Eric Lindstrom

The debut YA novel of 2016 that everyone will be talking about.

Not If I See You First

Everyone has secrets. Everyone is a secret. Parker Grant is a junior in high school who loves to run, has great friends, and isn't afraid to speak her mind--especially when it comes to how stupid some people can be around a blind person like her. The only topic to avoid is how Parker feels about the boy who broke her heart in eighth grade... who has just transferred to her school. And as long as she can keep giving herself gold stars for every day she hasn't cried since her dad's death three months ago, she'll be just fine. Right? Combining a fiercely engaging voice with true heart, debut author Eric Lindstrom's Not If I See You First sheds light on the metaphorical blind spots that are a part of life, whether you're visually impaired or not.

Not if I See You First

Ella Zegarra

*agresivamente obligando a todos a leer este libro*

Original de: El Blog del Gato - El Extraño Gato del Cuento

Es magia, es arte, es todo lo que está bien en este mundo, es esos cinco minutos más de sueño, mejor aún, es cuando te despiertas y te das cuenta que no tienes nada que hacer y puedes seguir durmiendo, es poder comer pizza con piña antes de que algún diferente y original dijera que era lo peor, es...


  


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Jelke Lenaerts

full review: http://jelkelenaerts.blogspot.be/2017...

Britt Jansen 

Sally Salinas

This was a cute story. I was laughing & crying throughout. I'm glad Parker was able to let her feelings out and had good friends around for support. I'm glad she was able to forgive & ask for forgiveness w/Scott the were friends long before said "prank".

Carla Aquino

Uppercase Monthly Book:

Cute! Now...do I think Parker overreacted to the prank she experienced while she was 13...No. In fact I think she's a better person than me for even entertaining the subject on talking with Scott and then following through with it to actually talk to him and find out why he did that to her. I don't care how long ago someone crossed me...But if I have beef with someone "I'm gonna have beef with them FOREevvvva"!!!!!!!!! Lmao! Cause I hold grudges like theirs no tomorrow! You're dead to me Scott! XXXX Keep it moving. Lol.

Shannon Jade

My review can be found here https://www.instagram.com/p/BCHADNpQf...

The debut novel of 2016 that everyone will be talking about.

Amy Buckle

Not if I See You First in a young adult romance, centred on Parker Grant who went blind after a car accident when she was a kid. Now in high school, she is happy where she’s comfortable and makes sure that everyone’s follows her rules and doesn’t betray her trust. However, when he father dies unexpectedly, she has to adjust and slowly as new people enter her life, and return from the past, Parker learns how to cope, but also while letting them into her life, slowly learning that she can trust them too.

I listened to this as an audiobook and loved both the narrator and the whole feel of the book. As a protagonist, Parker is likeable though a little cynical, but given that she’s blind and finds it hard to trust people, it’s understandable why she’s the way she is. With a list of rules she ensures her friends abide by, Parker navigates her world with perfect accuracy and as I got to know her more as the novel progressed, I found myself more and more compelled to her and her personality.

I found the other characters interesting, and a few relationships in particular felt very plausible, mainly Parker and Sarah and Parker and Scott. Parker and Scott’s relationship was compelling and I liked watching how they behaviour around each other – Lindstrom’s writing oozes the beautiful human nuances we all possess. What I loved even more was the friendship between Parker and Sarah; there’s a comment that Sarah makes about them being even closer than sisters, and Lindstrom touches on the fact that Sarah has been a rock in Parker’s life. Shiela was also an interesting character and again as the plot progressed, I enjoyed that her personality became more complex and 3 dimensional.

I thought this book said a lot about the mistakes that we make, especially when we’re children. There’s an interesting commentary about whether you should be forgiven for mistakes you made in childish ignorance. I’ve read some reviews who think Lindstrom doesn’t write teenagers very realistically – I can sort of see where they’re coming from, but it wasn’t bad enough to take away from the book’s enjoyment for me. There were some fatphobic comments made by a character too, which hopefully given this is Lindstrom’s debut, he doesn’t do the same in any more recent books.

A big part of Not If I See You First is Parker’s passion for running. She runs the same route every morning, but when the school coach finds this out, he wants her to run for the school team. Her experience learning how to run track was eye-opening, and I would like to read more books from people with experience of guide running – especially from an own voice author which as far as I’m aware, Lindstrom is not.

Contagiously loveable and full of life with three dimensional personalities, this is one of my favourite YA romances! It’s a familiar book, but with a fresh and unique perspective, so if you’re looking for something like that, with a protagonist you’ll grow to love, then Not If I See You First is the book for you!

The debut YA novel of 2016 that everyone will be talking about - all over the world.

Kate

3.75* Not If I See You First was funny, adorable and heartbreaking, whilst also being continuously informative and enlightening to someone who hasn't experienced being blind, nor read a book with a blind protagonist (which is something I definitely need to read more of!) I really enjoyed Parker as a character, she was a tough, honest, witty teenage with flaws. Yes, my heart broke for her, due to everything she'd had to deal with, but it also cheered her on. She was definitely frustrating at times but despite that, I couldn't dislike her. She was delightfully cynical and kickass but also vulnerable and desperately trying to hold herself together, which I think is a feeling a lot of people can to relate to. 

I absolutely adored the multiple friendship dynamics. They all came from different friendship groups and had their ups and downs but were their for each other despite their differences. They fought for each other, against each other but most of all they communicated, which was so lovely to read. Although the romance did fall a little flat for me, I ended up really appreciating it. It wasn't a 'sweep you off your feet' or a 'heart broken on the floor' dramatic love but it felt refreshingly low-key. Plus the ending made my heart incredibly happy. 

My main criticism of this was the occasional but nonetheless clear and harmful body shaming/fatphobic language. This is something that always frustrates me to no end and unfortunately did somewhat taint my reading experience. Nevertheless, this was an enjoyable, heartwarming and easy read discussing grief, blindness, friendship, family and so much more.

TW:
• discussion of possible suicide/drug overdose. 
• body shaming/fatphobic language.

Not If I See You First

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