About the Author
Gabriela Epstein is the creator of the New York Times bestselling graphic novel adaptation of Claudia and the New Girl by Ann M. Martin. She graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a degree in illustration and has worked as a character designer for TV animation. When she isn’t making comics, she enjoys yo-yoing, listening to spooky podcasts, and watching historical documentaries. She lives in Austin, Texas. Visit her online at gre-art.com.
Christina Diaz Gonzalez is the Edgar Award-winning author of Concealed, Moving Target, The Red Umbrella and A Thunderous Whisper. She is the author of the graphic novel Invisible, with Gabriela Epstein. Her books have received numerous honors and recognitions including the Florida Book Award and the Nebraska Book Award. They have also been named the American Library Association's Best Fiction for Young Adults, a Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People, and the International Reading Association's Teachers' Choice. Learn more at christinagonzalez.com.
Product Description
For fans of New Kid and Allergic, a must-have graphic novel about five very different students who are forced together by their school to complete community service... and may just have more in common than they thought.
Can five overlooked kids make one big difference?
There’s George: the brain
Sara: the loner
Dayara: the tough kid
Nico: the rich kid
And Miguel: the athlete
And they’re stuck together when they’re forced to complete their school’s community service hours. Although they’re sure they have nothing in common with one another, some people see them as all the same . . . just five Spanish-speaking kids.
Then they meet someone who truly needs their help, and they must decide whether they are each willing to expose their own secrets to help . . . or if remaining invisible is the only way to survive middle school.
With text in English and Spanish, Invisible features a groundbreaking format paired with an engaging, accessible, and relatable storyline. This Breakfast Club–inspired story by Christina Diaz Gonzalez, award-winning author of Concealed, and Gabriela Epstein, illustrator of two Baby-Sitters Club graphic novel adaptations, is a must-have graphic novel about unexpected friendships and being seen for who you really are.
From School Library Journal
Gr 4-7-When George, who is Puerto Rican, is assigned community service hours working in his middle school cafeteria with "other students like you," he expects to be with the gifted kids, but instead, he finds out that the only thing he has in common with the volunteer group is that they are all Latinx students being unfairly stereotyped by their educators. There's Miguel, the jock who secretly loves drawing, who is Dominican; Dayara, a Cuban girl who constantly gets in trouble and struggles in school; Sara, a loner, who is Mexican; and Nico, a Venezuelan boy with a reputation as a stuck-up rich kid. By the end of the week, they are all called into the principal's office to explain how the five of them "conspired to do something." As each student tells their portion of the story, readers are shown the complexity and individuality of each of their lives, shattering the stereotypes that the adults and other students in the story place on them. However, what makes this modern Breakfast Club story truly unique is the use of Spanish and English text to expose readers to the complexities of multi-language literacy. Each character has their own level of ability with English and Spanish, making their individual voices and communication methods unique, but ample translations of both languages make for an enjoyable reading experience. VERDICT A welcome addition to any graphic novel collection, Invisible skillfully explores the negative impact of stereotyping while also offering an entertaining and spirited reading experience.-Amanda Melilliα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No re
