Review: Transparent by Natalie Whipple

Posted by Jessi (Geo) on May 22, 2013 | 18 Comments


Review: Transparent by Natalie WhippleTransparent by Natalie Whipple
Series: Transparent #1
Published by HarperTeen (5.21.2013)
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: eARC, 368 pages
Source: Edelweiss
Buy on Amazon


4 Stars

Plenty of teenagers feel invisible. Fiona McClean actually is.

An invisible girl is a priceless weapon. Fiona’s own father has been forcing her to do his dirty work for years—everything from spying on people to stealing cars to breaking into bank vaults.

After sixteen years, Fiona’s had enough. She and her mother flee to a small town, and for the first time in her life, Fiona feels like a normal life is within reach. But Fiona’s father isn’t giving up that easily.

Of course, he should know better than anyone: never underestimate an invisible girl.

My thoughts

When I heard about this book, I was really excited to read it. But after reading some rather ‘meh’ reviews of this book, I was kinda worried that I wouldn’t enjoy it very much. Turns out I had nothing to worry about! Transparent was such a cute read!

First of all, the opening line in this is this:

It’s a good thing summers in Vegas are so hot, considering how often I walk the streets naked.

Talk about an attention grabber! (And seriously, how awesome would that be to not have to worry about uncomfortable clothes and have no one be able to see that you didn’t have any on?)

The characters were fabulous! I think they were my favorite part of this book. I wanted to live in the pages just so I could hang out with Fiona’s friends! Especially Bea. I looooved Bea! I have to admit she kind of annoyed me in the beginning, because she was always there, in Fi’s face, and it was slightly obnoxious. I gotta hand it to her though, she didn’t give up and ended up being a truly wonderful friend for Fi. I can’t really put into words how endearing the relationships in this book were.

I liked Fiona, for the most part. You really have to wonder – what would it be like to be invisible? For no one to see your facial expressions? *shudders* I mean, I think it would be cool sometimes, but not all the time. It would suck for no one to see the real you. But I think she became a bit complacent because of that. When a giant bomb is dropped (OMG squee!!!! Best twist EVER.) she runs away. Actually, I was pretty irritated with her for the way she acted when she found out.

I could just keep being whatever I wish I were, instead of what I am. I could forget everything that happened here. Forget this stupid person I am. Starting over would be easier. I’m invisible. I can be whoever I want. Why in the world would I want to be myself?

Yeah, I wanted to punch her. She acted petulant and cowardly, running when she could have faced the issue (and really, it wasn’t even an actual issue, she was just flipping out for absolutely no legitimate reason – calm your tits, lady) and worked it out and been perfectly happy. Then she said ‘I don’t like this place. It sucks.’ Um? 5 pages ago you were loving it! Just because something happened that you didn’t like….ugh. It was so childish!
View Spoiler »

Anyway. Seth. SETH. I must say I was Team Seth from the start. Not that I didn’t like Brady, but he was just too…perfect. Seth was a pain in the arse, even slap-worthy at times, but I loved him nonetheless! I just wanted to hug him!

The romance was adorable! Usually I’m not a big fan of romance, but this one had just the right amount…and it developed slowly so it was realistic and swoon-worthy, leaving me wanting more.

The underlying danger of Fiona’s dad finding her made things more interesting and caused just the right amount of conflict. And the ending was well done! I do recommend this book; it’s not for everyone and was kind of a fluffy read, but I really enjoyed it!

Overall Assessment

Plot: 4/5
Writing style: 4/5
Originality: 4/5
Characters: 4.5/5
World-building: 4/5
Pace: 5/5
Cover: 4/5
Overall rating: 4/5

Jessi (Geo)

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18 responses to “Review: Transparent by Natalie Whipple

  1. Phew, I am relieved you really liked this! I saw the ‘meh’ reviews right after I preordered Transparent and started biting all my nails off. The characters sound promising, shame Fiona was a little bit of a coward some times.

    Brilliant review, Jessi! <33

  2. I have heard of ALOT of meh reviews, so it kinda dropped my interest, but we seem to like most of the same books( The Nightmare Affair!), so I think I’d probably enjoy it. Great review!

  3. You nailed it! And yes. Always Seth. Forever him. Brady? He’s fun, but not as a romantic interest. No siree! Haha. I’m kinda sad you didn’t say anything about Miles, but lol it’s okay. I just love him so much. He’s kinda awesome. (almost better than Seth) *GASP* Ha. Anyway. Awesome review Nator twinsy! I loves it!
    <3333 The Inkinator

  4. I thought that this was such a cute book! At the time when I read it, this book was the perfect plot I needed from reading all these meh kind of books. I have to say that I loved Bea and her family. So cute! And SETH. HOT DAYUMMM. Me liked him ;) Fantastic review! Glad to see you liked it!
    Cheers!

  5. Whee I liked this one a teensy bit less than you, but I’m so happy that you did love it! I was one of the more “I liked everything about it, but none of it really wowed me” kind of reviews, but I do agree the romance was insanely sweet! Fiona definitely had a lot going on that made her different too :)

    Fantastic review, Jessi! I’m happy this one lived up to your expectations!

  6. I’ve heard so many different things about this novel, but dystopia and an element of invisibility? Count me in! And it helps that both you and Hannah both wrote reviews about how much you loved it… so yes!
    Great review Jessi! Looking forward to read more of the amazing content you have! <3

  7. Kelly

    I really need to read this, just to satisfy my curiosity. Why/how is she invisible? Does she wear clothes so people know she’s around? Can people touch her? So many questions!

    It sounds like there are a lot of contemporary elements on top of the sci-fi stuff though, which I definitely wasn’t expecting!

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