Invisible tells the story of five students at Conrad Middle School who are called to the principal’s office regarding their actions that led up to April 18. The principal and community member conducting the interview assume that the students don’t speak much English, just because of their names and little-known backgrounds. These students are otherwise invisible at school. 

As the interview progresses, the story reveals how these students met — as community service patrons working in the school cafeteria, gathering hours towards graduation. They don’t know each other. They assume the stereotypes one would expect in school: the brain, the jock, the tough one, the rich one, and the loner (“The Breakfast Club” reference). To the adults, they are just “the Spanish-speaking kids.” They perform their tasks without much thought of community, until they meet someone outside the school fence. Things advance quickly, and the students have to learn about each other and band together as the community service members they are. Can they be unexpected upstanding citizens, even as middle schoolers? “How can you be yourself when no one sees the real you?” 

Read this book to find out more about being invisible and how being seen as your true self is the greatest reward. 

The text includes English and Spanish, a welcome inclusion in this engaging graphic novel by Christina Diaz Gonzalez and Gabriela Epstein. Recommended for ages 10 and up. You’re going to want to add this title to your middle school shelves in the fall. Publishing August 2022 by Scholastic Graphix. Thanks to the author and publisher for the early read.