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“Wildly imaginative.”—The Washington Post
“Askaripour soars.”—The Boston Globe
A rallying cry for anyone who has ever felt invisible. A powerful, captivating novel about how far we’ll go to protect the ones we love, and what happens when we resist the narratives others write about us.
Welcome to the Northwestern Hemisphere, 2529. An equally exciting and terrifying world born from the ashes of our own, where almost half of people are born invisible, and thus relegated to second-class citizenship. Sweetmint, a young invisible woman, has done everything right her entire life, from excelling in school to landing a highly sought-after apprenticeship with a mysterious, powerful inventor. But all she has fought so hard to earn comes crashing down when she learns that her missing brother, whom she had presumed dead, is not only alive and well but also the primary suspect of a high-profile political murder.
Armed with nothing more than courage, intellect, and unwavering love for her brother, Sweetmint sets off on the mission of a lifetime: to find her brother before it’s too late. With five days until the hemisphere’s big election, Sweetmint must evade and outsmart all who aim to destroy her and her people, braving a world full of hard truths that many would rather remain hidden.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
July 9, 2024 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593869840
- File size: 440793 KB
- Duration: 15:18:18
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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May 13, 2024
In this ambitious sophomore novel, Askaripour (Black Buck) casts a young woman as a sorcerer’s apprentice in a dastardly scheme to “reset” the world. In 2529, Sweetmint is the first Invisible to work for the Northwestern Hemisphere’s Chief Architect, Tenmase, an elderly eccentric who has been instrumental in upholding apartheid policies that separate the Invisibles from the visible Dominant Peoples. Fast-thinking and a decent tennis player, Sweetmint impresses Tenmase, who shares with her his half-baked plan to remake Northwestern society. After someone murders Northwestern’s religious head honcho, suspicion falls on Sweetmint’s brother, Shanu, who disappeared several years earlier, and Sweetmint sets out on a dangerous quest to find and protect him. She must first locate the parents who abandoned her and Shanu as babies and then navigate a labyrinth of arcane alliances, including the Rainbow Girls (her former classmates who paint themselves visible so they can work as prostitutes) and underground rebels who call themselves Children of Slim. Meanwhile, two Local Managers vie to become Northwestern’s next Chief Executive, Tesmane’s real identity is revealed, and violence simmers between the Invisibles and the Dominant Peoples. Askaripour crafts a plot so intricate and twisty it occasionally leaves the reader on the sidelines. At it’s best, however, this energetic, speculative deconstruction of colonialism feels like watching an expert put together a 1000-piece jigsaw. -
African Caribbean dialect specialist Emana Rachelle introduces this immersive dystopian novel in a composed, intelligent tone. After 500 years of climate disasters, social unrest, and biological experimentation, an authoritarian society has arisen in the "Northwestern Hemisphere." It's divided between the DPs (dominant population) and a servant class of Invisibles, whose skin is translucent. An up-and-coming Invisible becomes torn between accepting a coveted engineering apprenticeship and searching for her beloved older brother, who has been accused of murder. The voices Rachelle gives the many characters evoke the feeling and rhythm of the American Old South. This ambiance accentuates the themes of racism and classism that are subtly but powerfully at the fore of this speculative thriller. B.P. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine -
December 6, 2024
Askaripour, award-winning author of the bestseller Black Buck, tries his hand at speculative science fiction that takes place 500 years in the future. The story follows invisible Sweetmint as she searches for her brother, who is the prime suspect in a political murder. In this dystopian world, minorities are invisible, and racism continually impacts their existence. Actor Emana Rachelle narrates the audiobook. Her voice is smooth and dynamic, but the dialogue characterizations are at times sing-songy, unconvincing, and cringeworthy. Clocking in at over 15 hours, this story has steam only in the first chapter. It begins quick-witted and fascinating, with the mother of the first invisible child, but then the plot jumps to a futuristic reality that is confusing, disjointed, and packed with racial allegories that give pause as they mimic present-day issues and problems. Overall, the futuristic plot is difficult to follow as a listener. VERDICT Though his debut was on point, this sophomore novel is a miss for an author who holds so much promise.--Sarah-Ruth Tasko
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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