Invisible

by Pete Hautman

~Doug and Andy are unlikely best friends--one a loner obsessed by his model trains, the other a popular student involved in football and theater--who grew up together and share a bond that nothing can sever.~

~Doug Hanson is invisible--to the kids at school who ignore him and to the popular girl he obsesses over. As Doug tries to keep long-buried secrets hidden, the inner world he has carefully constructed threatens to crumble. In this chilling look inside the mind of a loner, Pete Hautman crafts a compelling novel that will have readers guessing until its explosive end.~

I used both of those summaries because I like how they seem to describe practically two different books. The latter is a bit more accurate except that this compelling novel had me guessing only until page 57. At that point I had pretty much figured it out. This caused only slight disappointment because I don't think this book is meant to be a mystery thriller. It is a look into the mind of a very disturbed young man. Although I knew by the halfway mark what waited for me at the end, I still wanted Hautman to take me down that path because his storytelling is, indeed, compelling.

As usual, Hautman's characterization is impressive. Doug and his parents are unique and skillfully realized. Also, chalk one up for good plot development. The second to the last chapter, "Derailed", was excellent, capturing the final desperate descent into madness. The last chapter, however, I'm not so sure about. I felt the pace was off and I think it had something to do with Andy appearing twice. There's great potential for a conclusion with serious impact, but Hautman fumbles around a little doesn't quite hit a bullseye. Strangely enough, I felt the same about his last work, Godless.