In Mary Amato’s ninth book, Invisible Lines, the reader is drawn into the world of Trevor Musgrove, a smart, funny, artistic 7th grader who has to learn how to navigate the rough waters of jealousy, deception, and poverty.
Trevor is no stranger to life’s hardships: his dad is in jail, his mom is barely keeping the family afloat, he’s responsible for babysitting his siblings and the family is broke. When Trevor, his mom, younger brother and baby sister arrive at their new apartment in the run-down complex nicknamed “Deadly Gardens,” things maybe about to turn around for Trevor. The school he attends is much better than any he’s been in before and he gets into an advanced science class with a teacher he can respect; he tries out for, and makes, both the school and area’s travel soccer teams; he makes some new friends; and his art gets him some much appreciated and deserved attention. But when Xander, the popular rich kid at school, starts to feel threatened by Trevor, things start to unravel very quickly both at home and at school and Trevor has to figure out what’s going on and how he can set things right again.
Amato creates a character whose strong voice, clear perceptions and genuine emotion will grab the reader and foster an immediate and intimate connection. Trevor’s confusion about how to deal with Xander, his family’s situation and his own self doubt has a legitimacy because it doesn’t try to be more mature or sophisticated than Trevor is himself; instead, there’s a level of awakening and understanding, paired with age-appropriate confusion and naivete, that makes Trevor’s journey both believable and relevant to upper elementary/middle grade readers.
- Posted by Cori