The Sight of You

Starred review from April 13, 2020
Miller debuts with a stunning and gracefully written tearjerker about destiny, dreams, and selfless love. Joel Morgan has always had ultraspecific, prophetic dreams about future moments in the lives of people he loves. Though these visions are as likely to be good or neutral as they are to be bad, the bad visions have been negative enough to make him wary of making new connections and inviting more tragedy into his dreams. But the natural rapport Joel has with Callie Cooper, his favorite barista turned upstairs neighbor, slides naturally into a romantic relationship as they spend more time together. Soon, they fall in love, but Joel’s worst fear comes true when he dreams of Callie’s death. The two must navigate life with this knowledge, weighing the desire to do everything possible to prevent the tragedy with the desire to live each moment they have left to its fullest. Miller paints big emotions with nuance and subtlety, exploring complex family dynamics, grief, and anxiety with expert skill that lends realism to her tale, despite its supernatural conceit. This beautifully rendered work is both heartbreaking and life-affirming. Readers should be prepared to cry.

April 15, 2020
When Joel and Callie meet at the coffee shop where she works, the attraction is instantaneous. But Joel has sworn off relationships, preferring to keep people in the dark about the secret that has come to dominate his life: He has prophetic dreams about the people he loves. Sometimes the events in the dreams are minor?an argument, a traffic-related delay?while others involve life-and-death situations. The dreams include a specific date, and, barring intervention on Joel's part, they always come true. Reluctantly, Joel lets his guard down and his romance with Callie blossoms until he dreams about Callie's death. Can they live with his knowledge, and, if not, how can they live without each other? In her American debut, British writer Miller alternates between Joel and Callie's perspectives, allowing the reader to fully empathize with both characters as they grapple with this agonizing choice. Despite the fantastical elements, this is a love story. Fans of The Light We Lost (2017) and The Time Traveler's Wife (2003) will fall hard for this heartbreaking but ultimately life-affirming novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)