Invisible Girl: A Novel

Saffyre Maddox, the novel’s protagonist, is a 17-year-old senior in high school who attends sessions with Roan to process her trauma and treat her self-harm. Saffyre self-harms around her ankles and legs to make her cutting less conspicuous. Saffyre is popular in school and does well in her classes, hiding her self-harm from her friends and teachers. Saffyre becomes skilled at hiding her trauma, self-harm, and depression from the people around her as a means of self-preservation. The only person in Saffyre’s life who feels concerns for her health is her Uncle Aaron. However, Saffyre has a difficult time accepting love and care from him because she feels consumed by the grief of losing the rest of her family and deeply afraid she will lose him as well. Saffyre continues to isolate herself from Aaron until she confronts her childhood trauma—only then can Saffyre accept the unconditional love and support that Uncle Aaron shows her.

Saffyre’s primary internal conflict stems from her sexual assault as a young child. To bury her trauma, Saffyre refers to herself as the “invisible girl” because she enjoys stalking people and getting a glimpse into their personal lives without them being aware of her presence.