House with a Clock in its Walls by John Bellairs

Title: The House with a Clock in its Walls

Author: John Bellairs

Published: 1973

Genre: Fantasy

Grade Level: 3^th-5^th Grade

-Movie Rating: PG for bulling and positive images of smoking from a hookah

DNF**ed

(This review will only be over the first half)

Blurb (from goodreads):

Orphaned Lewis Barnavelt comes to live with his Uncle Jonathan and quickly learns that both his uncle and his next-door neighbor are witches on a quest to discover the terrifying clock ticking within the walls of Jonathan's house. Can the three of them save the world from certain destruction?

My Scores:

Writing Style: Good

I love the way sound is incorporated in this book.

For example: “whip-whip” or “zzzzzit!” or “whirr.”

Books usually focus more on sights and scents, so we don’t get a whole lot of unusual sounds. 

I also loved the way Uncle Johnathan’s dialogue was written.

For example: “Hmh…hah! Hrumph! Ooh! Sorry, Lewis, I…I just remembered that I had…that I had left a kettle boiling on the stove.”

I love all the sounds and the pauses and the missteps. It makes him feel like a real person to me.

And I can definitely tell it was written in ’73. There are phrases I have never heard of before.

For example: “moony fat face” or “get bawled out.”

I just don’t feel that the writing style is unique enough to be given a solid. The voice is very flat otherwise. Had the book been written in first person, instead of third, I think most of the problems I have with this book could have been averted.

Characters: Underdeveloped

Pros:

I adore how Uncle Jonathan is written. His personality leaps off the page from his thick red hair to his bright multicolored clothes. All of his actions from his hesitant dialogue to his odd mannerisms make him feel like a real person trying to hide a big, dangerous secret.

Cons:

Lewis, the MC, is so inconsistent it drove me nuts! We’re told that he’s a ten-year-old boy who just lost his parents in a sudden car crash and being sent to live in a different state with his uncle who he’s never met.

It might just be me, but that seems like a lot of trauma to get through, but it never seems to get addressed. This would not be this first children’s book to do so, but it just irks me.

On one page he’s teary-eyed over the mention of his old house, but on the next he’s perfectly fine reading a historical passage about Scotch nobles murdering Rizzio by stabbing him fifty-six times in front of Mary Queen of scots.

Overall, Lewis just doesn’t make any sense.

And then there’s this...

“Lewis sat down, and Jonathan lit up his hookah. Lewis always liked to watch him do this. The hookah was shaped like a Spanish galleon, and the crow’s nest on the mainmast was the bowl. The body of the ship was full of water for cooling the smoke, and up on the bow stood the tiny ceramic figure of a boatswain with his pipe to his lips. A long hose was plugged into the mouthpiece on the end…”

I don’t think ten-year-olds should think hookahs are cool. I don’t think adults should freely use them in front of ten-year-olds. 

Messaging in children’s books is extremely important to me. By all means, have your adult characters have flaws. It important for kids to understand that adults aren’t perfect. Who else remembers being so relieved when Marrilla told Anne she was sorry about accusing her of stealing her broach? Who else remembers being over the moon when the Wormwoods let Mrs. Honey adopt Matilda?

My point here is that authors have a responsibility to their readers, and that their readers love a good redemption story. 

Plot: No Plot

I mean, it has a plot… it's just really poorly done. As talked about in the blurb, the main plot is to find out the mystery behind this creepy, old mansion with walls that tick like a clock.

And I like that aspect of the book, there just isn’t enough of it. Instead of everyone getting together and trying to discover more things about the house, it's like they all tried to forget about it and go on about their lives. 

It got really frustrating, so I just stopped reading.

Overall: Boring

Overall, I was bored with the plot and frustrated with the characters. I truly wanted to love this book, but compared to Neil Gaiman’s Graveyard Book or Roald Dahl’s The Witches, it let me down big time. While I loved the set up to this book, there was no momentum given to the plot to hold my attention.

Extra Notes:

If they went through the trouble of remaking the cover, they should have changed ALL the illustrations. ‘Cause, I mean, look at this…

They’re just so lame compared to the pictures in my head. Well, maybe except for the first one. I kind of like that one.

Goodreads Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

Adventures in Darkness by Tom Sullivan

Title: Adventures in Darkness

Author: Tom Sullivan

Published: 1981

Genre: Memoir

Grade Level: Adult

-Trigger Warning: Domestic Violence

-Movie Rating: PG-13 for bulling and domestic violence

-Features: Physical Disability (blindness)

Blurb (from the dust jacket):

Tears ran full force from eleven-year-old Tommy’s sightless eyes. 

“I promise you, you see more than every kid in this neighborhood. We just have to make them understand,” his father said.

Author and renowned entertainer, Tom Sullivan, can still hear the tune of “blindey—blindey—blindey” that was sung to him through the backyard fence during the summer of 1959. But no one could stop roguish Tom from breaking free of the traditional restrictions of his darkness.

Adventures in Darkness is a timeless memoir that reads like fiction. It is alive with the brilliant detail of the sounds, the scents, the tastes, the feelings, and the thoughts of the Tom’s eleventh year in 1950’s New England—the year he “made them understand.”

Things I wished I’d have known before reading:

Most of the book is set in Boston in 1959. (Yes, I know it’s in the dust jacket, but I didn’t read all of it!)

New England is a region of the United States. It includes Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. (I’m from Texas, we’re our own region.)

Helen Keller was born in 1880 and died in 1968. (For some reason, I’ve never pictured Helen Keller living through both world wars…)

Jameson’s is Irish whiskey and Guinness is Irish beer.

Disclaimer: My review of this memoir is not in any way a reflection upon the author or their life. I am a book reviewer, I review books… not people.

My Scores:

Writing Style: Top Notch

Typically, I try to go easy on memoirs in this category because usually they’re not writing for a living. They’re just people trying to share their story with the world the best way they know how.

However, Tom Sullivan would be an exception to this rule. He is a writer, with serval other books to his name. This book features some of the best writing (in a memoir) that I have ever read, second only to The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boon.

Characters: Memorable

(I known they're real people. I’m referring to them as character’s anyway.)

I could easily picture everyone in this book, despite the fact that we’re not given a physical description. 

The MC was completely relatable! He starts out as a typical kid, dreaming a world of possibilities for his future. “As I played my make-believe game, I convinced myself that one day I might stand in Fenway Park as a member of the Boston Red Sox.” 

But, as the summer plays out, suddenly all those possibilities are crushed. His self-worth all but perishes under the weight of his depression. “When it all came down to it, there were still two worlds---mine and theirs---and they were telling me I didn’t belong.” 

He had to really fight to find his happiness again.

Tom Sullivan’s father, nicknamed Porky, was quite a character. He was an Irish immigrant who managed a very successful bar and a few other lucrative but shady side-businesses. He felt that his son could do anything he put his mind to. 

Which is a very sweet feeling to have, but Porky meant it literally. It caused more that few fights with Tom Sullivan's mother, who felt that their son should learn what he can and simply cannot do in this world because of his blindness. 

Plot: Absolute Page Turner

This is very much a boy’s book. There’s lots of baseball jargon and bonding over fishing reels and stupid initiation challenges and boxing matches. But, regardless of how little I knew about any of that, I still had a blast reading this book. Through the eyes of the eleven-year-old boy everything felt important and urgent, which gains the reader's interest.

There was also a good amount of conflict going on. The poor kid was being bullied because he was blind. He was causing his parents to fight because he was blind. He was separated from normal activities because he was blind.

And you just had to know if he was gonna be okay! Because he was blind!

Overall: Totally Obsessed

Overall, I’m totally obsessed with this book. I want the movie. Where’s the movie, Hollywood? Why are studios wasting our time with terrible remakes of great classics when they could be making new movies about stuff we know nothing about. 

I learned so much about blind people in this book, you guys. Like seeing-eye dogs can find their master’s luggage in an airport using a smell tag. Like what? They do that? How cool! 

Also, about 80% of parents of children with special needs split up. Which is another reason we need more movies to stop with the ‘blame game’ and give people encouragement as well as some good ol’ fashion info.

Messaging:

“I never met an ugly person---unless they wanted to be---and I carried no labels or prejudice based on ethnicity or heritage.”

“God provides us all with grace to make the most of what we’ve been given, if we put our faith in Him and live according to His teaching.”

“That’s what I learned in 1959---that I wanted to be a person who happened to be blind, rather than a blind person.”

Extra Notes:

They’re so many famous people mentioned! I wondered if the name-dropping would ever stop… And then I googled him, and it still didn’t stop. Like seriously, there’s a sign above his head that attracts famous people, and I would like to borrow it!

Goodreads Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

 

Series: School for Good and Evil

Title: School for Good and Evil (Book 1)

Author: Soman Chainani

Published: 2013

Genre: Fantasy

Grade Level: 6^th-8^th Grade

Movie Rating: PG-13 for adult humor

Blurb (from goodreads):

The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away.

This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.

But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes reversed—Sophie’s dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School for Good, thrust amongst handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication. But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are…?

The School for Good & Evil is an epic journey into a dazzling new world, where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one.

My Scores:

I have a lot to say. So buckle up!

Writing Style: Sparse

Man, the writing was a mess. Where do I even start? I guess I’ll start with what I liked.

Pros:

I loved the dialogue in this book! It was true to character and very funny.

For example:

    "Agatha trudged past her. 'But if you say anything smug or stuck-up or shallow, I’ll have Reaper [the cat] follow you home.'

    Sophie ran after her. 'But then I can’t talk!'"

From practice, I know how hard it is to be funny on paper, so I can really apricate it when I find humor in a book.

Also, I learned a bunch of new words reading this book: cocksure, spurious, gawped, autumnal, and excoriating. Really didn’t expect to learn so many new words from a middle grade book.

Cons:

The grammar… it was an awful mess. Why so many em dashes? Why? And I’m no grammar nazi, but I’ve never seen then used like this…

For example: '"Agatha, no!' Sophie cried—'

For example: "'No! I’m Good! It’s the wrong one!' Sophie screamed—"

Just seems a bit odd. I think I like them better inside the quotes.

But it gets worse! Throughout the book random words were capitalized.

For example: "From the Belfry the squawk echoed…"

For example: "They were just animals. Slaves to the Greater Good."

Like why? Just why?

Then there’s the action scenes… The action scenes were really hard to follow and were the main reason why I found the writing style to be sparse.

For example:

          "[Our MC’s are snatched up by a bird] All around, gangly trees snatched at the girls as the bird dipped and climbed to avoid them, until thunder exploded ahead and they smashed headfirst into a raging lightning storm. Fire bolts sent trees careening towards them and they shielded their faces from rain, mud, and timber, ducked cobwebs, beehives, and vipers, until the bird plunged into deadly briars and the girls blanched, closing their eyes to the pain—

          Then it was quiet."

The pacing was just way too fast. Had there been more narration and explanation imbedded into these scenes they would have had a much greater impact on the audience. In fact, had it not been for the dialogue, I think I would have gotten lost several times throughout the book.

Characters: Memorable

Pros:

I loved our two main characters, Sophie and Agatha. I loved how they flipped the status quo, and I loved how much they struggled with others in the schools because of it. Their inner thoughts were spot on for me, and I wish there would have been more of it.

Cons:

The plot moved so fast that the other characters get lost in the shuffle. Even the main love interest felt a bit lacking. Not because they weren’t compelling characters, but because there was so much to keep up with that it’s easy to forget about them if they’re not in the current scene you’re reading.

Plot: Enjoyable

It’s clear from the plot that this book is not meant to be taken seriously. Do yourself a favor and try not to think about it too much or you’ll give yourself a migraine. 

This book reminded me a lot of The Grimm’s Brothers and A Knight’s Tale. If you enjoyed those movies, you might like this book. 

Even so, the plot could have been so much better, it’s sad.

Pros:

I love the premise! Putting a drab, emo girl in a princess school, and putting head-cheerleader girl in a haunted house school. It’s plays very well into the conflict and humor.

I loved how the two MC’s characters change throughout the book, discovering who they truly are. 

I love how the lines blur between the good kids and the evil kids, the good teachers and the evil teachers. 

I love the comic relief or added conflict given by the side characters. 

Cons:

It was just soooo messy! There was too much to keep track of at any given time. It needed to be stream-lined, like so bad you guys. It was 488 pages long, it needed to be 250 at max. It would have been more impactful, and more memorable.

But what really killed the mood was when the book took itself too seriously.

For example: "But pain meant they were still alive. Pain meant they still had hope for getting home."

Other times, I felt that the humor was too adult for a middle grade book.

For example: "'It sucks you of every intelligent thought and leaves you dumb as a donkey’s ass."'

Overall: Enjoyable

Overall, it was a good time. I had a lot of laughs and chuckles. My head hurt at some points, because the plot had overloaded my brain, but the ending was worth it. I thought the ending was really something. Just wish the plot had been edited down so that the message could have stood out more.

Messaging:

It was a mixed bag honestly. But I think the author wanted the take away to be from these two pivotal scenes in the book.

For example: "'You see, it doesn’t matter what we are, Sophie.' Lady Lesso leaned so close she just had to whisper. “It’s what we do.'"

For example (paraphrased):

"'What did you think of Beatrix the first time you saw her?'

'I don’t know. She was beautiful,' Agatha groused.

'And now?'

'She’s revolting.'

'Has she gotten less pretty?'

'No, but—'

'So, it’s being Good that matters? I thought you said it was looks.'"

However, the messaging was clouded when our MC’s started heckling the other students ("'You wouldn’t know Good if it crawled up your dress!' Agatha yelled") or did other spoilery things that they never got punished for or felt guilty about.

I don’t mind if the characters have flaws, but we need to see them as flaws, you know?

Goodreads Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Book Recommendations

I have been reading a lot of other reviews for List of Cages, and it appears that a bunch of people became very emotional while reading this book.

I want to be very clear that I am not trying to take away any of the pure emotions that you may have had while reading this book. I only gave my opinion of the book itself.

However, if you enjoyed List of Cages for the subject matter then I have a few recommendations that are guaranteed to blow your mind!

A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer
They Cage the Animals at Night by Jennings Michael Burch
Sickened by Julie Gregory
Runaway Girl by Casey Watson
Cry Silent Tears by Joe Peters

And My Highest Recommendation goes to: 
Scared Selfless by Michelle Stevens

A List of Cages by Robin Roe

 

Title: A List of Cages

Author: Robin Roe

Genre: Contemporary

Grade Level: YA

-Trigger Warning: Child Abuse

-Movie Rating: R-objectivity against women, and violence against children

-Features: ADHD, Foster Care

DNF**ed

(This review will only be over the first half)

Blurb (from goodreads):

When Adam Blake lands the best elective ever in his senior year, serving as an aide to the school psychologist, he thinks he’s got it made. Sure, it means a lot of sitting around, which isn’t easy for a guy with ADHD, but he can’t complain, since he gets to spend the period texting all his friends. Then the doctor asks him to track down the troubled freshman who keeps dodging her, and Adam discovers that the boy is Julian—the foster brother he hasn’t seen in five years.

Adam is ecstatic to be reunited. At first, Julian seems like the boy he once knew. He’s still kindhearted. He still writes stories and loves picture books meant for little kids. But as they spend more time together, Adam realizes that Julian is keeping secrets, like where he hides during the middle of the day, and what’s really going on inside his house. Adam is determined to help him, but his involvement could cost both boys their lives

My Scores:

Writing Style: Good

The writing style was okay. It’s by far not my main issue with this book. I mean I did have to read over a few sentences, just to make sure I understood them, because some of the word choices were unusual.

But it was not generic. This book was duel perspective, and I could definitely tell between the two characters voices, even if I hadn’t been told.

Characters: Annoying

The book switches between the perspectives of the two main characters, Adam and Julian. Though these characters were fully-developed, I just never got emotionally attached to them. 

Adam is a character with ADHD. He’s very outgoing, has a lot of friends, and lives a very openly. Julian is a character who has suffered tremendous child abuse. He’s very beaten down, shy, and fearful of the world. These two could not be more different, and yet they share a very unlikely friendship. However, as much as I wanted to root for their success, I only grew increasingly annoyed with both of them. 

Adam constantly objectifies women in his inner thoughts, and the messaging around that was ‘boys will be boys.’ If there must be vulgarity in a YA novel, I certainly expect for the messaging around it to be negative, not apathetic. 

Julian, despite his trauma, kept making stupid decisions that landed him in worse situations than he was before. It was very hard for me to believe that a person with his background would make the decisions he made.

So, on the whole, they just got on my nerves. 

Plot: No Plot!

This is my main issue with the book. There was NO PLOT to this story at all. It took half the book just to set everything up! Just to figure out what happened with Julian’s family and how Julian ended up where he was.

But that’s not a plot! There was no suspense to this story. None.

Everything in this first half could have been edited down to two chapters and no one would know.

I have no interest in finishing the book, so I’m not going to. Life is too short.

Overall: Total Garbage

This book is total garbage because not only was it boring, it was vulgar (specifically against women). If there is vulgarity in a YA book, I want the messaging around it to be against it, not apathetic.

Messaging:

Obviously, the message is against the abuse and bulling of children, but there are so many other books out there, better books, that make that message abundantly clearer.

My first pick? Scared Self-less by Michele Stevens.

Goodreads Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

Wishtree by Katherine Applegate

Title: Wishtree

Author: Katherine Applegate

Published: 2017

Genre: Fantasy

Grade Level: 3^rd–5^th Grade

Blurb (from goodreads):

Red is an oak tree who is many rings old. Red is the neighborhood "wishtree"—people write their wishes on pieces of cloth and tie them to Red's branches. Along with her crow friend Bongo and other animals who seek refuge in Red's hollows, this "wishtree" watches over the neighborhood.

You might say Red has seen it all. Until a new family moves in. Not everyone is welcoming, and Red's experiences as a wishtree are more important than ever.

  

My Scores:

Writing Style: Solid

I adore the way this book was written. While it’s true that the majority of sentences were simple and straight-forward (because it’s 3rd to 5th grade), each one was crafted to perfection.

Through there simplicity, each idea presented carried so much weight.

For example: 

"Hollows are proof that something bad can become something good with enough time and care and hope."

"It is a great gift indeed to love who you are."

There are also quite a few scientific words I hadn’t heard before spread throughout the book, such as 'corvids' and 'crepuscular.' 

Characters: Memorable

In this book, the MC is a tree named Red. One would suppose that because of this the character wouldn’t take an active role in the plot. The MC would merely be a candid observer. However, you would be wrong.

There is magic in this book, where trees and animals can communicate to one another. Because of this communication, the MC is able to take a more active role in the story, which I loved watching unfold.

Not to mention that Red reminded me so much of my best friends that it was impossible for me not to instantly love the character. Red is thoughtful, considerate, empathetic, and had a wonderful sense of self-deprecating humor.

For example: 

"I think Bongo is too pessimistic for such a young bird. Bongo thinks I’m too optimistic for such an old tree."

"So many wishes. Grand and goofy, selfish and sweet. It’s an honor, all the hopes bestowed upon my tired old limbs. Although by the end of May Day, I look like someone dumped a huge basket of trash on top of me."

I found the supporting characters, such as a crow named Bongo and the human children Samar and Stephen, to be endearing as well. They felt real to me, and I cared about them the same way the MC cared about them.

Plot: Slow Burn

The plot is a slow burn in the best kind of way. It takes its time developing personalities and providing a background into their lives so the audience could better appreciate them. This approach reminded me a lot of Charlotte’s Web and Secret Garden.

Overall: Obsessed

I love this book. It was such a joy to read. Anyone would be able to appreciate it, not just the kids. I just wish it were a little longer, but I never want to good book to end. :)

Extra Notes:

The artwork! I could stare these drawings for days. They are by far the best I’ve ever seen in a chapter book.

Messaging:

Preservation of the environment.

Tolerance of those who are different from you.

Never let your circumstances define who you are.

Similar Books:

Peter Rabbit

Charlotte’s Web

Secret Garden

Goodreads Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom

Title: Not If I See You First

Author: Eric Lindstrom

Published: 2015

Genre: Contemporary

Grade Level: YA

-Trigger Warning: Grief

-Movie Rating: R-rated for vulgar language

-Features: Physical Disability (blindness)

Blurb (from goodreads):

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, doling out tough-love advice to her painfully naïve 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.

My Scores:

Writing Style: Top Notch

As you can tell from the title, this book is full of dark/witty humor. 

Simply the fact that the MC is blind it provides the reader with a very unique perspective on the world. She doesn’t see all the non-verbal ques those around her give off, so she is forced to make her best educated guess. She also isn’t privy to the judgement people have of each other based on the color of their skin or their body shape, which is intriguing.

I love the way the MC’s emotions are shown in the writing style. Many times, the MC would have spiraling thoughts that got way out of control and the author would use run-on sentences to convey that.

For example: "I remember something like this from when I was little kid, running downstairs, feet in a rhythm in time with gravity’s pull as your body drops down, down, down—thump thump thump—and then suddenly you think about what you’re doing and something changes…Your brain was controlling your feet automatically but then you’re suddenly handed the controls and now you’re aware of needing to execute every single step one at a time, like thinking about your breathing and then your body stops doing it and you have to take over and do it yourself and you wonder how you can stop doing it and give control back to whatever part of your brain normally does it when you’re not paying attention, but your brain just hands you the steering wheel while you’re running down the stairs and suddenly you’re driving but incapable of handling this speed and in that moment you either manage to slow down, you stumble, or you fall."

I am seriously impressed by this, because I have literally felt this way before but I’m not sure I could have managed to put it to paper any better than this.

 

Characters: Absolutely Amazing

Pros:

The MC, Parker, has most certainly stolen a piece of my heart. I loved the first-person voice of this character. She was sarcastic, bold, outspoken, and independent to a fault. Nothing and no one was going to stop her from doing what she wanted, no matter how reckless it happened to be.

I related to her on so many levels and I simply adored her dark/witty sense of humor.

Other reviewers have commented that Parker isn’t the most likable of characters. However, my interpretation was that she wasn’t supposed to be. Anyone who has gone through trauma or grief knows that you’re not the most likable person afterwards. You build walls, shove people away, and over-objectify other people’s problems because none of them could possibly compare to the ones you’re going through. So, to me, Parker was a wonderful character to root for as she worked though her grief and interpersonal relationships.

I do have to say, though, that I missed having the non-verbal ques that every other book has. Not having them gave off a very disjointed feeling. However, again, I think that’s exactly what this book is trying to get the audience to acknowledge about the difficulties of being blind. I truly didn’t grasp that particular struggle until reading this book.

As for all the side characters, such as the two friend characters, the family, and the love interest, I felt like they were real people. I felt about them the same way the MC felt about them. I missed having the typical description of them, but again that is part of the perspective we were given.

Cons:

I think it would have been interesting if this book had been duel-perspective, so that I could get a better sense of how other people viewed Parker, especially the love interest. Although, that is less of a ‘con’ and more like a ‘want.’

Plot: Absolute Page Turner

The plot for this novel is based around the MC dealing with her past. The loss of her father. The betrayal of her boyfriend. The pity and isolation she receives from those around her since she went blind.

There is a side of romance, but it’s not the driving force of this book.

I found it to be well paced, heart-wrenching, and unbelievably inspirational.

Overall: Totally Obsessed

If you can’t tell, I loved this book! It was my first book with a blind MC and now I can’t wait to find other books with similar perspectives. I’m dying to see what else this disability has to offer.

Messaging:

-Treat people with disabilities like people. Period.

Goodreads Rating: 5 out of 5 stars