A review by beaniedorman
Invincible by Amy Reed
3.0
This book is very nearly the polar opposite of John Green's The Fault In Our Stars. TFIOS is a story that is heartbreakingly sad, but ultimately leaves the reader with a satisfied, good feeling. It is a story about seeing the real world for what it is, and accepting it. Invincible is a story about the underside of the real world, the depressing side, and how that side can destroy you. It is about a person's descent into that darker world, and the pain of both the person and the people around them when that occurs.
I'm really not sure how to correctly sum up this book. The book itself is divided into two parts, and those two parts fall very neatly on either side of the three star rating for me. I loved this book so much when I first started reading it, then it really started to lose me in the second part.
Allow me to explain.
Evie is dying of cancer. She is, at this point, basically a permanent resident in a hospital that treats children with cancer. Her cancer has metastasized into virtually every vital organ that she has, and treatment is not working. She decides that she is ready to accept her death and leave this world so that she and her family both can finally be free of the pain that her cancer is causing.
This portion of the book is absolutely beautiful. Here, the lines between the real world and the world of the dying are explored, with Evie realizing that she is slowly slipping away from her former living self in a way that cannot be recovered. Her pain here is raw, it is relatable, it is real. Evie is a strong character in this portion of the book, and I would have given Invincible a five-star rating had the narrative continued this way.
But it didn't.
Now comes the after. After the traumatizing loss of someone close to her, Evie finds that she has miraculously recovered completely from her cancer. There is no longer a trace of it anywhere in her body. The threat of death that has been hanging over her is now gone, and she has a chance to live again
At first, this second part of the book is great as well. Instead of the traditional happy ending that comes after a miracle like this, Evie as trouble transitioning back into the world of the living. Her parents are overbearing. Her friends act awkwardly around her. No one seems to know how to treat her now that she is no longer dying. But still, at this point, Evie remains a sympathetic character. Her pain, isolation, and confusion are completely relatable. If the ending were carried out skillfully, this still could have been a five-star read.
Then Evie becomes addicted to prescription drugs. Just pain meds at first, to help deal with the pain of the loss that shatters her. Then she moves on to higher doses. Then alcohol and stronger drugs. It is a sharp downward spiral for our protagonist, one that happens all to often to teenagers. This would have been a very interesting direction to take the story, except for one problem: Evie completely loses any empathy that I had for her. She becomes another person entirely. The new Evie is cruel, and doesn't care about how it affects any of the people around her, including her"love interest", Marcus. No matter what consequences come from her actions, she continues to make awful decisions, becoming a person that even she hates. Instead of sympathizing, I began to dislike Evie myself. In order for a reader to really enjoy a story, there has to be some connection with the protagonist. If there isn't, the story becomes infuriating at best and bland at worst.
So why not one star instead of three stars? Partially for the amazing beginning to this book, although the last part nearly ruined that. But also because I believe there was a deeper meaning to the story. Alright, not that deep, but still enough to redeem the story just a little bit. The point of Evie's descent is to show what a descent can really be like. It is not pretty. It is not always something that can be sympathized with. Sometimes pain can change people, and not for the better. The fact that I think that Reed is trying to make a point here is the real reason that I finished the book, and the reason that I will likely read the forthcoming sequel. Whether it saves this story, I'm not sure, but at least there was a method behind the madness.
I'm really not sure how to correctly sum up this book. The book itself is divided into two parts, and those two parts fall very neatly on either side of the three star rating for me. I loved this book so much when I first started reading it, then it really started to lose me in the second part.
Allow me to explain.
Evie is dying of cancer. She is, at this point, basically a permanent resident in a hospital that treats children with cancer. Her cancer has metastasized into virtually every vital organ that she has, and treatment is not working. She decides that she is ready to accept her death and leave this world so that she and her family both can finally be free of the pain that her cancer is causing.
This portion of the book is absolutely beautiful. Here, the lines between the real world and the world of the dying are explored, with Evie realizing that she is slowly slipping away from her former living self in a way that cannot be recovered. Her pain here is raw, it is relatable, it is real. Evie is a strong character in this portion of the book, and I would have given Invincible a five-star rating had the narrative continued this way.
But it didn't.
Now comes the after. After the traumatizing loss of someone close to her, Evie finds that she has miraculously recovered completely from her cancer. There is no longer a trace of it anywhere in her body. The threat of death that has been hanging over her is now gone, and she has a chance to live again
At first, this second part of the book is great as well. Instead of the traditional happy ending that comes after a miracle like this, Evie as trouble transitioning back into the world of the living. Her parents are overbearing. Her friends act awkwardly around her. No one seems to know how to treat her now that she is no longer dying. But still, at this point, Evie remains a sympathetic character. Her pain, isolation, and confusion are completely relatable. If the ending were carried out skillfully, this still could have been a five-star read.
Then Evie becomes addicted to prescription drugs. Just pain meds at first, to help deal with the pain of the loss that shatters her. Then she moves on to higher doses. Then alcohol and stronger drugs. It is a sharp downward spiral for our protagonist, one that happens all to often to teenagers. This would have been a very interesting direction to take the story, except for one problem: Evie completely loses any empathy that I had for her. She becomes another person entirely. The new Evie is cruel, and doesn't care about how it affects any of the people around her, including her"love interest", Marcus. No matter what consequences come from her actions, she continues to make awful decisions, becoming a person that even she hates. Instead of sympathizing, I began to dislike Evie myself. In order for a reader to really enjoy a story, there has to be some connection with the protagonist. If there isn't, the story becomes infuriating at best and bland at worst.
So why not one star instead of three stars? Partially for the amazing beginning to this book, although the last part nearly ruined that. But also because I believe there was a deeper meaning to the story. Alright, not that deep, but still enough to redeem the story just a little bit. The point of Evie's descent is to show what a descent can really be like. It is not pretty. It is not always something that can be sympathized with. Sometimes pain can change people, and not for the better. The fact that I think that Reed is trying to make a point here is the real reason that I finished the book, and the reason that I will likely read the forthcoming sequel. Whether it saves this story, I'm not sure, but at least there was a method behind the madness.