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THE INVISIBLES: A Novel
Cecilia Galante
Releasing August 4th, 2015
William Morrow
In
the vein of Meg Donohue and Jennifer Close, comes Cecilia Galante's adult debut
about the complicated and powerful bonds of female friendship--a compelling,
moving novel that is told in both the present and the past.
Thrown together by chance as
teenagers at Turning Winds Home for Girls, Nora, Ozzie, Monica, and Grace quickly
bond over their troubled pasts and form their own family which they dub The
Invisibles. But when tragedy strikes after graduation, Nora is left to deal
with the horrifying aftermath alone as the other three girls leave home and
don't look back.
Fourteen years later, Nora is living
a quiet, single life working in the local library. She is content to focus on
her collection of "first lines" (her favorite opening lines from
novels) and her dog, Alice Walker, when out-of-the-blue Ozzie calls her on her
thirty-second birthday. But after all these years, Ozzie hasn't called her to
wish a happy birthday. Instead, she tells Nora that Grace attempted suicide and
is pleading for The Invisibles to convene again. Nora is torn: she is thrilled
at the thought of being in touch with her friends, and yet she is hesitant at
seeing these women after such a long and silent period of time. Bolstered by
her friends at the library, Nora joins The Invisibles in Chicago for a reunion
that sets off an extraordinary chain of events that will change each of their
lives forever.
The Invisibles is an unforgettable
novel that asks the questions: How much of our pasts define our present selves?
And what does it take to let go of some of our most painful wounds and move on?
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Cecilia Galante is the author of several middle grade, young adult and adult novels. She also teaches 8th grade English at Wyoming Seminary Prep School, and teaches creative writing in the MFA program at Wilkes University.
MY TWO CENTS~
ARC from Edelweiss and the publisher as a part of this tour in exchange for my honest review
First off, I'll say I really enjoyed this book, even if my review sounds a bit like the opposite. This book made me think, which in the end, is what I want certain types of books to do.
One of the themes of this book relates to if our past shapes our future, although sometimes the author went on a bit too much about this point. Which ties into my next point.
Both the good and bad about the book relates to the flaws/scars of the main characters. However, they are very well developed and the book is brilliantly written. Each storyline is compelling enough to keep you glued to the pages even if there weren't any real surprises. I'd be hard pressed to name my favorite woman in the book.
At times the book is a bit over the top the top with the "confessions", but I still loved it. In the end this book is about self growth and the strength/bonds of friendships. It had everything I love about my women's fiction; it made me laugh, cry and think and will stick with me. I'm a fan of Ms. Galante and will read future books by her.
She could hear the phone ringing in her bedroom
as she unlocked her front door. Alice Walker bolted toward it, barking after
each ring, as if the phone might respond. Nora hung back, struggling to get her
key out of the lock, which still continued to stick, despite numerous
complaints to the landlord. She tugged again. Nothing. Well, she’d have to let
the machine get it. It was probably just Trudy or Marion from the library
anyway, calling to ask her to pick up some more coffee beans on her way in.
Between the three of them, the office coffeepot went through at least four
refills a day.
“Hey, this is Nora.” The recorded sound of her
voice echoed through the empty apartment. “I’m not here, but I will be
eventually, so please leave a message.” Nora winced, listening. She’d gone
through at least a dozen messages when she’d set up the machine, trying her
voice out each time—a little happier here, more serious there—until she’d just
said to hell with it and settled on this one.
There was a pause and then:
“Norster?”
Nora’s fingers froze around the rubber grip of the keys. No one had
called her Norster since she was seventeen years old. And even then, there had
been only one person who had ever used that name.
A throat cleared. Then: “Nora Walker? Is this
you? God, I hope I have the right number. This is . . .” There was a muffled
noise, as if the receiver had just been covered, and then the faint, nearly
obscured sound of a reprimand. “I need a minute, Jack, okay? Mommy just needs
one minute. Now, please.”
No. It couldn’t be. Nora gave the key a final
furious tug and then let go of it altogether, racing toward her bedroom. It
just couldn’t be.
“Sorry about that.” The voice was back, unmuffled
now and slightly raised. “Um, this is Ozzie Randol. I’m just calling to—”
“Ozzie!” Nora snatched the phone up so quickly
that she almost dropped it. “Ozzie, I’m here!”
“Nora! Oh my God!”
“Ozzie.” Nora said the name a third time, as if
the word itself would settle her breathing somehow, stop her legs from
trembling. Her windbreaker, unzipped and loose, hung open in front of her like
a mouth agape. How long had she been waiting for this moment? She couldn’t
remember anymore. “Oh, Ozzie. Oh my God. Is that really you?”
Ozzie laughed. “Of course it’s really me. You
know any other girls out there named Ozzie?”
“No.” A giggle emanated from Nora’s mouth like a
bubble. “No, I’ve never met another Ozzie.” She sat down carefully on the end
of her bed, smoothing the edge of the white comforter with the palm of her
hand. Ozzie had the same laugh, a bright burst of sound that came out of a
mouth so wide and lips so full that Nora used to wonder how everything fit in
there together—and still looked so pretty.
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