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anna6482's review against another edition
5.0
Sally Gardner's use of language and unique way of telling stories perfectly fit the fantasy genre and complement the imaginative worlds she creates for her characters. Very cool book and a very cool author.
pages_oflau's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you so much to Zephyr Books for sending me a gorgeous hardback edition of this book for review.
From the very first chapter in this book, I was completely hooked. The writing and the content of Invisible In A Bright Light is so gripping that it just draws you in and keeps you reading for hours on end - and that’s exactly what I did today.
Invisible In A Bright light features a young girl called Celeste who, in the very first chapter, is playing a game with a strange man in an emerald suit. Celeste doesn’t know the rules of this game or even how to play it but she is told that if she wins and completes The Reckoning then the sleepers will be saved. (What sleepers you may ask, and I may tell you, I have no idea, that’s just what they are called and I don’t even know what they are!) It appears that the first chapter must of been a dream because soon Celeste wakes up and finds herself in a Royal Opera House where everyone there thinks she is someone else, but Celeste is Celeste, she knows she is Celeste, but everyone else doesn’t believe her. She can remember a time, a different time, where she had a happy life and she remembers certain things.
Anyway - the whole point of the game is to pass the man in the emerald suit’s Reckoning and save the sleepers for if Celeste loses, then they all lose.
I loved the story to this book, it felt magical and gave me a couple of Alice In Wonderland Vibes. I will admit I was a tad confused in places with some things but I don’t know if that was intended or if it was just me. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters but the one I did like the most had to be Hildegard. Her story was so heartbreaking yet beautifully executed in a way that I couldn’t help care for her and wish her story ended differently. I found this book to feel like a bit of a dark fairytale but not too dark for younger readers.
Overall, it was a joy to read and I recommend this to anyone who needs a little bit of magic and mystery in their reading.
From the very first chapter in this book, I was completely hooked. The writing and the content of Invisible In A Bright Light is so gripping that it just draws you in and keeps you reading for hours on end - and that’s exactly what I did today.
Invisible In A Bright light features a young girl called Celeste who, in the very first chapter, is playing a game with a strange man in an emerald suit. Celeste doesn’t know the rules of this game or even how to play it but she is told that if she wins and completes The Reckoning then the sleepers will be saved. (What sleepers you may ask, and I may tell you, I have no idea, that’s just what they are called and I don’t even know what they are!) It appears that the first chapter must of been a dream because soon Celeste wakes up and finds herself in a Royal Opera House where everyone there thinks she is someone else, but Celeste is Celeste, she knows she is Celeste, but everyone else doesn’t believe her. She can remember a time, a different time, where she had a happy life and she remembers certain things.
Anyway - the whole point of the game is to pass the man in the emerald suit’s Reckoning and save the sleepers for if Celeste loses, then they all lose.
I loved the story to this book, it felt magical and gave me a couple of Alice In Wonderland Vibes. I will admit I was a tad confused in places with some things but I don’t know if that was intended or if it was just me. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters but the one I did like the most had to be Hildegard. Her story was so heartbreaking yet beautifully executed in a way that I couldn’t help care for her and wish her story ended differently. I found this book to feel like a bit of a dark fairytale but not too dark for younger readers.
Overall, it was a joy to read and I recommend this to anyone who needs a little bit of magic and mystery in their reading.
mimi_gee's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
queeniedb's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ruth_rb's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
fios_reading_corner's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
elliedo's review against another edition
2.0
there is a very weird erin morgenstern-inspired trend at the moment where books are fantasy but not quite, and they kind of make sense but not quite.
hope that trend ends quickly.
hope that trend ends quickly.
rosekk's review against another edition
5.0
I don't know what sort if genre you call this kind of book, but I like it. All these full of small, surreal magic which owe something to fairy tales and something to historical novels are right up my street. Though it's never described in particular detail the settings of this book are lovely to imagine - there's just enough clues about it on the pages to fuel an image of it. The characters feel a lot like characters from a children's adventure story, but it doesn't feel like a children's book. I will keep an eye out for more of Gardner's work.