Not If I See You First - Eric Lindstrom
Book Synopsis: 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.
This book was one of the most annoying pieces of literature that I've ever had to force myself to read. Honestly, I was thinking of abandoning it early on. I can't lie, I like the concept, I just don't understand what the author was hoping to achieve. In hindsight, the plot is great, I just couldn't find myself really getting into this book. Parker was sarcastic and clever, it's just that the author's vision was lacking and way too predictable.
Have you ever heard of the saying: "Write what you know"? I don't think if Eric Lindstrom got that message. He clearly can see and is not an authority on girls in high school. Early on, I didn't expect much because I had a feeling that I was going to be very disappointed and I should not have placed so much faith in the writing, turning page by page, hoping that it would get better. But, guess what? It didn't. The main character was very juvenile, unforgiving, and bitter. Add in an unrequited young love, a death of a father figure, and adjusting to changes in life after a life-shattering accident that caused the mother to die and took away vision for Parker.
It was just too much, too many useless parts that I felt stole the spotlight from the rest of the story. The Rules that Parker made up... she honestly expected everyone to follow them, even total and complete strangers who didn't know her. I did not enjoy reading this book at all and in the future would never want to pick up another book by this author.
The recurring line: not if I see you first... was really dumb and it did not make any sense why the title was that. Don't let this book deceive you, the dust jacket cover is very pretty and eye-catching, but I even found errors in the book that the editor missed.
Everything about this story was lackluster. I wanted to just take it and have one of my favorite authors re-write the book completely. The good thing about this book was when it ended, but even the ending confused me. It didn't wrap up or tie up any loose ends well.
My recommendation?
Skip this book.
Or not.
Whatever you decide, don't walk into this decision blindly.
Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆