Fiction: The Schwa Was Here

Imagine if you could be invisible. What would it be like to move unseen amongst your teachers and classmates? Eighth-grader Calvin Schwa knows exactly what it feels like, because he has a nearly supernatural ability to fly beneath the social radar. People just don’t notice him, even when he's doing outrageous things underneath their very noses!

Anthony “Antsy” Bonano has the opposite gift: He’s a one-kid comedy show — and Calvin is perfect for his next prank. Antsy takes bets on what the Schwa can get away with and the boys try a series of increasingly daring stunts before getting nabbed by town grump (and millionaire) Mr. Crawley. Their punishment is... perfect.

Though they start out walking Mr. Crawley's 14 (yes, 14) Afghan Hounds, they end up being hired as companions to Mr. Crawley's disturbingly pretty and insightful granddaughter, Lexie. When the Schwa and Antsy both start to like Lexie as more than a friend, the Schwa's invisibility suddenly becomes too much for him to live with. So what happens when someone invisible decides to get noticed?

In The Schwa Was Here, author Neal Schusterman has written a hilarious, complicated and touching story about boys, friendship and the importance of being noticed and included.

Fiction
Grades 5-9
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