Thursday, January 7, 2016

Not if I See You First by Eric Lindstrom



Not if I See You First by Eric Windstorm
  • ISBN-10: 0316259853 - Hardcover
  • Publisher: Poppy (December 1, 2015), 320 pages.
  • Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Netgalley.

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.

Review:
I enjoyed Not if I See You First much more than I'd expected.  Parker Grant can be obnoxious, harsh, difficult and self-centered but she's a fighter.  When she was 7 she lost her mother and her sight.  At sixteen, her father died and her life was turned upside down.  Her aunt, uncle and two cousins have moved into her house and she's borne up well considering. 

She still gets herself to a nearby field to run every morning before school.  Being blind doesn't dictate her life, even if she does have some very strict rules about how other people can and should behave around her and respond to her blindness.  Parker holds onto these Rules tightly and deviations or violations are treated with utmost harshness.  Her best friend Scott was crossed out of her life when they were thirteen and though it seems that she hasn't looked back, she starts to rethink their friendship when Scott moves to her high school their junior year.

Not if I See You First is a story about friendship, loyalty, and learning to make sense of the most awful situations.  It's told by a cheeky, funny, bitchy, likable sixteen-year-old and will likely keep you up all night reading. 

About the Author:
Eric Lindstrom is a BAFTA and WGA-nominated veteran of the interactive entertainment industry. Not if I See You First is his debut novel. Eric invites you to find him online at ericlindstrombooks.com and on Twitter @Eric_Lindstrom.