Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom E-Arc Review

Title: Not If I See You First

Author: Eric Lindstrom

Publisher: Little Brown Books

Publication Date: December 1, 2015

Description:

Everyone has secrets. Everyone is a secret.

Parker Grant is a junior in high school who loves to run, has great friends, and isn't afraid to speak her mind--especially when it comes to how stupid some people can be around a blind person like her. The only topic to avoid is how Parker feels about the boy who broke her heart in eighth grade... who has just transferred to her school. And as long as she can keep giving herself gold stars for every day she hasn't cried since her dad's death three months ago, she'll be just fine. Right? 

Combining a fiercely engaging voice with true heart, debut author Eric Lindstrom's Not If I See You First sheds light on the metaphorical blind spots that are a part of life, whether you're visually impaired or not.

My Review:

I have had this on my list on netgalley.com for what feels like ages. (Netgally.com and the publisher kindly provided me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review) I decided to pick it up after re-reading the description and could have kicked my self for letting it sit there for this long.

This just came out at the beginning of the month I suggest if you are a fan of contemporary that you stop reading this and go out and read the book instead. Trust me when I say it will be much better than my ramblings about it.

It is a great coming of age story about a young girl named Parker who lost her sight in an accident when she was 7. The same accident killed her mother and the story begins by letting you know that her father recently passed away by what appears to be suicide due to depression.

Parker is a great main character. She is realistic. She deflects, is snarky, tries to hide her emotions, and expresses herself in a way that is realistic and believable. I loved the dialog between her and her friends and between her and her "dad." 

There is a pretty great love interest and that story isn't the entire point of the book which I also appreciated. 

I had never read from the perspective of a blind main character before and I found it to be fascinating and thought the author did a great job. At times it was a little preachy in terms of treating people as equals etc etc but that is to be expected.

I thought the ending was well rounded and the characters went through some major growth and development that I felt would be easy to relate to as a teen whether you had a disability or not. Parker's emotions and struggles where the same as a blind person as they would be for a person who can see and I thought that was very well done.

Definitely check this out if you enjoy contemporaries, reading from a unique perspective, and enjoy a love story and friendships with a lot of girl power. I really enjoyed this one.

My Star Rating:

4 out of 5 

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