Blog Tour – Invisible in a Bright Light

Today I am so excited to be on day 1 of the blog tour for this fabulous book! Check out the rest of the tour over the next few weeks. Today I will be sharing my thoughts on the novel!

Title: Invisible in a Bright Light

Author: Sally Gardner

Published: October 2019

Genre: Children’s, Fantasy,

Rating: 5/5 stars

Blurb:

From I, Coriander to Invisible in a Bright Light, Sally Gardner’s first middle grade novel in 14 years soars with the imagination of a master story-teller. A pitch-perfect story about a crystal chandelier that splinters into a thousand pieces, a girl abandoned as a baby on the steps of an opera house and a dangerous game called the Reckoning.

It is 1870: opening night at the Royal Opera House in a freezing city by the sea, where a huge, crystal chandelier in the shape of a galleon sparkles magically with the light of 750 candles.

Celeste, a theatre rat, wakes up in a costume basket from what she hopes is a bad dream, to find that everyone at the theatre where she works thinks she is someone else.

When the chandelier falls, she is haunted by a strange girl who claims to know Celeste’s past and why she must risk playing a game called the Reckoning to try to save the people she loves.

My thanks to Head of Zeus Publishing and Jade for allowing me to be a part of this tour, and for a review copy of the novel.

Sally Gardner’s I, Coriander was one of my favourite books when I was younger. Whenever I needed to read something comforting, something that would completely transport me away from my own life, Sally Gardner’s writing was where I went.

So as you can imagine I went into this novel with extremely high hopes. I am so so glad to say that my expectations were more than met. Containing all of her normal richly descriptive and wonderfully emotive writing, and her amazing characters, this is a brilliant book.

This novel really reminded me of The Phantom of the Opera. It’s lavish descriptions of the theatre, and the menacing events that start to occur in the theatre towards the end of the novel were very reminiscent of Phantom.

The plot is complex, and it is a real pleasure to read a novel like this for children, that requires the reader to figure the puzzles out, while still being a fast-paced and exciting novel. I would recommend it to confident readers who can cope with being a little confused and ‘in-the-dark’ for parts of the novel.

Gardner’s writing is excellent, reading this novel is like stepping into another world. Everything is so immersive and you feel that you are there with Celeste and the others, rehearsing for the show, trying to solve the mystery of who she is, and eating a fabulous selection of foods!!

Overall I absolutely loved this novel, I would highly recommend it to children and adults alike. A wonderful richly described novel with all the warmth and suspense that Gardner always delivers!