Anyway, the doubts were necessarily momentary as I had a contract to fulfill with HarperCollins and – in hindsight – the problem was not that I couldn’t think of a story to write, but that the initial, enthusiastic reception to Hamster had somewhat intimidated me. And if I felt that with the modest success of Hamster imagine what poor Harper Lee felt when her first ever book won the world’s most-coveted literary prize and was set by exam boards the world over. The first is a leopard, the second is a giraffe, the third is a snow-white bird. Even when you know what to look for they are hard to spot!

The negatives, I found myself tuning out in places. Mainly, I was a bit baffled by the emotional turn towards the end. She found out about her parents' identity and felt betrayed it had been kept secret from her. She ends up run over by a car because she was running while invisible. I was just baffled that the book turned towards that direction. I mean the author can write whatever they want but the emotional turn was a bit weak. It doesn't really deliver any punch. Whimsy is all good but I felt like the book needed that one thing to really cement that it is a good book. Receiving a copy of 'What Not To Do If You Turn Invisible' from the publisher via NetGalley has in no way affected my honest opinion of this book.El argumento del libro me ha parecido muy original, y al igual que en su anterior trabajo, Ross Welford aborda temas muy importantes y necesarios en la vida de los más jóvenes, como son por ejemplo los complejos, la soledad, la pérdida de algún familiar, la búsqueda de la personalidad, la amistad o el amor. De esta manera, muchos de los lectores pueden sentirse identificados con estos temas, y no hay nada mejor a esas edades que descubrir que hay otras personas con quienes comparten los mismos miedos e inquietudes. Es un libro que se lee muy rápido y de manera cómoda, ya que sus capítulos son muy cortos, lo que permite que cada lector lleve el ritmo que desea. Es cierto que al principio puede generar algo de confusión saber quién es quién, y es que parece que no queda claro el grado de parentesco que hay entre los personajes, pero se termina aclarando. El final es bastante optimista. A well-written new friendship with a fellow misfit and some interesting scientific concepts thrown in make this a smart read. Ethel's story is more than just a 'wish-fulfilment' tale, with several strands weaving together to give this depth and heart. Ethel lives with her grandma and is bullied for having terrible acne. Elliot is a recent blow-in from London and seems unaware of his status as social pariah. An unlikely but heartwarming friendship is formed over the course of the book (and I mean that in the least vomit-inducing way possible) and by the end one can really believe the bond between Ethel and Elliot is authentic. Did I mention that Ethel also suffers from spells of invisibility now and then? Well, she does, and that's where most of the humour comes in, but really, this is a story about family past and present and the family you build for yourself.

Ethel, as a main character, is very good. She makes a lot of risky (and sometimes plain bad) decisions (which is probably why this book is titled "what NOT to do if you turn invisible"), but it keeps the story interesting and every single one bad decision adds to the plot. She's a very well-made character, with a lot of details added in. The subplot of Ethel figuring out who she really is is pretty good, if a little predictable. I find it hard to relate to Ethel, but I don't think it's because of the book. It's just because we're so different.January 2017 Book of the Month | In a nutshell: invisible girl finds herself in the spotlight |Ross Welford is making a habit of putting his characters in unusual situations: the star of his prize-shortlisted debut went time travelling, while Ethel, his new central character, unexpectedly becomes invisible, thanks to a mysterious Chinese herbal medicine and a second hand sun bed. Welford properly examines the impact of this invisibility on Ethel and, with one notable exception, the story is low on practical jokes, and high on the terrifying prospect of never being seen again. Ethel has other things to deal with too, including untangling family secrets to discover who she really is. In all this, she’s helped by new friend the irrepressible Boydy, who is determined to turn a spotlight on the situation – literally. Funny, touching and thoroughly original, Welford crafts another absorbing real-life adventure out of an extraordinary set-up. ~ Andrea Reece Soldiers have been using camouflage to evade detection for…well, forever, really. (In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the soldiers of Malcolm’s army attempt to disguise themselves as a small forest by holding branches in front of themselves.)