The Schwa Was Here
by Neal Shusterman Calvin Schwa. They say his eyes change color to match the backround. They say that if you stare at him for long enough, you'll see through him. They say that his mother disappeared in the middle of a store. Anthony and his friends decide to test the Schwa Effect. They put nine students and The Schwa in a classroom, and send another kid in to count the kids. 4 out of 5 count nine. The Schwa goes in the bathroom, dressed as a cat, wearing an orange sombrero, and singing at the top of his lungs. The kids coming out remember that there was a weird kid in there, but not what he was wearing, and not what he was singing. The Schwa goes to the airport with an iron bar. No one notices him until the metal detector goes off. To capitalize on this phenomenon, The Schwa begins taking bets on the things he can do unnoticed, with Antsy as his manager. They rake in good money, until The Schwa is dared to steal a dog bowl from old Mr. Crawley, whom no one has ever seen and who has fourteen Afghans, but who weilds incredible power. The Schwa realizes he's in trouble when he sees that the dog bowls are all nailed to the floor.
A disablities note: this book features a blind character who owns a guide dog. Although the character's portrayal is mostly realistic, her account about aquiring the dog, and the other guide dogs shown, are not realistic. For one, it is unusual for children to own guidedogs.
Question: Would you want to be invisible? How about unnoticable?
Happy reading.
