Not If I See You First

September 21, 2015
An old writing adage suggests that plot boils down to getting a character up a tree and then throwing rocks at him. In Lindstrom’s debut, the tree is high, and the rocks are jagged. Parker Grant lost her sight and her mother in a car crash; as the book opens, she’s coping with her father’s sudden death. A high school junior, Parker gets around well on her own (so much so that she runs at a nearby field in secret) and has some strict rules to keep her life manageable. Some are reasonable (warn her before touching her, don’t assume blind means stupid), some less so (no crying, no second chances). That last rule, inspired by the middle-school boyfriend who broke her heart, is tested when he reappears. The byplay between Parker and her friends is believable, and in creating a heroine whose drive for independence brings both risks and rewards, Lindstrom adds a note of complexity to his gripping depiction of how Parker learns to trust and forgive. Ages 15–up. Agent: Jennifer Weltz, Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency.

Lindstrom's debut introduces 16-year-old Parker, who has been blind since age 7, when she lost her mother and her sight in a car crash. Lauren Fortgang's narration is uneven as she delivers this story, written in Parker's voice as she copes with the recent loss of her father and the reappearance of an ex-best friend/boyfriend, Scott. She succeeds in projecting Parker's self-assurance, which often veers into meanness, cousin Shelia's boredom, cousin Petey's enthusiasm, and a love-sick friend's sobbing, overwrought longing. But missed punctuation cues make some sentences sound slightly off, and we don't hear the Australian accent Parker assigns to Scott in her text-to-sound phone software. Still, the story provides interesting insights into a strong character who is coping with a disability. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

Starred review from October 1, 2015
"Rule #1: Don't deceive me. Ever.]Rule #INFINITY: There are NO second chances." Parker Grant doesn't trust surprises]her blindness intensifies them too much. After she finds her father dead of a drug overdose, she's further disoriented when her overprotective aunt and aloof cousin move in and junior year starts. Disorientation becomes dizziness when she meets Jason, who knows "how to talk to a blind girl," and it escalates to panic when she encounters Scott, the ex-boyfriend who betrayed her in eighth grade. She finds stability in running, but her outward equilibrium is maintained only by the gold stars she awards herself for not crying. Fortunately, she has her best friend, Sarah, and a no-nonsense, dark-humored outlook that she parlays into tough-love peer counseling because she can't see people flinch. But with so many changes and memories, is it enough? Lindstrom's immersive portrayal of the dimension Parker's blindness adds to both atypical and everyday angst imbues his protagonist with mature complexity. Like the Army vest covered in slogans or the colorful blindfolds she wears like a "Rorschach test," Parker's snarky bravado is not only for armor, but for input]a way to gauge other people's capacity for honesty, critical for navigating her world. Parker herself does not escape analysis (or sympathy), ultimately confronting her problems through what others reveal. An unflinching exploration of trust, friendship, and grief. (Fiction. 14 & up)

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October 15, 2015
Grades 8-11 Parker has rules: Don't talk extra loud to me. I'm not deaf; Don't touch me without asking or warning me. I can't see it coming. That's for starters. Blinded in an accident at a young age, that also took her mother's life, the acerbic teen suffers another tragedy in high school with the sudden death of her beloved father. Could life go any more offtrack? Yes, in fact, because a former boyfriend has just transferred to her school, introducing another layer of emotional complexity. While Lindstrom's debut understandably contains plenty of melancholy, angst, and self-doubt, it also possesses crackling wit, intense teen drama, and a lively pace that pulls readers in, as do the everyday details of Parker's world: spoken-word texts, clever methods of finding her way, and a guide runner who helps Parker when she considers joining the school track team. This unique coming-of-age tale is off and running from the start.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)