Books I've Loved: Not If I See You First

I didn't totally love this book, but it's probably the best of the ones I've read over the last couple of weeks.  The main character is Parker, a fiercely independent blind girl who has recently lost her father to apparent suicide.

Parker has a lot of rules designed to keep her safe.  She's been deceived by people using her blindness before, and she won't allow that to happen again.  Unfortunately, a lot of the things Parker bases her rules on aren't entirely true.

Which is the problem with the book really.  Parker is so rigid about her rules and so certain she's always right, it's hard to like her at times.  And the way she treats her friends and Scott, the boy she claims to have always loved despite his betrayal is pretty terrible at times.

But there is also a lot to admire about Parker.  Especially her determination to run despite her blindness.

I just wish I'd liked her as much off the track as I liked her on it…

But don't take my word for it.  Here's the blurb.


The Rules:

Don’t deceive me. Ever. Especially using my blindness. Especially in public.

Don’t help me unless I ask. Otherwise you're just getting in my way or bothering me.

Don’t be weird. Seriously, other than having my eyes closed all the time, I’m just like you only smarter.

Parker Grant doesn’t need 20/20 vision to see right through you. That’s why she created the Rules: Don’t treat her any differently just because she’s blind, and never take advantage. There will be no second chances. Just ask Scott Kilpatrick, the boy who broke her heart.

When Scott suddenly reappears in her life after being gone for years, Parker knows there’s only one way to react—shun him so hard it hurts. She has enough on her mind already, like trying out for the track team (that’s right, her eyes don’t work but her legs still do), doling out tough-love advice to her painfully naive classmates, and giving herself gold stars for every day she hasn’t cried since her dad’s death three months ago. But avoiding her past quickly proves impossible, and the more Parker learns about what really happened—both with Scott, and her dad—the more she starts to question if things are always as they seem. Maybe, just maybe, some Rules are meant to be broken.

Combining a fiercely engaging voice with true heart, debut author Eric Lindstrom’s Not If I See You First illuminates those blind spots that we all have in life, whether visually impaired or not.