When We Are Invisible
Reviewed By Gabriel Garcia May 3, 2021
Author

Distributor: UQP
ISBN: 9780702263132
Publisher: University of Queensland Press (UQP)
Release Date: April 2021
Website: https://www.uqp.com.au
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We are well and truly into 2021 and considering the crappy year that was 2020 you would be forgiven if you thought my book review will be about something nice and happy. But alas it is not. Instead we have When We are Invisible, a post apocalypse drama set in our own backyard.
When We are Invisible is the second book in a series and takes up where the first book, The Sky so Heavy, finished off. The basic premise of the first book is that while we are living our quiet lives in Australia nuclear war has broken out. And with nuclear war comes a nuclear winter with all the joys that come with it.
Unlike the first book, When We are Invisible takes the view point of a teenager by the name of Lucy. She is introduced to the reader in the first book as a love interest to that book’s main character Fin, but it is in When We are Invisible that we get her perspective regarding the whole armageddon journey. Having survived the anarchy of Sydney going down the pan she, Fin and Fin’s younger brother Max have escaped to the country.
However the problem with a nuclear apocalypse is that there is no escaping its effects; both enviromental and social. Instead Lucy and her companions are beset with the issues familiar with characters in fictional post apocalypse settings the world over; food, shelter, warmth and who to trust.
When We are Invisible is a solid though not revolutionary entry into the post apocalypse genre. The book is told in first person perspective which is neither here nor there. Oddly enough, though not strictly similar, I got Tomorrow when the War began vibes. For those who don’t know, it is a series based on a young female teenager who has to survive with her companions out in regional Australia with the only difference being instead of a post apocalypse nuclear war, Australia has been invaded.
I admit I found it hard to follow the story initially. However this has more to do with the fact that I didn’t read the first book, The Sky so Heavy, rather than any problem with the story itself.
In conclusion When We are Invisible is a novel for a teenage audience that is fairly interesting to read. It covers a fictional scenario which, considering the luck humanity has been having recently might end up coming to fruition.