Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom
- Pub. Date: Dec 1, 2015
- Publisher: Poppy
- Pages:310
- Rating:5/5
- Goodreads/Amazon/ Book Depository
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.
First Line: "My alarm buzzes and I slap it off and tap the speech button at the same time."
Review: I never even heard of this book until I received it in the mail through one of my book subscription boxes so I didn't really have any expectations for it. Plain and simple Not If I See You First was a page turner. It is realistic fiction at it's best and I don't come across a lot of realistic fiction that I thoroughly enjoy that often.
Review: I never even heard of this book until I received it in the mail through one of my book subscription boxes so I didn't really have any expectations for it. Plain and simple Not If I See You First was a page turner. It is realistic fiction at it's best and I don't come across a lot of realistic fiction that I thoroughly enjoy that often.
Before I dive into the main character I need to talk about the friendship, it was beautiful. Parker had an amazing support system. I loved each one of her friends for different reasons, and no they weren't perfect but they were real, at times flawed but one thing they all had in common was they cared for Parker.
Now on to Parker, if you love snarky, sarcastic and brutally honest characters you will adore Parker. She has her flaws and at times she isn't that nice thanks to that "brutally honest" part but you do see her grow and you can't help but root for her. She comes across as this "I may be blind but don't mess with me because I'll kick your ass" type of girl but being inside her head you see how that is all just a front and she has fears and issues that she is trying deal with along with coping with her father's death.
So the romance in this book is as real as it can get. Don't expect a perfect HEA wrapped up in a perfect neat bow. BUT I did love it and I did love the way things left off and I was satisfied with it. That's all I'm saying.
Overall Not If I See You First was a breath of fresh air in the YA Contemporary genre and I highly recommend it.
Memorable Quotes:
~"He still looks at you like he used to, even before you got together, like you're the most important thing in the world. Like if you were trapped on railroad tracks he'd break every finger to get you free without even noticing...and if he couldn't, he'd sit on the tracks and hold your hand and watch you instead of the train."
~"He still looks at you like he used to, even before you got together, like you're the most important thing in the world. Like if you were trapped on railroad tracks he'd break every finger to get you free without even noticing...and if he couldn't, he'd sit on the tracks and hold your hand and watch you instead of the train."
