YA or STFU

The Opposite of Invisible, by Liz Gallagher

Gallagher, Liz (2008). The Opposite of Invisible. NY: Wendy Lamb Books. 160 pages.

This short novel, the first by Vermont College MFA Liz Gallagher, has a somewhat cheesy title and a lame cover image that belie the little jewel of a YA story within. Set in Seattle and narrated by sixteen-year-old Alice, The Opposite begins with Alice’s wish (vocalized in a conversation with the girl depicted in a poster print of Picasso’s “Face of Peace”) to be noticed by boys. Not exactly a loner, Alice hangs out rather exclusively with her best friend Julien (known as Jewel) a talented artist in whose eyes Alice feels “the opposite of invisible.” When a popular new boy notices Alice at an indie rock show and the two begin to date, Alice and Jewel’s friendship begins to unravel. Though Alice enjoys hagning out with football star Simon, and even makes a new female friend of one of the cheerleaders, she can’t help but compare Simon’s admiration with Jewel’s acceptance.

Although the I-just-realized-that-I-might-be-in-love-with-my-best-friend plot is a familiar one in YA lit, Gallagher’s low key take on it hits just the right pitch. Alice seems like a genuine character with whom its easy to sympathize: there’s never that moment where, as a reader, you want to hit the protagonist over the head with the wrongness of her romantic choices and the rightness of her best friend as romantic partner. Instead, we’re allowed to see, through Alice’s eyes, how a hookup with a popular kid might make anybody feel as special as Jewel’s artistic excellence (he’s a star artist at school) makes him feel and how living in the shadow of your best friend’s status (as an artist, or whatever) might make anyone feel a little shaky.

The narrative moves quickly and without too much trendy Seattle-ness, in spite of the indie rock references. There was this one point where the characters refer to seeing Death Cab for Cutie “before they played stadium shows,” when I was like, yak!, but that was the only outstanding annoyance.