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Transparent, Natalie Whipple’s debut novel, had a few flaws but I must say that I still adored it.  It’s a fun, fresh story that will have readers hooked from beginning to end.

The world was by far the best thing about Transparent.  It’s a lot like our current world except for the fact that people are born with abilities.  The abilities can be mundane things like purple skin or something extraordinary like invisibility.  The ability that you are born with can change everything about your life.  The more powerful abilities (like invisibility) are coveted and lead to high ranking roles in the world.  However, we aren’t talking roles like President of the United States, we’re talking roles like leader of a mafia.  The best way to describe the world of Transparent is like a mix between X-Men and the Curseworkers series by Holly Black.  It is freaking awesome.

The characters were a good mix.  Fiona was rather shy and quiet (being invisible doesn’t exactly lead to lots of friendships) but that was definitely only one side of her.  It took a bit of work to get her to come out of her shell but once she did she was funny, kind, and a bit of smart-ass.  She had a bunch of awesome qualities that will really endear readers to her.  Seth, Bee, and Brady were an odd group of friends but perfect for Fiona.  Bee and Brady were almost too perfect but they were nice to Fiona when no one else was.  Seth, on the other hand, spent most of his time antagonizing Fiona.  They were always at each other’s throats and they bantered constantly.  They had some of the most awesome sexual tension.  I loved seeing their relationship grow and change.  The family dynamics were also pretty great.  Fiona’s family was far from perfect but they worked through their problems throughout the course of the book.  Bee’s family was probably the best though.  All her brothers were crazy and her parents were so obviously in love.  They welcomed Fiona with open arms even though they knew she could bring serious danger to their family.

The story was really the only thing that I had issues with.  Fiona is an invisible girl whose father happens to be the leader of a very powerful mafia.  He takes advantage of Fiona’s invisibility and forces her to hurt people. When he tells her to kill someone she finally decides it’s time to get out.  She and her mom run far away from her father but they know that they won’t be able to hide forever.  I definitely had issues with this part.  Fiona’s invisible.  Why can’t she hide forever?  Sure, she’d have to leave her mom behind but it seems to me that her mom would be safe if Fiona wasn’t with her.  It just seemed to me like Fiona and her mom made it way too easy for her father to find them.

While the story was the only part I had issues with, I still managed to thoroughly enjoy it.  It gripped me from the very first page and by the end, I was on the edge of my seat.  There was so much going on.  Sure some of it was rather predictable but there were definitely some things that shocked me.  I kid you not, by the end of the book I was biting my nails and hoping that everything would work out.  This story will definitely keep readers up late into the night, unable to stop reading.

Overall, Transparent brings something completely new to YA with it’s awesome world and crazy story.  It’s a fun, quick read that I highly recommend.