Invisible Things

Publishers Weekly

Readers unfamiliar with Davidson's The Explosionist (2008), in which she introduced Scottish teenager Sophie Hunter, the orphaned daughter of two physicists killed in 1923 in an explosion in Alfred Nobel's munitions factory, may flounder in this continuation of Sophie's story. Set in 1938 Copenhagen, in Niels Bohr's Institute for Theoretical Physics, this ambitious sequel is also fantasy disguised as historical fiction. Davidson aptly conveys the excitement of scientific research in the late 1930s, but many may find it challenging to wade through the plethora of scientific theory and historical background and feel invested in Sophie's pursuit, suspenseful though it is, of her family history (which involves Nobel himself). The language is often dense, with cumbersome, information-heavy sentences that develop neither plot nor character; the buildup of the romance between Sophie and her impulsive Danish sweetheart, Mikael, is frustratingly laid-back. The climactic Part Three turns decidedly into fantasy as Sophie travels north by reindeer-drawn sleigh to the ice castle of a foreboding Snow Queen, in a journey reminiscent of Lyra's in Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass, and--somewhat unconvincingly--finds personal freedom at last. Ages 14–up. (Dec.)

Children's Literature - Leah Hanson

In an unfamiliar town surrounded by well-meaning but unfamiliar people, sixteen-year- old Sophie attempts to adjust to her new life in Denmark with her best friend Mikael's family. Having narrowly escaped a terrifying brainwashing scheme in her Scottish home, Sophie struggles to understand her past and her future. Determined to uncover the truth about her parents' mysterious death, she seeks answers from the only person who she believes can help her—billionaire Alfred Nobel. However, each step toward the truth plunges Sophie into even more danger. When the arms dealer known as the Snow Queen poisons and kidnaps Mikael, Sophie knows she must take drastic action to save the one person she cares for most. With a complicated plot full of twists and turns, historical figures, and a half "futuristic" take on life in the turbulent 1930s, Invisible Things will challenge readers to question what could have happened in an altered version of history. Sophie is a likeable character and her quest for personal truth rings true. However, the romance between her and Mikael feels flat and lacks the emotional warmth that would believably inspire her heroic actions. The novel ends abruptly, leaving readers wondering if this tale is truly finished. Reading the first book in the series, The Explosionist, may clarify the story's mix of the futuristic and historical; however, young readers may need some contextual guidance to understand how Davidson's tale re-imagines the past. Reviewer: Leah Hanson

School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up—Set in 1939 Denmark, this story uses the same alternative history device as Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan (S & S, 2009), but it doesn't work here. Instead, the book is a confusing mishmash of characters with the history and science not fully explored. It is a novel more of explanation than action. Sixteen-year-old Sophie, an orphan living at a scientific facility operated by Niels Bohr, has been smuggled out of Scotland for her own safety. She's hoping to speak to Alfred Nobel about the death of her parents. After a gas and pellet attack at Bohr's birthday party and the subsequent invasion of Denmark, Sophie, her friend Mikael (undergoing some strange personality changes due to the gas), and a few of the scientists from the institute evacuate to Sweden where they stay in the same boarding house as Mikael's brother. After a rather surreal meeting with Nobel, during which she finds out that her father had successfully designed the atomic bomb, she gets confirmation that she is Nobel's granddaughter and heir. She is sent on a long journey to negotiate plans for the weapon, and to rescue Mikael, who has been hypnotized into following Elsa Blix, a weapons dealer and also an illegitimate child of Nobel's who only wants recognition of her paternity. Few readers will stick with Invisible Things to its unsatisfying and rather sudden conclusion.—Suanne Roush, Osceola High School, Seminole, FL

Kirkus Reviews

This sequel to The Explosionist (2008) initially sags under the weight of the explanation required to bring readers up to speed on the first book's intricate plot, in which events of world history are reimagined with alternate outcomes. The story finds its stride, however, in the further adventures of 16-year-old Sophie Hunter, who has escaped Scotland and found refuge at the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Denmark, where mysteries and apocalyptic menace continue to plague her. Aided by her loyal friend Mikael and her cat Trismegistus, Sophie takes on nuclear conspiracy and a Snow Queen straight out of Andersen. Davidson weaves elements of science fiction, philosophical inquiry and real historical figures--Alfred Nobel, Niels Bohr, Paul Dirac, Ludwig Wittgenstein--into the verbose third-person narrative. The number of unanswered questions still standing at the abrupt ending leaves no doubt of a continuation. (Alternative history/fantasy. 14 & up)