Invisible: The (Sort of) True Story of Me and My Hidden Disease

Soren, David. Invisible: The (Sort of) True Story of Me and My Hidden Disease
October 14, 2025 by Penguin Workshop

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

J.J. Sugar loves to draw, and as an 8 year old comes up with a plan; he will be an animator and move from chilly Canada to sunny California when he is a grownup. It seems like a good plan, but he runs into difficulty when he is diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. While this gives him a good deal of difficulty, it is invisible to everyone around him, and he envisions his disease as a 7 foot tall monster named Norm that only he can see. Since his mother also struggles with the disease, she also has a monster named Francie that J.J. can see. When J.J. is on medication and his symptoms are milder, Norm gets smaller, but there are times when his digestive tract is problematic, like when he has Chinese food at a sleepover and is in so much pain that his parents have to be called to get him at 2 a.m. He talks a lot to Norm about his condition, and even draws a comic book style panel about "Devil in the Sidecar" about his relationship with the monster. When he tries a new treatment, he has to deal with a lot of side effects, which manifest as a companion goblin until he is taken off of the medication. After surgery, his symptoms abate, and Norm goes away, but this only lasts a year. As J.J. starts middle school, he does make some new friends, takes up figure skating, and even helps his mother find a support group to attend. When he is accepted into a summer animation program, his teacher encourages him to make his one minute film about his struggles with Crohn's. An epilogue includes a picture of the author as an eight year old, and lets the reader know that he did grow up to be an animator. 

Strengths: It is important for young readers to gain some empathy for people who might be struggling with health issues that can't be seen, and books like Invisible can help with that. J.J.'s interest in art will speak to many readers, especially since the author has gone on to be successful in the field of animation. I was glad to see that the mother also had to cope with this health issue, and wouldn't have minded more details about her experience. There are some descriptions of foods that bother J.J., like dairy and corn, and discussions of different treatments. The illustrations add some appeal; there should be more lightly illustrated middle grade novels! 

Weaknesses: The cover of this made me think it would be a graphic novel, but while there are some pictures, this is more of an illustrated novel. 
What I really think: I would buy this if it were more like Mercado's Chunky or Rosen's TS Hullabalo (about Tourette's Syndrome), but the mix of fantasy elements and real life problems didn't work as smoothly as I had hoped. For another look at Crohn's Disease, look at  Eliopulous' Will on the Inside, Larson and Wyatt's Gut Reaction, or Arlow's The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet.