He's also got a few problems. His parents' relationship seems to be falling apart. He's being bullied at school. And the science teacher keeps picking on him.
Then one day, in one of the twenty-nine bookshops of Hedgecombe-upon-Dray, Strato stumbles quite literally across a book called How To Be Invisible and it's not long before he's unlocked its secret.
With no one able to see him, Strato reckons it shouldn't take him long to sort out the bully, fix his parents' problems and work out what's really going on with his science teacher. But, as with many things in life, things aren't always as easy as they seem! And there's often a catch …
This is an entertaining and thought-provoking read. Tim Lott weaves several challenging subjects into the narrative, including racism, bullying and what it's like to always be the outsider, but it's done with a light touch and an often unexpected twist. And in Strato, he has created an engaging hero who, with his wry, self-deprecating humour and obsession with understanding the inexplicable, brings a thoroughly original approach to problem-solving. Along the way, he also managed to teach me more about particle physics than my science teacher ever did!
Title: How To Be Invisible
Author: Tim Lott
Publisher: Walker Books, $16.95 RRP
Publication Date: August 2013
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781406324235
For ages: 10+
Type: Middle Fiction
