not sure if the rating will stay the same (writing this pre-book club meeting). this was interesting. i was not entirely prepared for how dark this was going to get - especially coming from liang's latest book, this time it's real - or how morally grey the main character alice is. the premise of this is really cool, but i think the balance is a bit off. alice does some pretty horrible things throughout the story, although her intentions are good as she tries to pay for her education, yet her relationships with henry (her academic rival - she hates him, he has a crush on her) and her roommate attempt to paint her in a softer light that doesn't always feel genuine. i really liked henry as a character, but the romance didn't work with the grit of the main plotline. the discomfort and tension in the story were actually pretty fun to read - you want to justify alice's actions like she does, but it gets harder and harder to do as she gets more and more greedy. but at the end, she's just a teenage girl who wants things. the ending is definitely sugar coated and surely not what would actually happen - it doesn't match up with the rest of the story's tone and actions. the puzzle pieces just didn't fit. honestly would have enjoyed this more if it was just 1) a story about a girl who randomly turns invisible and has to learn about that lesson while also figuring things out with her rival-turned-crush and roommate or 2) a tense and complex story about a girl willing to do anything (including KIDNAP SOMEONE) for money and the place she wants in the world. doing both didn't work very well for me.