They say his clothes blend into the background, no matter where he stands. They say a lot of things about the Schwa, but one thing’s for sure: no one ever noticed him. Except me. My name is Antsy Bonano—and I was the one who realized the Schwa was "functionally invisible" and used him to make some big bucks. But I was also the one who caused him more grief than a friend should. So if you all just shut up and listen, I’ll tell you everything there is to know about the Schwa, from how he got his name, to what really happened with his mom. I’ll spill everything. Unless, of course, "the Schwa Effect" wipes him out of my brain before I’m done . . . .

Neil Schusterman's "The Schwa was Here" is an engaging and well-told story. Calvin Schwa, one of Antony "Antsy" Bonano's classmates, is invisible. Well, not really, but he blends in to the point that he is what Antsy calls "effectively invisible." He sits next to Antsy in science class, but Antsy has never noticed him. Antsy, Calvin ("the Schwa"), and a couple of other friends embark on a series of experiments to test the Schwa's invisibility. They have him dress in a crazy costume and sing and dance in the girls' bathroom, among other tests; no one ever notices him. His name is appropriate: like the schwa sound in language, Calvin blends into his surroundings. Antsy and friends decide to use the Schwa's invisibility to pull a prank on the neighborhood recluse, Old Man Crawley. However, Mr. Crawley catches them at it, and requires that Antsy and the Schwa return every day to walk his 14 Afghans as punishment. After a time, Mr. Crawley asks them to befriend his blind granddaughter. The paradox of the girl who can't see and the boy who can't be seen leads both Antsy and Calvin to question themselves. Ultimately, "The Scwha was Here" is a story of identity: finding it, losing it, not having it, and rebelling against it. In the end, the Schwa discovers his identity by discovering what really happened to his mother who disappeared many years ago, and Antsy discovers his by befriending and respecting both a strange boy and an eccentric old man.

I loved this story; it was very readable and teaches important lessons without the reader being aware of them.

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I previewed this 'teen-level' book for my 10-year-old son, and the rest of the day gradually disappeared. I just could not stop reading it!

Calvin Schwa is a smart and perfectly nice boy whom no-one seems to notice-- even his teachers, who mark him absent, or the narrator (Anthony "Antsy" Bonano) who keeps being startled by The Schwa's bizarrely sudden appearances. Antsy finally decides that the Schwa is functionally invisible! "The proper term is 'observationally challenged'" one of his friends states. "How can there be a proper term for something I just made up?" "If you're going to make stuff up, use the proper term..."

Testing the limits of The Schwa Phenomenon (via experiments and lucrative dares), Antsy and The Schwa find themselves in trouble with Old Man Crowley, the neighborhood crank. The boys are stuck doing favors for the old man, which leads to new adventures that may or may not be sandwiched between attempts to blow up a plastic mannequin and find the real story behind The Schwa's missing mother.

The author has a real knack with humor, and it runs the length of this story. His Antsy is a boy who means well and generally does the right thing (when he can figure out what that is). He's genuine and hilarious, sometimes smarter than he realizes, and great company for readers. My son found this book every bit as delightful as I did.

Anthony "Antsy" Bonano can't really figure out what's wrong with The Schwa. His classmate, Calvin Schwa, has always just been...around.

A nondescript face on a nondescript kid, The Schwa always seems to just blend into the background, and could be standing right in front of you for half an hour before you even notice he's there - and that's only if he speaks up and says something. Antsy finds it difficult to even think about The Schwa without his mind wandering onto some other subject, no doubt due to "The Schwa Effect."

Antsy may not have been the first the pass The Schwa by, but he is the first one to start putting his friend's power of blending in to good use. After a set of experiments to determine the strength of "The Schwa Effect," Antsy and The Schwa form a collaboration that starts earning them money for dares and services (such as spying on the faculty lounge) that utilize The Schwa's untapped potential.

When a bold dare to enter the apartment of a reclusive neighbor goes horribly wrong, Antsy and The Schwa find themselves at the mercy of Old Man Crawley, who puts them to work to make up for their intrusion. The boys' friendship is put to the test when Antsy is given a...much more desirable task, which sets The Schwa on a mission to prove his very existence to the world in the grandest, most unforgettable manner possible.

I absolutely fell in love with this book, and that is not something I'd say lightly. Superior characterization, mainly the shifting position of narrator Antsy as both protagonist and antagonist to the title character, had me rooting for nearly every personality featured in this story. My heart went out to the unfortunate Schwa, yet I think I laughed harder than ever at the witty storytelling and humor utilized by the author.

A perfect book for the older, reluctant reader, and one both boys and girls can enjoy to the fullest.

Reviewed by: Allison Fraclose

The antics in this book remind me of things my son and nephew did as youngsters. I laughed with the turn of every page.

Eighth grader Antsy lives in Brooklyn with his colorful Italian-American family, where, as the middle child, he often feels unnoticed and taken for granted. It's no wonder he identifies with a mysterious kid at school he nicknames "the Schwa," a kid who almost seems invisible and is tired of being ignored by the world. Add into the mix of characters a rich, old, cantankerous restaurant owner with a pack of 14 Afghans and a blind granddaughter who becomes Antsy's first girlfriend, the mysterious disappearance of the Schwa's mother years before (abducted by aliens, perhaps, the rumor goes), the "Night Butcher," and a bizarre paper clip collection, and you'll figure out why this book has won such a long list of awards, particularly the reader's choice awards selected by kids themselves! This is a terrific book for tweens, boys and girls alike, told in the first person by a narrator with a uniquely comic voice. The author manages to blend laugh-out-loud humor with real pathos. Many kids will identify with the Schwa and Antsy's feelings of not being noticed. I also really liked the strong character of Lexie, the blind granddaughter, who no one will mess with. And who can forget the pack of dogs named after the seven deadly sins and the seven virtues! This book is a true tour-de-force of realistic middle school fiction.