The NerdHerd Reads: Not if I See You First {by Eric Lindstrom}

Title: Not if I See You First

Author: Eric Lindstrom

Genre: YA Contemporary

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

source: NetGalley

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.

This was quite an interesting story. I was very intrigued and excited when I saw the description, because we definitely need more disability in YA Lit. That said, I had issues with the story, but in the end, I definitely enjoyed it.

Parker is not really a likable character. I will flat-out say that. And it wasn't her disability, but just her personality in general. While I realize that some of that stems from her disability, and her feeling that she can't trust anyone or anything because she can't see them, it got exhausting after a while. But I loved reading her transformation. She does realize it and decide that she doesn't to be that person anymore, and makes a real effort to change, and I loved that. But she also keeps that strong, no-nonsense part of her that really makes her Parker.

Parker is dealing with a lot, with her dad's death and changes, and just dealing with life in general. I also loved how fleshed out the other characters were, especially for not being able to see them. I had issues with some of the relationships. Parker and Sarah had a huge fight and it just left me...confused? Parker was being quite ridiculous about it, and I just didn't get it. But they did resolve.

Also, the romance was a big ????. I don't want to say too much and spoil it, but I did not understand what was going on there at all. Also, I feel the ending was just unfinished. Not open, just incomplete. It didn't really make sense.

But other than the romance issues, everything else in this story was well done. Now, I'm not blind so I can't say how well or how correct her disability was represented. But from the perspective of someone not disabled, it was educational and eye-opening, and I think that part was well done. Despite the few issues, I really did love this book.

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