Almost Invisible
Almost Invisible
Now that I was a year older and didn’t look so much like a kid, I figured it would be easier to run away. Also, I had $250 in the bank from babysitting.
I started collecting stuff for running away. Mostly I got it at the dollar store, like a little flashlight and batteries, candles and matches, other things I figured I might need. If I went to that cabin by the lake. I kept it all in a hole in the box springs under the mattress, same place I kept Charmaine’s bank card and her cell. It used to be Charmaine’s bed and I found the hiding place when I got moved into her room after she left so I could mind Nico. The hole didn’t have anything in it, though. Her cell was in her coat pocket. Mom and Dad never knew she had a phone, so they don’t know I have it now. The Owens are the only ones who know. Mrs. Owen texts me on it if she needs to change arrangements for babysitting, like she used to do with Charmaine. That way she never has to talk to Mom and Dad. Charmaine was the sitter first, but when she went away, Mrs. Owen asked me. She knew I wasn’t old enough, but she was desperate. She told me how to pay for the phone with cards you get at the grocery store. I already knew the phone password because it’s the same as Charmaine’s PIN.
I also started buying food to take when I went. It had to be stuff that wouldn’t go stale and it had to be small enough to keep in the hiding place and light to carry in my pack. Like granola bars and crackers, and different-flavored oatmeal cereal you add hot water to. And ramen noodles, which are cheap, three for a dollar sometimes. You can even eat them without cooking and they don’t taste that bad. I learned that from Anton. I figured I could buy apples and cheese once I left, and water.
Except none of it was really a plan, because how could I really go? What would happen to Nico without me there? It was all just stuff I was doing to make myself feel better. Like it would make me safe somehow.
So when I did run away, it was almost the same as that time before. Something happened, and I went.
Jewel is 13-years-old and finds that life is easier for her if she just sticks to her normal routine and doesn’t aggravate anyone around her. However, when a friend of her dad’s comes into her bedroom one night, Jewel realizes she can’t stay at home any longer. She first heads to a cabin by the lake, but when her food supply runs out, she has to make a change. Her next refuge is her school. There is a storage cupboard in her art room which gives her a warm place to sleep, and so she decides to simply live at school. Her classmates Lily and Maya figure out what is happening and do their best to support and help her. It is imperative that Jewel’s secret be kept since she is terrified that, if anyone in authority finds out, she will be forced to return home. But nothing lasts forever… except perhaps the friendship of others and the determination to be independent at any cost.
At first glance, Maureen Garvie’s main character might seem unbelievable, but, as the story progresses, readers are drawn more and more into Jewel’s world and her way of thinking and coping, and so her often radical actions become more realistic. In this coming-of-age book, Jewel finds inner resources and practical skills that allow her to leave behind the neglect and abuse she faces at home. She shows how capable and practical she is and learns quickly she can be self-reliant and independent when she needs to be. Her pragmatism extends to cleaning the cabin by the lake and learning to operate the wood stove. As well, when she lives at the school, Jewel finds places to make toast and wash and dry her hair. She is an extremely capable and courageous young woman.
Her counterparts, Maya and Lily, come from a very different background, but they are anxious to help their friend and have her best interests at heart. At times, this is manifested in a desire to make Jewel into a ‘project’, literally changing her hairstyle and clothing just as Maya and Lily find and restore old Barbie dolls they purchase at garage sales. But Maya and Lily realize these changes are merely superficial, and, while they can do their best to help Jewel, they cannot alter her innate personality. They accept this reality, and both are loyal friends who sincerely want to help someone in need.
Jewel’s siblings also play an important role in Almost Invisible: Charmaine, ran away some time ago and hasn’t been heard from since. And younger brother Nico is a special needs child who becomes Jewel’s concern since her parents seemingly have neither the patience nor the skills to deal with him. Unlike her parents, Jewel feels a strong attachment and responsibility for both of them.
The adults in the book are an interesting group. Jewel’s parents and their friends are absolutely dysfunctional and provide no support for her whatsoever. In fact, they are her worst nightmare. Other adults are often authority figures, such as school staff and police, who remain either oblivious to what Jewel is facing or incapable of helping her on her terms. Even Mrs. Owen, who provides a babysitting job for Jewel, is guilty of not noticing reality and comments, “…I should have been more suspicious about what was going on in her life. But she was so good with the boys, always here on time. It was so handy. It was easier not to let myself wonder too much about her.” (p. 187)
An interesting facet of the novel, then, is Garvie’s juxtaposition of the solutions of the young women, Maya and Lily, versus the solutions of the adults. The adults want to follow the rules and work within social parameters such as schools, police and social services. The kids, on the other hand, think outside the box and are more willing to take chances and make decisions on the fly. Authority figures seem unwilling or unable to help Jewel which raises the whole issue of victims who choose not to report to authorities what has happened to them since the solution may not solve the problem and may even be a part of it.
Other social issues form a backdrop to Jewel’s story. Garvie presents a neglectful family and instances of verbal, physical and sexual abuse. As well, she illustrates the gap between the wealthy and the poor of our society. While both Lily and Maya enjoy upper-middle class surroundings, Jewel comes from an impoverished and needy background. This class distinction is clearly described in the book, yet Garvie stays away from stereotypes, allowing Jewel to be capable and intelligent while her friends are giving and caring.
Canadian readers will appreciate that Almost Invisible is set in Ontario with place names, such as Kingston and Belleville, being familiar to many. As well, the conservation area and the cabin by the lake have a distinctive Canadian flavour. That said, the book could take place anywhere as the characters and the situation are universal.
Jewel’s method for dealing with the chaos in her life is to be virtually invisible, happy in her protective hoodie and reluctant to share her problems with anyone else. Yet under this cloak of invisibility, Maureen Garvie has formed a memorable and thought-provoking character who will long remain in the minds and hearts of her young adult readers.
Ann Ketcheson, a retired teacher-librarian and secondary school teacher of English and French, lives in Ottawa, Ontario.