All the Invisible Things (2019)
A lovely story about a young woman growing up, discovering her bisexuality, and the importance of good friends.
Four years ago, Vetty Lake’s mother died, and she moved to the country with her sister and father. Now she’s back in London and struggling with life – being an older sister for Arial, reconnecting with her former best friend Pez, making new friends in London, realising she’s bisexual, and navigating the tricky world of teenage relationships.
She wants to start “living out loud”, being the best version of herself, but doesn’t know how to do that. She’s also struggling with the world’s expectations of young women, and how to deal with Arial approaching puberty and encountering the same expectations.
She used to be close with Pez, and they’d talk all the time, but they stopped talking when she left and a wall has come up between them. She’s initially jealous of his girlfriend, March, but then realises that she actually has a crush on her, and the two become good friends while working at the same cafe.
Pez and Vetty gradually open up to each other. Vetty talks about her struggles with her sexuality and being a surrogate mother to Arial; Pez tells Vetty how lonely he felt when she left, and his recent addiction to hardcore porn. The two reconnect and resolve to do better, but not before Pez is injured in a car accident.
It’s a charming story, and the misunderstandings and mistaken assumptions feel exactly like the sort of things that happen between teenagers.
The book ends with Vetty and Pez’s friendship restored, but I like that everything isn’t wrapped up in a neat bow. Pez is getting help for his addiction, but he’s not “fixed”. When she comes out to March, the two agree to stay friends, not start dating. Arial, Vetty, and their father still struggle with the absence of their mother. It feels a bit messy, which is what teenage life is like.
I read this cover to cover in a day, and I want to read the author’s other book.
Ephemera
Tucked in the front cover, I found a faded receipt for a loan in August 2023:
I could have removed it, but I left it in situ, same as I would any other piece of paper I found inside a book. I suspect I’m not the first person to see it and leave it there.
These loan receipts are an everyday feature of life in the library, and I used plenty of them as makeshift bookmarks, but nobody thinks about preserving “ordinary” things until they’re forgotten. I’ll be moving away from the Hertfordshire Library network soon come on, and I’m glad I was prompted to make a quick record of them before I go.
Quotes and highlights
Page 343:
Seriously, [Rob] says, catching up. I get why Pez thinks so much of you.’
I cross the road to the bus stop, where I look up, pretending to read the times, letting my breath settle before speaking again. ‘Well, that’s real nice of you and all, Rob, but it turns out, I wasn’t fully myself with you, so I’m not sure how much of me you’ve seen.’
‘Oh,’ he says, just as a number 24 bus pulls up.
I hop on, then quickly turn back. ‘You’re going to have to work hard to earn Pez’s trust again. He’s hurt, and no one could blame him, so give him space.’ I tap my Oyster card, staring down at Rob as he nods up from the kerb. ‘And, so you know, I’m not finished being angry with you,’ I say. ‘Not even close.’
Then, in another exquisitely timed move from London Transport, the doors shut in time with my mouth, whizzing me and my delicious last word towards home.