirty work. 

After sixteen years, trying to scape from his corrupt father without success, she's willing to make this flee worth it. She and her mother start a new life in a city where is off bounds of her father's mob power. It seemed so easy, so reachable... The only thing she wanted the most is be free of her father's domination and she's going to do everything on her power to keep her mother and herself safe.

Natalie Whipple's YA debut novel is quite a different and refreshing story. It certainly attracts our attention with topics well-known as super powers, although Natalie Whipple's shows us the perks of having super powers as unique as Fiona's.

At first, we didn't truly understand what would Fiona hate so much about her super power. In some situations we all have wanted to be invisible: in some awkward situation, when you want to disappear or even other in some exam to take a sneak peak to the classmate's exam. However, reading Fiona's story makes you realize that all wishes are dangerous.

Before we started reading the book, we thought that she could turn her invisibility off and on, but we realized that she was invisible all the time. Do you know how would be like? She cannot even shave her legs or know the color of her hair or eyes.

Fiona's family is a total mess, but is the feature of the book that brings all the intrigue and the action. Firstly, Fiona's father is the clear definition of a total douchebag. He has some sort of romantic power that creates a charm only on women which allows him to lure them to do what he wants them to. If that's not enough, he seems to have an harem of women with special talents to have special kids to make his organization more powerful, he's a cruel and ruthless mob boss that uses his kids to his own profit even if he traumatizes them and, above all, he knows the damage he is doing to his family. Fiona's mother, however, is a victim, or at least that's what we think of her. She fell in love with this idiotic monster and now is addicted to him. He seems really vulnerable in front of him to the point of being unable to protect herself and her kids from him.

Fiona's older brother, Graham, is dad's lap dog. He obeys all the commands made by her father and seems as charmed as those women Fioan's father had lured, although the power does not affect the male population. We have to recognize, that we started hating this character as much as we did with Fiona's father, but  at the end we were a little bit worry for him. Unlike his brother, Miles, the other brother of Fiona, is quite the opposite. He was despised by his father since he was a kid and he has tried to be out of his father's organization for a long time now. 

We really like the idea of the origin of the super powers. It is a brilliant idea to use some historical facts and a little bit of basic science. All the basics to create this society where super powers are the mutations of genes induced by some pills called Radiasure that it was believed that it would protect people from radiation in the Cold War.

Reading Fiona's point of view, made us ache for the same wishes she yearned. She is strong, but a little bit insecure with his invisibility power. She is afraid of simple things as not being able to heal for a bullet shot because nobody would see anything to aid her or the fact that her mother has never said to her how beautiful she was, because her mother did not know how she looked like. So we totally support Fiona's personality; we like strong women who fight for what they believe.

Finally, Fiona finds people who can trust and a bunch of friends that would do anything for her. We were happy to see that the invisibility shell she was born with, finally let her live the life she always wanted.

Whilst we were expecting to see more interaction for the main couple on the book, we were able to see some forgiveness in the story, although the person who is forgiven does not deserve it. It is also true, that we were expecting more couple moments and that was the only thing that we sincerely miss in this captivating story.

This story is funny, brilliant and really entertaining. It is not only because of the society and the characters Natalie Whipple has created, but because of her fluid writing. You do not get lost at any point of the story and you live inside Fiona's narrative, as if it where you the main character. To sum up our review, we strongly recommend this book, Book Addicts, because we know you are gonna enjoy as much as we did reading it and because it is a fantastic book to read.

That is pretty much the reason why Natalie Whipple's book, Transparent, is getting a high ranking in our gorjuss rating.