Being Is Better and Beyond Invisible 
By Marjorie Jackson

I have a review encompassing what is a duology of books for Young Adult readers, which are best read one after the other. The first is Being is Better and the second is Beyond Invisible. The books encompass themes of epilepsy, family circumstances, loneliness, new-found friendship and coming-of-age. Find out more in my review. At the end of this I have included a blurb.
Thanks first to Pam Labbe for the opportunity to review.

This is a dual series for Young Adults. Both books would work okay as stand alone, but I’d recommend they are read together as this is how the story has been plotted. They are about Amber and Missy, in which the chapters in both, alternate between each other.

Amber suffers from epilepsy and Missy is struggling to come to terms with her brother dying in Afghanistan arms is a carer to her depressed mum.

There is an introduction to how the author was inspired by her own daughter’s epilepsy in the first book – Being Is Better.

Life can be a struggle for Amber and her epileptic seizures leave her exhausted, but then there is a new doctor on the scene, so all readers can do is hope that this doctor can help.

The book also highlights the issue of loneliness in teenagers, which both Amber and Missy, who become friends are also suffering from, even though they come from very different backgrounds. It’s an important issue to highlight as still, people perceive it to be mostly older people who get lonely, and yet it is endemic amongst all age groups. The book speeds up once a positive vibe of friendship begins and the pace, I felt was right as it matches the changing circumstances well, carrying readers on to see other aspects of their lives, including friendship, develop.

Being Is Better strongly establishes the characters and readers can enjoy getting to know their situations and finding out what happens when their worlds collide.

Beyond Invisible carries on with their story, moving forwards. There’s rocky relationships between Missy and her father that emerge. There is not only her dad she has been summoned to meet, but it comes with meeting his new girlfriend.

There’s also more burgeoning friendship between her and Amber and teenage hormones and moods and first love and a whole gambit of emotions and having to deal with the many situations life throws at them.

These are two excellently written books for the Young Adult market and will be relatable to so many as well as stories just to purely enjoy and take away whatever aspects they desire.

Being Is  Better blurb

Fourteen-year-old Amber has battled medical challenges – specifically epilepsy – her whole life. Due to her physical limitations, she has no friends, but does her best to trudge through each day with a smile.

Fellow “middle-school senior” Missy has struggles of her own. Following her brother’s death in Afghanistan, her father uprooted them from everything familiar, only to divorce Missy’s mother and move away, leaving Missy friendless and angry, forced to care for her deeply depressed mother.

Two girls with different pasts, both fighting loneliness.

Can they learn to overcome life’s struggles and tragedies? Can they find each other and battle teen awkwardness together?