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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Scoutingforbooks

Not if I See You First by Eric Lindstrom – review

Parker Grant is young, vibrant, confident and blind.

Ever since losing her sight in a freak car crash, she created a list of rules. The main ones being: don’t treat her different just because she’s blind and don’t take advantage. If you break these rules you get no second chances. At least that’s what happened with Scott.

But when she finds herself getting mixed up in teenage drama and relationships will she find herself rethinking her rules and lifestyle?

Honestly, this book was a disappointment. Even though I was not too enthusiastic about reading it, I was upset that the story line went with obvious, stereotypical issues, especially in its portrayal of the main character, which seemed ironic given that the character is meant to be a portrayal of everything that is not this. The whole story seems to just be feeding off of sympathy for what happened to the character. It was the classic John Green story that seems to just exploit people with illnesses and not completely understand the reality. It did not seem like there was any real or deeper meaning to the story, it was your classic teen drama with all of your tragedies and no substance.

Not if I see you first by Eric Lindstrom

However, there were some good parts in the book. It did help to show that a person can’t just push their emotions to the side or ignore them as it is not a healthy way to live. And maybe, though it was minimal, it helped to take away some of the stigmatisation of blind people and their abilities. Although there could be an argument to say that it did also add to this stigmatisation because it seemed that the character seemed to live by the fact that she was blind, and certain aspects of her life seem completely unrealistic.

I give this book a 2 out of 5 because the story line was quite bare.

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