Like his first, this doesn't dumb down the science for children/young people, and faces issues head on. In 'Time Travelling with a Hamster' he braved the subject of a parent's death. Here is it the angst of adolescent acne, a dead mother and even dementia. Ethel lives with her grandmother, is plagued by terrible acne and has become the unwilling friend of new boy Elliot (Smelliot) from London. When Ethel discovers she has the ability to become invisible via her new skin treatment and the generous application of UV light, her life suddenly becomes a lot more complicated.

Frustratingly, so far true invisibility – both for objects and people – remains in the realms of fiction. What I quite liked was that we finally get a description of the main character, even if it's quite late in the book. What got on my nerves was how I never knew what Al looked like in Time Travelling with a Hamster. Here we get a small description. The description of Ethel's not much (hair colour, eye colour), but it's enough. It's more than we get of Al in his debut book. The other characters are also nicely done, especially the twins. The only bad thing about them is their names ("Jarrow"?? Seriously?! And you named the dog "Lady"?!), which I can't really blame Ross Welford for.The negatives, I found myself tuning out in places. Mainly, I was a bit baffled by the emotional turn towards the end. She found out about her parents' identity and felt betrayed it had been kept secret from her. She ends up run over by a car because she was running while invisible. I was just baffled that the book turned towards that direction. I mean the author can write whatever they want but the emotional turn was a bit weak. It doesn't really deliver any punch. Whimsy is all good but I felt like the book needed that one thing to really cement that it is a good book. Shaky, definitely. But the invisibility stuff is believable. The one thing that annoys me is how she's able to see (your eyes absorb light, which is something they can't do if they're transparent), but that's about it. The food aspect is also a little annoying to me, but I'll let it slide. (If you've read the book and want to talk to me about it, send me a message.) A lot of books just blame magic, and I have to hand it to Ross Welford for actually trying to make it plausible using science. Overall, this is a compelling and illuminating story that is laced well enough with thrill and arresting adventure that will not only enthrall the young kids but will also intrigue the mature readers too. Accanto a lei ci sono i compagni di scuola e ognuno riporta un esempio di come i caratteri prendono forma e troviamo gli arroganti, le ochette, i nerd e quelli che vengono definiti gli ‘ultimi’. È una descrizione reale che parallelamente riporta la visione che si ha degli adulti che vengono percepiti come distanti, distratti, e non al passo.

Set in the Tynemouth and Whitley Bay area of the north-east of England, thirteen year old Ethel Leatherhead desperately tries to find a cure for her acne. An accidental combination of methods causes a startled Ethel to turn invisible. The invisibility proves to be temporary but that doesn’t stop Ethel from trying again, convinced that being invisible will solve all her problems. La narrazione in prima persona presenta una buona dose di rottura della quarta parete, come se Ethel avesse bisogno dell’approvazione del suo lettore e una sorta di conferma che quello che combina sono cose che capitano, è trascinante, ironica e molto fresca. Vedere il mondo attraverso gli occhi di Ethel è, non solo come tornare preadolescenti, ma un approccio diretto alla vita che in un secondo sembra terribile mentre l’altro appare piacevole. In case you were wondering: Yes, it does have references to Time Travelling with a Hamster. Once again, it's set near Culvercot, and there are even a few trips to Culvercot bay. I caught 3 references (one with a spelling "mistake"(?), as it was a name, one thing that was a small detail in TTWAH (and an even smaller detail in WNTDIYTI), and one that just mentioned the same sliproad from TTWAH. The one at the bay - if you've read it you'll know which one I mean.) These are all very minor details, though, and they're not important in the slightest to the plot. And yet, when you watch a Disney film it's like that doesn't matter. It's not something you think about and it's just a rough outline, like a sketch. Like concept art. The end product is (and feels) completely different.From the title alone I had expected a comedy novel full of hi-jinks and amusing anecdotes. While there are light-hearted moments, such as when Ethel pretends to be a ghost to avoid being detected by a classmate, author Ross Welford creates a much deeper and more complex plot about the struggles of family, friendship, secrets and lies, and the struggles of navigating teenage life at secondary school. Elliot Boyd is also a fun character and I'm happy he's in the book. I love how their friendship evolves throughout the book. In the end we get to learn a lot more about him which I like. It doesn't end with a list of questions like TTWAH. If you are looking for a story with charming characters, a solid friendship and some shenanigans involving a sunbed and seriously dodgy alternative medicine this is the book for you. On immediately finishing the book I felt that I didn't feel this one as much as Time Travelling with a Hamster, but with a bit of distance since the time I finished it, I've decided that I'm actually more fond of the main characters of this novel than the previous. Except, when I’m done, I’m still there, in the garage. This is one stubborn dream! So I do it all again, and again.

Turning invisible at will: it’s one way of curing your acne. But far more drastic than 13 year-old Ethel Leatherhead intended when she tried a combination of untested medicines and a sunbed. I often sensed that as a reader I was being asked to think about what I would do if I were faced with Ethel’s dilemmas. Ethel is frequently presented with two options – the easy way and the hard way. For example when she hurts her friend Boyd’s feelings to save her own reputation Ethel must choose between looking after herself or boosting Boyd’s social standing at school at the risk of exposing her invisibility. As a reader you ask yourself just how far you would go to help a friend. I'm very impressed with Ross Welford's work and will be adding this to my school library shelves. Some wonderful scenes with bullies, the logical effects of invisibility (and how you would cope), and some second half family dramas that make this a potential TV series. I look down at my legs. They’re not there either, although I can touch them. I can touch my face. I can touch every bit of me, and feel it, but I just cannot see it. When one day the invisibility fails to wear off, Ethel is thrown into a nightmare of lies and deception as she struggles to keep herself safe, to find the remedy that will make her seen again – and solve the mystery of her own birth…Ethel Leatherhead es una chica que sufre un problema de acné y tiene que hacer frente a las burlas que día tras día sufre por parte de sus compañeros de colegio. En su búsqueda por una solución a este problema, se topa con un medicamento que la hace invisible. Ethel aprovechará esa invisibilidad para hacer determinadas cosas para las que no se creía capaz, y se dará de bruces con su verdadera identidad. Además, en su camino se cruzará Boydy, un chico que también sufre el acoso por parte de sus compañeros de colegio, y juntos vivirán una gran aventura. H.G. Wells, sometimes called “the father of science fiction”, wrote The Invisible Man in 1897. In honour of Wells, I gave Ethel’s doctor the same name as the doctor in The Invisible Man – Dr Kemp.

There's a part where someone edits something, and Elliot Boyd decides that they must've used a PC for it. On one hand, this shows he understands technology - editing software is usually for computers. On the other hand, ever heard of mobile apps? Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.Another reason I can't relate to Ethel is because she's so short. I'm 1m72-ish (about 5ft 8in) so I really don't get her.