Author(s): Josh Sundquist
Edition: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook, 281 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: January 3, 2017
Source: Rockstar Book Tours
Buy: Amazon - Barnes & Noble - iBooks - Audible - Book Depository
Tour Schedule
Week One:
2/6/2017 - BookHounds YA - Interview
2/7/2017 - A Gingerly Review - Review
2/8/2017 - Actin' Up with Books - Guest Post
2/9/2017 - The Hardcover Lover - Review
2/10/2017 - A Dream Within A Dream - Guest Post
2/7/2017 - A Gingerly Review - Review
2/8/2017 - Actin' Up with Books - Guest Post
2/9/2017 - The Hardcover Lover - Review
2/10/2017 - A Dream Within A Dream - Guest Post
Week Two:
2/13/2017 - Eli to the nth - Review (ME!)
2/14/2017 - Literary Meanderings - Interview
2/15/2017 - Here's to Happy Endings - Review
2/16/2017 - Wandering Bark Books - Guest Post
2/17/2017 - Just Commonly - Review
2/14/2017 - Literary Meanderings - Interview
2/15/2017 - Here's to Happy Endings - Review
2/16/2017 - Wandering Bark Books - Guest Post
2/17/2017 - Just Commonly - Review
The Summary
Love is more than meets the eye.
On his first day at a new school, blind sixteen-year-old Will Porter accidentally groped a girl on the stairs, sat on another student in the cafeteria, and somehow drove a classmate to tears. High school can only go up from here, right?
As Will starts to find his footing, he develops a crush on a sweet but shy girl named Cecily. And despite his fear that having a girlfriend will make him inherently dependent on someone sighted, the two of them grow closer and closer. Then an unprecedented opportunity arises: an experimental surgery that could give Will eyesight for the first time in his life. But learning to see is more difficult than Will ever imagined, and he soon discovers that the sighted world has been keeping secrets. It turns out Cecily doesn’t meet traditional definitions of beauty—in fact, everything he’d heard about her appearance was a lie engineered by their so-called friends to get the two of them together. Does it matter what Cecily looks like? No, not really. But then why does Will feel so betrayed?
My Opinion
The title of this book, Love and First Sight is a very cute play on the commonly known phrase, love at first sight. But just a light-hearted high school romance this book is not. While there is a total platonic "meet-cute" where, Will, the main character, accidentally sits on his soon-to-be friend, Nick, and other kerfuffles, as Will learns to navigate his first foray into mainstream school, there are some heavy emotions to deal with surrounding Will's blindness, his surgery, and the lies his friends told him in the face of his blindness.
The research put into this book is obvious, as Sundquist is not, himself, blind. And I can only speak as a seeing person, but I felt like I could understand, to a degree, how difficult it would be to "be born" again, as Will as to re-learn all the things that seeing people take for granted, just as a child would. The mental taxation and depression that can stem from that is clearly addressed in the book. The surgery results aren't all happily-ever-after, which makes the book feel very realistic in it's tone.
Of course, the humor is there. Sundquist has a knack for writing about difficult subjects with humor. He, himself, is a cancer survivor and amputee, has written about his own struggles in life in his first two books. And Will's journey to be a "normal" kid in high school is fraught with humorous events. But, ultimately, this book brings to light the questions of "what is beautiful?", "does race really matter?", and "is having sight all that it's cracked up to be?".
Excellent book, with a fittingly open-ended conclusion, Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist will make you question what you think is true and if what you "see" is real. Pick a copy up at your local bookstore today!
Final Rating
About the Author
I saw Fleur De Force mention this book and it looks like a great read for summer. Looking forward to either winning or picking this one up. :)
ReplyDeleteLive and First Sight sounds like such a great, emotional read! I love that this sounds like a high school Contemporary with depth and substance to it. And such a great and detailed review that makes me want to read it even more! I've added this to my TBR and look forward to seeing how Will navigates high school and romance with his newfound sight! Thanks for the chance to win a copy! :)
ReplyDelete*Love
Delete