The Invisible Boy by Alyssa Hollingsworth (review)

Hollingsworth, Alyssa The Invisible Boy; illus. by Deborah Lee. Roaring Brook, 2020 [320p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781250155726 $16.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781250155733 $9.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 4-7

Nadia Quick, age twelve, is a star investigative reporter—at least in her own mind. She senses a big scoop involving her neighbors, a boy who smashed her canoe paddle on a tree and Invisible Boy, the name she gives the kid who saved her beloved pet, Wonder Dog, from drowning in a drainage tunnel. Readers immediately suspect she's an unreliable narrator who's got this all wrong; be that as it may, Nadia is on to a real crime, and the trio turns casual acquaintance into friendship. A teeming school of red herrings deflects readers from the human trafficking theme lying at the heart of this mystery, and once Nadia brings her comics-fueled, overactive imagination under control, mystery turns into thriller as she and one of the boys try to outrun the socialite woman who has kept him captive in domestic servitude. Unfortunately, the gravity of the message—keep your eyes open for the warning sides of victims who could inhabit any community—is undercut by cheesy plotting that has trusted adults drop the ball and kids take matters into their own hands. Bauer's Tell Me (BCCB 10/14) is therefore a better book on the subject, but Hollingsworth's novel may alert middle-grade readers to the need for vigilance and advocacy on behalf of unnoticed children who may be victimized. An author's note on trafficking is included.