The Invisible Day
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
Billie Stoner’s mother is stuck to her like glue. In the Stoner family, togetherness rules. Billie is desperate to be like other eleven-year-olds she reads about, who are allowed to walk to school alone and who have their own rooms. While on a family outing to Central Park, Billie discovers a magic makeup bag that allows her to fulfil her deepest desire – to become invisible. With the help of her best friend, Hubert, Billie skips school for the day and romps around New York City enjoying her freedom. After a brief stint in a movie and several other adventures, Billie realizes that having too much freedom is just as bad as having none at all. She enlists Hubert’s help to find the teenage witch who is the owner of the makeup bag and who, hopefully, knows how to cure her.
This easy-to-read first novel is both comic and touching as the animated first-person text describes Billie’s treacherous, but ultimately triumphant, day. Billie’s adventures help her appreciate her mother and find the independence she needs within her own family.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Kept on a short leash by her overprotective mother, New Yorker Billie longs for a little breathing room: "My only personal territory is the top bunk. I don't bother to keep a diary because I have no private life to record." The 10-year-old gets more privacy than she bargains for, however, when a magic powder she finds in a cosmetic bag left in Central Park turns her invisible for a day. Billie at first delights in the advantages of not being seen. She can swipe snacks from a convenience store, ride the subway for free and even stand next to a starlet during the filming of a movie. Needless to say, there's also a downside to Billie's disappearing act. She has no way of reporting the pickpocket she spies stealing a woman's wallet, and when she needs some comfort, she cannot get a hug from her mother. By afternoon, Billie is ready for an antidote--after some false starts, she has only to call the phone number that came with the magic powder. First-time author Jocelyn does not dwell on a message nor does she keep her readers in suspense very long before presenting no-fail remedies for her protagonist's various crises. The fun of this whimsical, high-spirited novel comes in following Billie's great adventure and tasting her freedom from scrutiny. A sure-fire crowd-pleaser. Illustrations not seen by PW. Ages 8-12.
