What do you think?
Rate this book
Things #3
Things That Are
Alicia may be blind, but that doesn't mean she can't see what is happening right in front of her eyes. Like how her parents try to give her freedom. Or how Bobby now Robert has returned to figure out their relationship. Or even the invisible man, William, and just how dangerous he is to Alicia, to Robert, to their whole family or so the police say. Or is Alicia wrong this time? If her normally sharp instincts are wrong, the results could be disastrous.From award-winning author Andrew Clements, here is a novel full of adventure, romance, and mystery, which at its heart is about trusting even things we know but cannot see.
176 pages, ebook
First published September 18, 2008
About the author
Andrew Clements
156 books2,324 followersI was born in Camden, New Jersey in 1949 and lived in Oaklyn and Cherry Hill until the middle of sixth grade. Then we moved to Springfield, Illinois. My parents were avid readers and they gave that love of books and reading to me and to all my brothers and sisters. I didn’t think about being a writer at all back then, but I did love to read. I'm certain there's a link between reading good books and becoming a writer. I don't know a single writer who wasn’t a reader first.
Before moving to Illinois, and even afterwards, our family spent summers at a cabin on a lake in Maine. There was no TV there, no phone, no doorbell—and email wasn’t even invented. All day there was time to swim and fish and mess around outside, and every night, there was time to read. I know those quiet summers helped me begin to think like a writer.
During my senior year at Springfield High School my English teacher handed back a poem I’d written. Two things were amazing about that paper. First, I’d gotten an A—a rare event in this teacher’s class. And she’d also written in large, scrawly red writing, “Andrew—this poem is so funny. This should be published!”
That praise sent me off to Northwestern University feeling like I was a pretty good writer, and occasionally professors there also encouraged me and complimented the essays I was required to write as a literature major. But I didn’t write much on my own—just some poetry now and then. I learned to play guitar and began writing songs, but again, only when I felt like it. Writing felt like hard work—something that’s still true today.
After the songwriting came my first job in publishing. I worked for a small publisher who specialized in how-to books, the kind of books that have photos with informative captions below each one. The book in which my name first appeared in print is called A Country Christmas Treasury. I’d built a number of the projects featured in the book, and I was listed as one of the “craftspeople”on the acknowlegements page, in tiny, tiny type.
In 1990 I began trying to write a story about a boy who makes up a new word. That book eventually became my first novel, Frindle, published in 1996, and you can read the whole story of how it developed on another web site, frindle.com. Frindle became popular, more popular than any of my books before or since—at least so far. And it had the eventual effect of turning me into a full-time writer.
I’ve learned that I need time and a quiet place to think and write. These days, I spend a lot of my time sitting in a small shed about seventy feet from my back door at our home in Massachusetts. There’s a woodstove in there for the cold winters, and an air conditioner for the hot summers. There’s a desk and chair, and I carry a laptop computer back and forth. But there’s no TV, no phone, no doorbell, no email. And the woodstove and the pine board walls make the place smell just like that cabin in Maine where I spent my earliest summers.
Sometimes kids ask how I've been able to write so many books. The answer is simple: one word at a time. Which is a good lesson, I think. You don't have to do everything at once. You don't have to know how every story is going to end. You just have to take that next step, look for that next idea, write that next word. And growing up, it's the same way. We just have to go to that next class, read that next chapter, help that next person. You simply have to do that next good thing, and before you know it, you're living a good life.
Before moving to Illinois, and even afterwards, our family spent summers at a cabin on a lake in Maine. There was no TV there, no phone, no doorbell—and email wasn’t even invented. All day there was time to swim and fish and mess around outside, and every night, there was time to read. I know those quiet summers helped me begin to think like a writer.
During my senior year at Springfield High School my English teacher handed back a poem I’d written. Two things were amazing about that paper. First, I’d gotten an A—a rare event in this teacher’s class. And she’d also written in large, scrawly red writing, “Andrew—this poem is so funny. This should be published!”
That praise sent me off to Northwestern University feeling like I was a pretty good writer, and occasionally professors there also encouraged me and complimented the essays I was required to write as a literature major. But I didn’t write much on my own—just some poetry now and then. I learned to play guitar and began writing songs, but again, only when I felt like it. Writing felt like hard work—something that’s still true today.
After the songwriting came my first job in publishing. I worked for a small publisher who specialized in how-to books, the kind of books that have photos with informative captions below each one. The book in which my name first appeared in print is called A Country Christmas Treasury. I’d built a number of the projects featured in the book, and I was listed as one of the “craftspeople”on the acknowlegements page, in tiny, tiny type.
In 1990 I began trying to write a story about a boy who makes up a new word. That book eventually became my first novel, Frindle, published in 1996, and you can read the whole story of how it developed on another web site, frindle.com. Frindle became popular, more popular than any of my books before or since—at least so far. And it had the eventual effect of turning me into a full-time writer.
I’ve learned that I need time and a quiet place to think and write. These days, I spend a lot of my time sitting in a small shed about seventy feet from my back door at our home in Massachusetts. There’s a woodstove in there for the cold winters, and an air conditioner for the hot summers. There’s a desk and chair, and I carry a laptop computer back and forth. But there’s no TV, no phone, no doorbell, no email. And the woodstove and the pine board walls make the place smell just like that cabin in Maine where I spent my earliest summers.
Sometimes kids ask how I've been able to write so many books. The answer is simple: one word at a time. Which is a good lesson, I think. You don't have to do everything at once. You don't have to know how every story is going to end. You just have to take that next step, look for that next idea, write that next word. And growing up, it's the same way. We just have to go to that next class, read that next chapter, help that next person. You simply have to do that next good thing, and before you know it, you're living a good life.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 198 reviews
October 19, 2008
Aha. So this book is apparently a sequel, which mostly explains why I didn't enjoy this book.
Good: I could almost sense what blindness was like for the main character. Her actions are well-described, focusing on sounds and shapes, and this gave her a charisma that was lacking in her personality.
Bad: When Andrew Clements introduced characters, he would half-explain why they were showing up, which was more like a half-apology to those who hadn't read the first book. The book was poorly paced, dragging out the awkward suspense, and then screeching to an unfulfilling halt. What the heck?
Good: I could almost sense what blindness was like for the main character. Her actions are well-described, focusing on sounds and shapes, and this gave her a charisma that was lacking in her personality.
Bad: When Andrew Clements introduced characters, he would half-explain why they were showing up, which was more like a half-apology to those who hadn't read the first book. The book was poorly paced, dragging out the awkward suspense, and then screeching to an unfulfilling halt. What the heck?
Read
April 6, 2017this book is from the point of veiw of Alicia and she cannot see, she is blind. bobby is very nice and helpful. another man named william wont leave them alone. i liked this book because, it is so realistic that it could be realistic fiction but it is actually fantasy. i liked how everyone worked together to solve their problems. i dont like how the book just ended, i feel like so much more could have happened. i also dont like the ending. there wasnt much action either.
July 28, 2013
So I start the beginning of the end of a trilogy by saying that I read the first two books in the series when I was younger - I remembered the first one, not the second one, and I know I definitely didn't read the third one.
I stand by my original statement that this should've been kept as a standalone with Things Not Seen. Yes, the later books went more in-depth regarding other people who'd turned invisible, but everything else was just extra material tacked on to the first book.
There's a long plot where everything works out in the end, even though this is shorter than the other books. It drags on, and the ending is kind of disappointing considering how much the book took to set up.
I was also annoyed because the narrator of this book was my favorite of the series, but she came across as so whiny here. Every other thought is about her boyfriend or her doing a back-and-forth in her head, which got super old.
If you have to read anything in the series, make it the first one. It doesn't really get better than that.
I stand by my original statement that this should've been kept as a standalone with Things Not Seen. Yes, the later books went more in-depth regarding other people who'd turned invisible, but everything else was just extra material tacked on to the first book.
There's a long plot where everything works out in the end, even though this is shorter than the other books. It drags on, and the ending is kind of disappointing considering how much the book took to set up.
I was also annoyed because the narrator of this book was my favorite of the series, but she came across as so whiny here. Every other thought is about her boyfriend or her doing a back-and-forth in her head, which got super old.
If you have to read anything in the series, make it the first one. It doesn't really get better than that.
September 17, 2009
A good series closer, but still not quite up-to-par with "Things Not Seen."
For the final book of the trilogy, narration turns to Alicia. I thought this would be a super-exciting viewpoint to hear from, but surprisingly Clements didn't get as creative as I expected with Alicia's blindness and strong personality. More was focused on Alicia accepting and overcoming her blindness through emotional will than on how she actually perceived the world.
I liked how her relationship with Bobby progressed, and while her feelings and worries sometimes seemed exaggerated, they were real. I didn't expect the direction the invisibility plotline took; I thought there'd be more action involved with the resolution. Still, while the emotion in this book wasn't quite as strong as the first or even the second, it was still strong enough to move me. It was a good conclusion, but the truest book of this series for me will always be the first.
For the final book of the trilogy, narration turns to Alicia. I thought this would be a super-exciting viewpoint to hear from, but surprisingly Clements didn't get as creative as I expected with Alicia's blindness and strong personality. More was focused on Alicia accepting and overcoming her blindness through emotional will than on how she actually perceived the world.
I liked how her relationship with Bobby progressed, and while her feelings and worries sometimes seemed exaggerated, they were real. I didn't expect the direction the invisibility plotline took; I thought there'd be more action involved with the resolution. Still, while the emotion in this book wasn't quite as strong as the first or even the second, it was still strong enough to move me. It was a good conclusion, but the truest book of this series for me will always be the first.
August 31, 2009
Beauty is truth, truth beauty
John Keats wrote that, and he got it right.
But truth is also a stone-cold killer. It kills the lies. All of them. Dead.
Things Not Seen was Bobby's story, Things Hoped for was Gwen's story and Things That Are is Alicia's story.
Alicia, who played a significant role in the first book and brief role in the second, is the voice for this third "things" book. Alicia, who became blind several years before she met Bobby, has been a favorite character in this series. Readers are finally able to experience how Alicia "sees" the world around her. I like that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is mentioned.
Things That Are, like Things Not Seen, is set in Chicago and picks up where Things Hoped For left off. Bobby is just returning from his New York auditions and Alicia is a little worried about all the time he spent with Gwen and how it will affect their relationship. Some of the reoccurring words which become themes in this book include: We, Us, Reality, Are, See and Lies.
A few surprises involving invisibility are contained in the pages of this book. While I am going to openly admit that this is my least favorite book of the three, I still loved it and would welcome future installments.
Read six times
Related Works: The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, Recursion
Favorite Passages:
I got so angry at Bobby when I first met him. He told me he was invisible. I thought he was mocking me. Because I'd been struggling with that word. And that feeling. Invisible.
Because blindness tries to make everything disappear - friends, family, life, self.
But Bobby wasn't mocking me. He wasn't being metaphorical. Or metaphysical. All that came later.
_______
I'm facing facts, facing reality. My reality, my life.
Like the blindness. For me, it's just the way things are.
_______
Beauty is truth, truth beauty
John Keats wrote that, and he got it right.
But truth is also a stone-cold killer. It kills the lies. All of them. Dead.
And my beauty, my love, my future, my dreams?
How many of them will turn out to be lies?
_______
"Sooner or later, reality occurs."
_______
Friend.
It's a bright word, and I hold it tight.
_______
And the way things are at the moment is rotten.
Because that feeling I've been having, that everything's at risk? It's not a feeling anymore. It's a certainty.
_______
But disembodied voices are nothing new to me.
_______
I make my mind be still.
I make my mind make my body be still.
I breathe. Long, deep breaths.
And then I listen to my heart.
Not the thumping one. My other heart.
The heart that knows the deep things.
The heart that knows that the light is real.
The heart that knows the darkness is only lights absence.
The heart that has already recovered from sadness far deeper than this.
_______
But past experience does not make a skinny, naked, invisible Englishman any less weird. Or disturbing.
_______
- maybe I should have included that as a skill on my college applications: Perfectly at ease with invisible people.
_______
And the more I think about the man, the less I trust him. There was something in his voice that scared me. Maybe the desperation. Because a person who's truly desperate can be dangerous. And dishonest. And volatile.
_______
And for anyone who sees the world as an us-and-them sort of place, invisibility offers and irresistible power.
_______
My life depends on knowing exactly where everything is.
Which is another reason that William's arrival is so upsetting. The newness, the unpredictability - that's almost more troubling than the invisibility. Because he's in our orbit now, mine and Bobby's, floating around like an asteroid or a chunk of space debris. Something else to bump into.
_______
No matter how surreal things get, I'm still me. I know that. Who I am and what I am does not change, does not disappear, does not fade away.
_______
_______
"Secrets never stay that way. And advantages tend to get misused."
_______
I feel my way back and slump into the chair. And I have my face in my hands, crying real tears.
But it's more than that.
Because I feel the weight of all these interlocking secrets pressing down and down and down, crushing the breath out of me. And my secrets - all the things I need to say to Bobby? Also crushed. Slowly suffocating.
And I feel like other things are dying - other things, like dreams, hopes, love - life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Dying one by one.
And I feel like everything is . . . disposable. And a line of poetry jumps into my mind, with a mousy twist: This is the way the world ends, not with a bang, or a whimper, but a squeak.
_______
I'm already gone. Henny . . . Penny.
Okay. Point taken. The sky is not falling.
And maybe this is not the absolute end of the world.
And if we're using Mother Goose metaphors now, then I think it's fair to say that Humpty Dumpty has had a great fall. And all the king's horses and all the king's men need help putting things back together.
And they have no idea where to begin.
Which describes my situation perfectly.
_______
I want to tell the truth. Because sooner or later, reality occurs.
_______
The door closes, and they're gone. But they've left behind a new kind of fear.
_______
Oh, Buttercup . . . I see the pink bunnies . . .
_______
Clarity, Buttercup. Clarity is crucial.
_______
...no one wants to be alone. Including William. And even Shelia. Because alone is not the same as free.
_______
Nakedness and frozen leather upholstery has to be a bad combination.
______
Because sooner or later, reality does occur, and when it does, all the lies show up.
Like blood on snow.
_______
"Little Miss Paranoid."
_______
And I hate how angry I am, because this is the kind of rage that murder is made of.
_______
If only the blue big sanitation truck could pull up once a week and haul all the bad stuff away forever. So that the future would be all hunky-dory, all comfy-domfy, all cheery-deary.
_______
And I'm hoping with all my heart that he gets his second chance. I think he deserves it.
Because it's what we all need. We all need second chances, then third, fourth, on and on. All the fresh starts we an find.
_______
But I don't want Gwen to be part of this night. Because we're balanced on this tiny pinpoint of time, just the two of us now. And before our parents reclaim us, before the man in the guest room wakes up, before some officer knocks on the door, we need to make the most of this night. This is our night. Ours.
John Keats wrote that, and he got it right.
But truth is also a stone-cold killer. It kills the lies. All of them. Dead.
Things Not Seen was Bobby's story, Things Hoped for was Gwen's story and Things That Are is Alicia's story.
Alicia, who played a significant role in the first book and brief role in the second, is the voice for this third "things" book. Alicia, who became blind several years before she met Bobby, has been a favorite character in this series. Readers are finally able to experience how Alicia "sees" the world around her. I like that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is mentioned.
Things That Are, like Things Not Seen, is set in Chicago and picks up where Things Hoped For left off. Bobby is just returning from his New York auditions and Alicia is a little worried about all the time he spent with Gwen and how it will affect their relationship. Some of the reoccurring words which become themes in this book include: We, Us, Reality, Are, See and Lies.
A few surprises involving invisibility are contained in the pages of this book. While I am going to openly admit that this is my least favorite book of the three, I still loved it and would welcome future installments.
Read six times
Related Works: The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, Recursion
Favorite Passages:
I got so angry at Bobby when I first met him. He told me he was invisible. I thought he was mocking me. Because I'd been struggling with that word. And that feeling. Invisible.
Because blindness tries to make everything disappear - friends, family, life, self.
But Bobby wasn't mocking me. He wasn't being metaphorical. Or metaphysical. All that came later.
_______
I'm facing facts, facing reality. My reality, my life.
Like the blindness. For me, it's just the way things are.
_______
Beauty is truth, truth beauty
John Keats wrote that, and he got it right.
But truth is also a stone-cold killer. It kills the lies. All of them. Dead.
And my beauty, my love, my future, my dreams?
How many of them will turn out to be lies?
_______
"Sooner or later, reality occurs."
_______
Friend.
It's a bright word, and I hold it tight.
_______
And the way things are at the moment is rotten.
Because that feeling I've been having, that everything's at risk? It's not a feeling anymore. It's a certainty.
_______
But disembodied voices are nothing new to me.
_______
I make my mind be still.
I make my mind make my body be still.
I breathe. Long, deep breaths.
And then I listen to my heart.
Not the thumping one. My other heart.
The heart that knows the deep things.
The heart that knows that the light is real.
The heart that knows the darkness is only lights absence.
The heart that has already recovered from sadness far deeper than this.
_______
But past experience does not make a skinny, naked, invisible Englishman any less weird. Or disturbing.
_______
- maybe I should have included that as a skill on my college applications: Perfectly at ease with invisible people.
_______
And the more I think about the man, the less I trust him. There was something in his voice that scared me. Maybe the desperation. Because a person who's truly desperate can be dangerous. And dishonest. And volatile.
_______
And for anyone who sees the world as an us-and-them sort of place, invisibility offers and irresistible power.
_______
My life depends on knowing exactly where everything is.
Which is another reason that William's arrival is so upsetting. The newness, the unpredictability - that's almost more troubling than the invisibility. Because he's in our orbit now, mine and Bobby's, floating around like an asteroid or a chunk of space debris. Something else to bump into.
_______
No matter how surreal things get, I'm still me. I know that. Who I am and what I am does not change, does not disappear, does not fade away.
_______
_______
"Secrets never stay that way. And advantages tend to get misused."
_______
I feel my way back and slump into the chair. And I have my face in my hands, crying real tears.
But it's more than that.
Because I feel the weight of all these interlocking secrets pressing down and down and down, crushing the breath out of me. And my secrets - all the things I need to say to Bobby? Also crushed. Slowly suffocating.
And I feel like other things are dying - other things, like dreams, hopes, love - life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Dying one by one.
And I feel like everything is . . . disposable. And a line of poetry jumps into my mind, with a mousy twist: This is the way the world ends, not with a bang, or a whimper, but a squeak.
_______
I'm already gone. Henny . . . Penny.
Okay. Point taken. The sky is not falling.
And maybe this is not the absolute end of the world.
And if we're using Mother Goose metaphors now, then I think it's fair to say that Humpty Dumpty has had a great fall. And all the king's horses and all the king's men need help putting things back together.
And they have no idea where to begin.
Which describes my situation perfectly.
_______
I want to tell the truth. Because sooner or later, reality occurs.
_______
The door closes, and they're gone. But they've left behind a new kind of fear.
_______
Oh, Buttercup . . . I see the pink bunnies . . .
_______
Clarity, Buttercup. Clarity is crucial.
_______
...no one wants to be alone. Including William. And even Shelia. Because alone is not the same as free.
_______
Nakedness and frozen leather upholstery has to be a bad combination.
______
Because sooner or later, reality does occur, and when it does, all the lies show up.
Like blood on snow.
_______
"Little Miss Paranoid."
_______
And I hate how angry I am, because this is the kind of rage that murder is made of.
_______
If only the blue big sanitation truck could pull up once a week and haul all the bad stuff away forever. So that the future would be all hunky-dory, all comfy-domfy, all cheery-deary.
_______
And I'm hoping with all my heart that he gets his second chance. I think he deserves it.
Because it's what we all need. We all need second chances, then third, fourth, on and on. All the fresh starts we an find.
_______
But I don't want Gwen to be part of this night. Because we're balanced on this tiny pinpoint of time, just the two of us now. And before our parents reclaim us, before the man in the guest room wakes up, before some officer knocks on the door, we need to make the most of this night. This is our night. Ours.
April 26, 2010
I guess I could create a new shelf for CRAP and shelve this there, but it is not worth it. Cripes what a bad book. If I tried to fake my way through some sort of what-if pseudo sci-fi thing by just fudging the science because I don't know anything about science, and I wanted to throw in this stupid cheesy boring pukey prepubescent love story, even I could probably have written this book. I'm so ticked I wasted those hours of my life listening to this even if I was trapped in my car the whole time. I could have been listening to AM Radio or commercials or that one Mexican station that has that Mexican leprechaun guy squealing dirty jokes with the DJs on the morning show or I could have listened to public radio fund raising or that one show on 100.3 where the young people call and ask dr. dan or whoever about their sex problems.
My ears are officially clawed out. I would have given it zero stars but the blind girl (who talks to the invisible people (who are invisible because of reversed polarity in electric blankets pairing with freak instance of solar flares) and cries when her dad puts the invisible mice down the garbage disposal) had a cool German shepherd guide dog who I really liked. Only likeable character in the whole book. Gerty. The dog's name was Gerty. She was real smart and nice and I bet real pretty too only blind girl of course couldn't see her so she couldn't be described looks-wise.
My ears are officially clawed out. I would have given it zero stars but the blind girl (who talks to the invisible people (who are invisible because of reversed polarity in electric blankets pairing with freak instance of solar flares) and cries when her dad puts the invisible mice down the garbage disposal) had a cool German shepherd guide dog who I really liked. Only likeable character in the whole book. Gerty. The dog's name was Gerty. She was real smart and nice and I bet real pretty too only blind girl of course couldn't see her so she couldn't be described looks-wise.
June 8, 2023
"Things That Are" was an okay book but, I felt like it didn't really need to be written (that sounds bad). But it just didn't really tie into the story line and I just felt like it was an add on just because people liked the first book. It was just an average book.
December 11, 2022
Things That Are by Andrew Clements
167-page Hardback
Things #3
Genre: Young Adult > Teen; Science Fiction, Mystery, Fantasy, Children's > Middle Grade; Realistic Fiction, Romance
Featuring: Chicago, Illinois; New York City, New York; Teen MC, Blindness, Titled Chapters, Mild Violence - off camera, Inner Dialogue, TW Animal Cruelty
Rating as a movie: PG-13 for adult situations
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
My thoughts: 📖 Page 38 of 167 Ch. 5 - Not too exciting so far.
📖 146 Ch. 19 - This plot is kind of weak. I'm this close to the end and not loving the story.
3 stars were generous. The wasn't much of a plot and there were lots of loose ends, mainly the MC arguing with herself was overdone and annoying.
Recommend to others?: Maybe. If you start it you might as well finish but honestly, these 2 books didn't add much to the story.
167-page Hardback
Things #3
Genre: Young Adult > Teen; Science Fiction, Mystery, Fantasy, Children's > Middle Grade; Realistic Fiction, Romance
Featuring: Chicago, Illinois; New York City, New York; Teen MC, Blindness, Titled Chapters, Mild Violence - off camera, Inner Dialogue, TW Animal Cruelty
Rating as a movie: PG-13 for adult situations
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
My thoughts: 📖 Page 38 of 167 Ch. 5 - Not too exciting so far.
📖 146 Ch. 19 - This plot is kind of weak. I'm this close to the end and not loving the story.
3 stars were generous. The wasn't much of a plot and there were lots of loose ends, mainly the MC arguing with herself was overdone and annoying.
Recommend to others?: Maybe. If you start it you might as well finish but honestly, these 2 books didn't add much to the story.
February 25, 2026
One thing I forget about reading middle grade/ YA books, is that in order for anything cool to happen, the parents have to be stupid, apathetic, or dead.
In this case, the answer was stupid. Though the parents were physicists they couldn’t seem to pick up on the fact that these kids are absolutely lying to them.
The book ends up being more about accepting the things that happen to you and less about invisibility. Which is a wild choice but somehow it works. Clements is just really good at telling a story that’s about something other than what the book is about.
Really enjoyed it despite its flaws.
In this case, the answer was stupid. Though the parents were physicists they couldn’t seem to pick up on the fact that these kids are absolutely lying to them.
The book ends up being more about accepting the things that happen to you and less about invisibility. Which is a wild choice but somehow it works. Clements is just really good at telling a story that’s about something other than what the book is about.
Really enjoyed it despite its flaws.
November 20, 2022
I’d honestly say about 3.5-3.7 stars, not a bad book, better then the second book, not as good as the first. It was good just kinda lacking action and purpose to the story.
May 22, 2023
This book had my attention in the first part of the book and than lost my attention for the rest of the book. I have enjoyed others by this author but this one just wasn’t one of my favorites though.
August 18, 2014
A lot of backtracking in the beginning, and a lot of repetition throughout. I listened to the audiobook as the local library had no text copy. This was fine, though it did make the necessary skimming (to skip the backtracking and repetition) a bit of a different chore, and perhaps leading to some gaps in my knowledge of the events of the book. I would skip the 3 or 4 minute tracks, finding that I could quickly figure out whether or not to skip again. I don't think I missed as much as I would if the tracks were longer. Also, this audiobook has me thinking of more audiobooks, to listen to during work!
The character Alicia is an interesting one, always has been. So I'm glad this one's focused on her. She usually has a stern self-reliance and a strong character with experiences that have given her the kind of confidence she needs to ensure her space is well-defended. Unfortunately, she weakens around Robert and other men, like her father, who engages in 'independence training' by ordering her to do things. It's no wonder she's so easily manipulated by various men, but easily lies to and firmly questions FBI women. Same goes for all the women characters in this trilogy, it seems.
At one time, Alicia and Robert discover their fathers have been experimenting invisibility on certain test-animals. Alicia's father goes through this self-righteous speech about the necessity of testing and how terrorism and shit, and when he finds out the FBI is watching them, he goes on another self-righteous rant about the necessity of mass-murdering these test animals for security and liberty and hoo-rah he's an american. Robert, in a rare moment of insensitive stupidity, agrees with this murderous irrational nonsense, and apparently even joins in. Alicia is subsequently traumatized. For freedom.
At one point there is a scene in which they order dinner delivered to them. Alicia uses the 's' word with regard to hunger, a use I find extremely, perpetually insulting and unnecessary. Unlike Things #2, there isn't nearly as much fixation on meals, bodies, and so on. This is exchanged for Alicia's intense obsession with Robert.
While this may partly be due to her isolation from social life, and the constant interruptions against her ability to communicate her liking to Robert, it's not presented as if these are the reasons. So, it's more of an annoyance and skippable material than any growing understanding of her character and her relational needs.
The ending was fairly unsatisfying except for the resolved sense of self Alicia gains, and overall I think Things #2 and 3 are unnecessary. I don't think it's possible sequels like these, with the structure fixated on continuing old stories, can possibly completely satisfy readers. Especially me. There is far more possibility in the theme of invisibility, and the author instead settles on thematic redundancy, repetition, and boring stories which don't really branch to anywhere.
The character Alicia is an interesting one, always has been. So I'm glad this one's focused on her. She usually has a stern self-reliance and a strong character with experiences that have given her the kind of confidence she needs to ensure her space is well-defended. Unfortunately, she weakens around Robert and other men, like her father, who engages in 'independence training' by ordering her to do things. It's no wonder she's so easily manipulated by various men, but easily lies to and firmly questions FBI women. Same goes for all the women characters in this trilogy, it seems.
At one time, Alicia and Robert discover their fathers have been experimenting invisibility on certain test-animals. Alicia's father goes through this self-righteous speech about the necessity of testing and how terrorism and shit, and when he finds out the FBI is watching them, he goes on another self-righteous rant about the necessity of mass-murdering these test animals for security and liberty and hoo-rah he's an american. Robert, in a rare moment of insensitive stupidity, agrees with this murderous irrational nonsense, and apparently even joins in. Alicia is subsequently traumatized. For freedom.
At one point there is a scene in which they order dinner delivered to them. Alicia uses the 's' word with regard to hunger, a use I find extremely, perpetually insulting and unnecessary. Unlike Things #2, there isn't nearly as much fixation on meals, bodies, and so on. This is exchanged for Alicia's intense obsession with Robert.
While this may partly be due to her isolation from social life, and the constant interruptions against her ability to communicate her liking to Robert, it's not presented as if these are the reasons. So, it's more of an annoyance and skippable material than any growing understanding of her character and her relational needs.
The ending was fairly unsatisfying except for the resolved sense of self Alicia gains, and overall I think Things #2 and 3 are unnecessary. I don't think it's possible sequels like these, with the structure fixated on continuing old stories, can possibly completely satisfy readers. Especially me. There is far more possibility in the theme of invisibility, and the author instead settles on thematic redundancy, repetition, and boring stories which don't really branch to anywhere.
June 7, 2013
This is a story about addressing fear. Alicia faces some very serious situations...but none of them have any consequences. Lying to her parents about sleeping over at a boy's house, choosing inaction in regard to her questions about she and Bobby's relationship status, lying to the FBI(!) and inviting a suspicious stranger into her home. Based on the book's title, maybe the message was about not getting fearful in a way that spirals out of control, but rather to look at things how they are? Maybe. Not sure the story really supports that. Ultimately, though the story is about addressing fear, the main character never really has to make any big, bold decisions or is called to action...other than her baffling decision to let a suspicious stranger who threatened her boyfriend into her home...or lying to authority figures for lack of a better idea.
The best parts were reading about the ways Alicia experiences blindness. (My guess is the author's interest in writing from a blind perspective was the reason this book got written. I wish the story had been better to support this quest.) But most of the book was the sci-fi stuff regarding invisibility (my least favorite part of the first book in the series) and how to deal with William, the British invisible guy (my least favorite part of the second book in the series). Mostly consisting of hand wringing about Bobby, Alicia's internal conflict is uninteresting, especially in comparison to some of the very real places the other two books in this series go. To make matters worse, Alicia has inner-dialogue with a voice in her head that I found trite, annoying (Why was a voice in her head calling her pet names that annoyed her?) and a sloppy way for the character to sort-of-but-not-quite address her fears.
As a piece of fluff fiction for a beginning reader, maybe this is good. As a concluding chapter of this sometimes powerful trilogy about solitary characters finding their own voice and courage, it is a disappointing and mismatched ending that never really goes anywhere deep.
All this being said, this is the only Andrew Clement's book of the five I've read so far that I did not enjoy.
The best parts were reading about the ways Alicia experiences blindness. (My guess is the author's interest in writing from a blind perspective was the reason this book got written. I wish the story had been better to support this quest.) But most of the book was the sci-fi stuff regarding invisibility (my least favorite part of the first book in the series) and how to deal with William, the British invisible guy (my least favorite part of the second book in the series). Mostly consisting of hand wringing about Bobby, Alicia's internal conflict is uninteresting, especially in comparison to some of the very real places the other two books in this series go. To make matters worse, Alicia has inner-dialogue with a voice in her head that I found trite, annoying (Why was a voice in her head calling her pet names that annoyed her?) and a sloppy way for the character to sort-of-but-not-quite address her fears.
As a piece of fluff fiction for a beginning reader, maybe this is good. As a concluding chapter of this sometimes powerful trilogy about solitary characters finding their own voice and courage, it is a disappointing and mismatched ending that never really goes anywhere deep.
All this being said, this is the only Andrew Clement's book of the five I've read so far that I did not enjoy.
January 13, 2016
Things That Are by Andrew Clements was a great book in a wonderful series. This includes the two previous books, Things Not Seen and Things Hoped For. This book was a great ending to this amazing series. You definitely should read the second book, Things Hoped For, before reading this book. I also recommend reading the first book, Things Not Seen. I personally loved both of the other books which is why I was so happy to find out there was a third book in the series. I started reading this book as soon as I could!
This third book resolved a part of the second book that was sort of unfinished, which is why you have to read that book first, unlike the second and first books. **NOTE: SKIP TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU DON’T WANT THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS SPOILED**. It picks up with William (another person that turned invisible from the second book) coming to where Bobby and Alicia live. To what extremes will William go to be visible again, and will Bobby and Alicia help them?
This book was a very interesting book. Instead of coming from Bobby’s perspective (the main character from the first book), it came from Alicia’s perspective (a blind girl that was also in the other books). I enjoyed this a lot because she can’t just say what she’s seeing since she’s blind. She has to imagine it and think about it. She had to rely on her thoughts to create a mental picture. This was shown in multiple parts of the book such as this part: "And every morning I learn I’m blind all over again. That’s the cruel part. I open my eyes and stare: darkness, but not the night sky. It’s a wall, dull and blackish brown, and very near. No sun, no stars, no moon" (Clements 8). This made it easy to feel what she felt because of how much she showed it. I loved this different perspective. Alicia’s blindness not only shows us the theme that some things aren’t changeable and that we have to just accept things, but it also shows how there may be a block in the road, but we have to overcome it.
I hate to see this series come to an end, but all great things must stop eventually. This book and this series was amazing. I hope you read all of these wonderful books if you haven’t already!
This third book resolved a part of the second book that was sort of unfinished, which is why you have to read that book first, unlike the second and first books. **NOTE: SKIP TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU DON’T WANT THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS SPOILED**. It picks up with William (another person that turned invisible from the second book) coming to where Bobby and Alicia live. To what extremes will William go to be visible again, and will Bobby and Alicia help them?
This book was a very interesting book. Instead of coming from Bobby’s perspective (the main character from the first book), it came from Alicia’s perspective (a blind girl that was also in the other books). I enjoyed this a lot because she can’t just say what she’s seeing since she’s blind. She has to imagine it and think about it. She had to rely on her thoughts to create a mental picture. This was shown in multiple parts of the book such as this part: "And every morning I learn I’m blind all over again. That’s the cruel part. I open my eyes and stare: darkness, but not the night sky. It’s a wall, dull and blackish brown, and very near. No sun, no stars, no moon" (Clements 8). This made it easy to feel what she felt because of how much she showed it. I loved this different perspective. Alicia’s blindness not only shows us the theme that some things aren’t changeable and that we have to just accept things, but it also shows how there may be a block in the road, but we have to overcome it.
I hate to see this series come to an end, but all great things must stop eventually. This book and this series was amazing. I hope you read all of these wonderful books if you haven’t already!
February 22, 2009
Good thing this was a fast read, because I would never have finished it. I think Clements just fell flat on his face with this one. I realized that he was trying to do a metaphor surrounding 'seeing', connected with growing up, but it just didn't work for me.
The plot of a HS girl having done blind, with a boy friend who one day had awakened to discover he was invisible, and two scientist dads who try to figure out why, and a mysterious stranger who is also invisible, and the FBI, and, and, and, was just so unplausible it was kind of laughable.
I felt as if Clements kept writing himself into a corner, and then would suddenly pull a literary rabbit out to explain things. The story didn't unfold well, and frankly, I never saw the metaphor working. I also didn't like the interior conversations that Alicia would have - they weren't placed well, and were not that consistent. Clements was trying to do a good angel/bad angel on your shoulder kind of thing with it, but it came off kind of lame. The only thing that felt at all real was Alicia's feelings for Bobby, and how that all unfolded. But even their conversations were a little contrived in my mind.
I think Clements should stick to juvenile level books - his "No Talking" was a gem.
The plot of a HS girl having done blind, with a boy friend who one day had awakened to discover he was invisible, and two scientist dads who try to figure out why, and a mysterious stranger who is also invisible, and the FBI, and, and, and, was just so unplausible it was kind of laughable.
I felt as if Clements kept writing himself into a corner, and then would suddenly pull a literary rabbit out to explain things. The story didn't unfold well, and frankly, I never saw the metaphor working. I also didn't like the interior conversations that Alicia would have - they weren't placed well, and were not that consistent. Clements was trying to do a good angel/bad angel on your shoulder kind of thing with it, but it came off kind of lame. The only thing that felt at all real was Alicia's feelings for Bobby, and how that all unfolded. But even their conversations were a little contrived in my mind.
I think Clements should stick to juvenile level books - his "No Talking" was a gem.
October 9, 2009
Any book that has the father of the main character kill mice down a garbage disposal is beyond the pale. This seemed entirely gratuitous and not integral to the plot of this book. As a rodent-tender, I found this repellent. And if there are readers who don't like drugging dogs, get ready for that as well.
The first half of this book is taken up with the inner dialogue of the main character. Her mental self-blather is repetitive and whiny. Plus she has another voice in her head that taunts her. I don't think that if any of us could "hear" what is going on in the brain of another person that this would be in the least interesting. This character proves the point.
About halfway through the novel something finally starts to happen. The concept of accidental invisibility is intriguing and the details are well-handled. The juxtaposition of the one character being blind and another invisibile generates contrast. The mental diarrhea of the main character is kept more in check but still annoyingly manifests itself periodically.
I cannot recommend a book with rodenticide.
The first half of this book is taken up with the inner dialogue of the main character. Her mental self-blather is repetitive and whiny. Plus she has another voice in her head that taunts her. I don't think that if any of us could "hear" what is going on in the brain of another person that this would be in the least interesting. This character proves the point.
About halfway through the novel something finally starts to happen. The concept of accidental invisibility is intriguing and the details are well-handled. The juxtaposition of the one character being blind and another invisibile generates contrast. The mental diarrhea of the main character is kept more in check but still annoyingly manifests itself periodically.
I cannot recommend a book with rodenticide.
April 1, 2021
Things That Are
There wasn’t much I actually liked about this book considering the first book was so good. In my opinion, Clements desperately tried to continue the series but had not much to write about in this story. He’s basically covering the same ground as his other books. There was too much overlapping in this story like the invisible people YOU ALREADY COVERED THIS IN THE FIRST STORY like why are you still doing this? You’ve already got a blind person (Alicia) and you still need an invisible person? You should just stick to Alicia; she's BLIND not INVISIBLE. The reason why this book isn’t that good is because of too much overlapping.
There wasn’t much I actually liked about this book considering the first book was so good. In my opinion, Clements desperately tried to continue the series but had not much to write about in this story. He’s basically covering the same ground as his other books. There was too much overlapping in this story like the invisible people YOU ALREADY COVERED THIS IN THE FIRST STORY like why are you still doing this? You’ve already got a blind person (Alicia) and you still need an invisible person? You should just stick to Alicia; she's BLIND not INVISIBLE. The reason why this book isn’t that good is because of too much overlapping.
February 16, 2015
For Alicia who is blind, “every step is an exercise in faith,” but there is also danger. Now her friend Bobby might be in danger. He is being followed an invisible man named William and the FBI is following William. Three years ago when they were fifteen, Bobby became invisible but Alicia helped him figure out how to be visible again. Now they might both be in danger for the secrets that they know about turning invisible.
This is a continuation of Things Not Seen, which I skimmed when Lindsey read it for school.
This is a continuation of Things Not Seen, which I skimmed when Lindsey read it for school.
December 19, 2016
A touching conclusion to Andrew Clement's Things trilogy. This time the perspective is from Alicia, Bobby's long time more than friend who has been there for him when most needed. This novel covers the struggles she has gone through since her blindness and her feelings about Bobby and growing up. I'm not sure that I loved the change up of Williams character from the last book to now but I do like the way everything came together in the end.
April 17, 2010
If I could give a book zero stars, I would for this one. I have no idea how it got published. The relationship between the two main characters is so weak, the romance part is pathetic, there is no plot, and I can go on and on. He really should have stopped at the first book "Things Not Seen."
November 24, 2018
I’ve read this book numerous times and love it every time. The sci-fi feel and mysteriousness (is that a word) is so engaging and you just want to keep turning the pages!
May 9, 2023
Unfortunately I was expecting more from this book since it was going to be from the point of view of an actual relevant character, Alicia. I liked Alicia in the first novel, and I liked this air of mystery yet smartness about her, with her story about her blindness. Unfortunately, Things That Are is just as bland and meaningless as Things Hoped For. This book completely negates almost everything that happened in Things Hoped For. In fact, with a few sentence changes, the second book is completely negated. I don't understand why we were introduced to Gwen, who doesn't play any role in this book (minus giving Alicia a little jealousy because of her relationship with Bobby) and William (who turns from evil convict to redeemable guy to dog poisoner to hm, maybe he's not so bad after all - plus his name is actually James, who knew?). Like, so many things are just pulled out of thin air. I may be forgetting this detail but I don't remember Bobby being a star trumpeter, which is apparently a big thing and his career aspiration in Things Hoped For. And why was Bobby and Alicia's relationship negated in this book? It seems like Andrew Clements initially had them securely together (seriously, it had been 2 whole years since the events of Things Not Seen) as boyfriend and girlfriend, but suddenly, no, they're just...really close friends. Maybe he wanted some thrilling romantic kiss in Things That Are, and okay, it's a nice scene, but come on. I know these books are made for kids but I think kids are smart enough to read some decent plot and character arcs. With a series of three books there was plenty of room for growth and development but William/James's character arc was shoved into like 30 pages at the end with absolutely no foreshadowing. It still creeps me out how he tried to get so close with Bobby and Alicia, while NAKED (which the author never fails to highlight) and yes, adults can be friends with children, but him and Alicia's acquaintanceship was just odd. I don't like it.
Feels like Andrew Clements wanted to continue the "Things" titling, but couldn't really fit it nicely, because it's a stretch to connect "Things That Are" to the plotline of this book, and Alicia narrates the meaning so bluntly and ungracefully. Again, I didn't expect some highly complex analytical novel, but at least execute the concept well.
Feels like Andrew Clements wanted to continue the "Things" titling, but couldn't really fit it nicely, because it's a stretch to connect "Things That Are" to the plotline of this book, and Alicia narrates the meaning so bluntly and ungracefully. Again, I didn't expect some highly complex analytical novel, but at least execute the concept well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 28, 2024
This never should have been a trilogy. Things Not Seen, as far as I'm concerned, is a standalone novel. That book ended with Bobby and Alicia all but confirmed to be dating, but this book (and the previous one) takes place two years later, and nope, they're just good friends. It's a way for Andrew Clements to work in the very annoying, very overdone trope of "will-they-won't-they" and to add some romantic tension to the story. It is a terrible retcon that actively ruins the ending of the first book.
It's amazing to me how he managed to ruin Alicia's character. In the first book, she's easily the best character: smart, snarky, cleverer than Bobby. Here, she's whiny, easily capitulating to the whims of her father (whom she now calls "Daddy", which she never did in the first book, and it's very annoying) and Bobby, and with the most obnoxious inner voice I've ever heard. I get that those segments were meant to be funny, and maybe for younger readers they are, but it was painful to read.
For a character who's seventeen, Alicia acted and sounded much younger; more like thirteen or fourteen. The way she was agonizing over lying to her parents made me laugh. Come on! By the time you're seventeen, you've lied to any number of people hundreds of times. And then the ending where she had this whole monologue about how lying is bad and you should never ever do it was so sanctimonious and cringy.
I hated this book. Andrew Clements was a very solid author; I grew up reading his books and most of them still hold up well as an adult. This book is proof that even a good author can write a bad book.
It's amazing to me how he managed to ruin Alicia's character. In the first book, she's easily the best character: smart, snarky, cleverer than Bobby. Here, she's whiny, easily capitulating to the whims of her father (whom she now calls "Daddy", which she never did in the first book, and it's very annoying) and Bobby, and with the most obnoxious inner voice I've ever heard. I get that those segments were meant to be funny, and maybe for younger readers they are, but it was painful to read.
For a character who's seventeen, Alicia acted and sounded much younger; more like thirteen or fourteen. The way she was agonizing over lying to her parents made me laugh. Come on! By the time you're seventeen, you've lied to any number of people hundreds of times. And then the ending where she had this whole monologue about how lying is bad and you should never ever do it was so sanctimonious and cringy.
I hated this book. Andrew Clements was a very solid author; I grew up reading his books and most of them still hold up well as an adult. This book is proof that even a good author can write a bad book.
December 27, 2022
Pros:
•quick, easy read
•I liked getting Alicia’s perspective. I find her to be a really compelling character
•I also liked the focus on dealing with the present moment and taking things as they come
Cons:
•This book, like the first two in the series, is rushed. I think it would have benefitted from more character, plot, and relationship development (everything with William, the kid/parent relationships, the ending that skipped ahead, Bobby and Alicia’s relationship)
Recommendation: I recommend this book as a nice follow up to Things Not Seen. I sort of think that the second book in this series was unnecessary, and we should have just jumped here. I liked getting Alicia’s perspective on things and seeing how the invisibility thing still follows them a couple years later. The biggest issue I had with this book was that I thought it was much too rushed, likely so that it could be a short book more appealing to kids- I think 100 more pages would have been enough and it still would have been less than 300. Avoid if you didn’t read or didn’t like Things Not Seen.
•quick, easy read
•I liked getting Alicia’s perspective. I find her to be a really compelling character
•I also liked the focus on dealing with the present moment and taking things as they come
Cons:
•This book, like the first two in the series, is rushed. I think it would have benefitted from more character, plot, and relationship development (everything with William, the kid/parent relationships, the ending that skipped ahead, Bobby and Alicia’s relationship)
Recommendation: I recommend this book as a nice follow up to Things Not Seen. I sort of think that the second book in this series was unnecessary, and we should have just jumped here. I liked getting Alicia’s perspective on things and seeing how the invisibility thing still follows them a couple years later. The biggest issue I had with this book was that I thought it was much too rushed, likely so that it could be a short book more appealing to kids- I think 100 more pages would have been enough and it still would have been less than 300. Avoid if you didn’t read or didn’t like Things Not Seen.
September 20, 2025
I ran out of spotify hours with only 24 minutes left!!! What?? I t’s never been that close before. So the last chapter was finished digitally
This was a great way to bring back all the different parts of the first book. Everyone’s story was tied up. But then alisha had this weird conversation and the end and now i’m just confused…
- Misses bobby while he was in new york
- finds out about william
- Fbi comes to speak with alisha and her family
- Alisha and bobby’s dads are experimenting on invisible mice
- Alisha kept the box that sheila sent to her. Possibly able to reverse William’s invisibility
- William drugged alisha’s dog and escaped with the blanket
- Alisha comes home one day and her dog is barking like crazy. She knows william is there
- the blanket worked! He turned visible again, sent money for the clothes he took so he wasn’t naked. And meeting with ex wife to see his kid
- did alisha just have a conversation with herself?? Like split personality disorder?? And who she is in this moment?
This was a great way to bring back all the different parts of the first book. Everyone’s story was tied up. But then alisha had this weird conversation and the end and now i’m just confused…
- Misses bobby while he was in new york
- finds out about william
- Fbi comes to speak with alisha and her family
- Alisha and bobby’s dads are experimenting on invisible mice
- Alisha kept the box that sheila sent to her. Possibly able to reverse William’s invisibility
- William drugged alisha’s dog and escaped with the blanket
- Alisha comes home one day and her dog is barking like crazy. She knows william is there
- the blanket worked! He turned visible again, sent money for the clothes he took so he wasn’t naked. And meeting with ex wife to see his kid
- did alisha just have a conversation with herself?? Like split personality disorder?? And who she is in this moment?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 26, 2024
Oh no, why was this bad?! I was obsessed with Things Not Seen as a teen because of the interesting concept and swoon-worthy romance, but in this book Alicia and Bobby barely spend any time together, and how their relationship has changed over the past two years is totally unclear. I still liked the emotional writing, and parts of the book where Alicia is dealing with her blindness. But the FBI story didn't fit, and absolutely nothing was resolved, despite this being the final book. Clements really phoned it in.
December 31, 2024
Well, it's fitting for my last book of the year to be the book that's been on my tbr the longest. Since 2009! In all honesty, I probably would have liked this a lot better in 2009. But now it just felt like it ended in the middle. Seriously. There were like 3 plot lines that suddenly stopped and then one that got wrapped up in the laziest way ever. I really enjoyed Alicia's voice and narration. But the sudden ending dropped my rating for this. Maybe I'll tackle my second-oldest book on my tbr to start off 2025...
October 21, 2017
This book was really good because the book was in Alicia's point of view (the first book was in Bobby's point of view), and it gave a lot of answers to the first book. It was also related to the first book, though, in the first book, there was a resolution. Even though there was a problem in the first book, that was the same problem in this book. There was a lot of action. I really liked this book.
February 10, 2026
I am probably unfairly harsh, because I really should have gone to bed and finished this a different day, but I didn't much enjoy it. It was more morally ambiguous, and it says something about me that sometimes I strongly dislike that. Again, I would blame sleepiness.
I see how one could value this conclusion to the story, but I maintain that the first volume should have been left as a stand-alone book.
I see how one could value this conclusion to the story, but I maintain that the first volume should have been left as a stand-alone book.
March 27, 2020
This was just, like not good. And maybe part of it is that it's part of a trilogy that I haven't read the first two books of. But it was a very weird Invisible Man-esque thing. And their wasn't much action. And for a YA that was published in 2008, it felt (and looked design-wise) like a early 90s YA.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 198 reviews