Invisible, by Cecily Anne Paterson

          I picked this book up for free in the Kindle store - not always the best place to find good reads, but this book is a definite exception.  An outstanding book for middle grades readers, it's about a partially deaf middle-schooler who is still struggling to cope with her father's death four years ago.  There is no bad language, no sexual content, and it's a very inspiring story.

            Jazmine Crawford has been bouncing around from town to town since her father died.  She's learned to hide her feelings, and has no real friendships as a result.  Her relationship with her mom is strained, and she's gotten in with a bad crowd at school.  But when a sympathetic teacher intervenes, Jazmine finds herself thrown into working on the school play, Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden.  And, much like Mary Lennox, Jazmine finds that finding a purpose in life pulls her out of the mire that her life has become.

            The Kindle edition has some grammatical errors, but they don't detract from a beautiful story.  The author has great potential, and the power of the story is amazing.  The point of view of the preteen is spot on, in my opinion.  Paterson does a great job of portraying both the dreams and the insecurities of the age level.  And there's just enough early teen romance (holding hands, that kind of thing) to pique the interest of the young reader.

             I look forward to reading Invincible, a sequel to Invisible set to be released later in 2014.

            Four out of Five Stars