Tilda Is Visible

Australian YA author Tara (the Lost Girls series) makes her adult debut with an uplifting novel about a middle-aged divorced woman who starts to disappear. When Tilda Finch, an accomplished businesswoman, notices that her right ear and the little finger on her right hand have vanished, she attends an Invisibility Support Group for women experiencing the same condition. The group’s misery is too much for her, though, and she turns to Visual Neurotherapy sessions, during which her popular but controversial therapist encourages her to view herself more positively by decluttering her apartment and moving on from her abusive marriage. At a café, Tilda meets Patrick, a handsome and charming blind man who takes a shine to her. After rekindling her interest in photography, she photographs her completely invisible friend Carol and finds that Carol is visible in the photo, fueling her hope that her own condition can be reversed. In another poignant scene, she discovers that her mother can fully see her (finger, ear, and all). Some readers will find the invisibility premise a bit on the nose, but Tara delivers her message about the power of a positive self-image without being didactic. Readers drawn to tidy, feel-good stories ought to take a look. Agent: Linda Kaplan, DeFiore and Co. (Feb.)