In the vein of Meg Donohue and Jennifer Close, comes Cecilia Galante's adult debut about the complicated and powerful bonds of female friendship--a compelling, moving novel that is told in both the present and the past.
Thrown together by chance as teenagers at Turning Winds Home for Girls, Nora, Ozzie, Monica, and Grace quickly bond over their troubled pasts and form their own family which they dub The Invisibles. But when tragedy strikes after graduation, Nora is left to deal with the horrifying aftermath alone as the other three girls leave home and don't look back.
Fourteen years later, Nora is living a quiet, single life working in the local library. She is content to focus on her collection of "first lines" (her favorite opening lines from novels) and her dog, Alice Walker, when out-of-the-blue Ozzie calls her on her thirty-second birthday. But after all these years, Ozzie hasn't called her to wish a happy birthday. Instead, she tells Nora that Grace attempted suicide and is pleading for The Invisibles to convene again. Nora is torn: she is thrilled at the thought of being in touch with her friends, and yet she is hesitant at seeing these women after such a long and silent period of time. Bolstered by her friends at the library, Nora joins The Invisibles in Chicago for a reunion that sets off an extraordinary chain of events that will change each of their lives forever.
The Invisibles is an unforgettable novel that asks the questions: How much of our pasts define our present selves? And what does it take to let go of some of our most painful wounds and move on?
Paperback, 400 pages
Expected publication:
August 4th 2015
by William Morrow Paperbacks
Terri's Thoughts
**I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review**
You know what happens when you are driving along on the highway and there is an accident which cause traffic to slow down? And the reason it has slowed down is because everyone is straining to see if they can see what happened? That is what this book reminds me of. All of the characters are a complete train wreck.
I don't want to disclose any of the plot however you can guess from the synopsis that these girls have some serious emotional baggage stemming from their childhood circumstances. This story picks up in their adult lives and the drama continues in a reunion of sorts with the girls.
Let me tell you. You know how there is always the normal, stable friend? Not in this case! There is enough emotional scarring and unresolved issues among these four to keep me in designer shoes and purses for life if I were their therapists. This was both the high and low points for the book.
I will start with the high point. The fact that each girls had their own unresolved issues made you want to read on to find out what each was dealing with. Why did one of them attempt suicide? What happened that one night? Although there are no real surprises you do want to see how it plays out.
As a low point it all sort of unfolded for me like a late night drinking confession-fest. You know what it is like. You and your girlfriends have had a few too many and you start trying to solve the world and each others problems. No sooner did one issue appear and then we were on to the next one. It was a little bit draining.
Overall this was a story about friendship, overcoming adversity and self discovery. Although the characters were messed up, their bond was not and they were there for each other when it mattered. It really is a positive message to give.
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