carolesrandomlife

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life.

I enjoyed reading this book. I was pulled into the story right away by the wonderful characters, an interesting premise, and just the right amount of humor. This was a super quick read for me largely because I had a hard time putting the book down. The descriptions were vivid and I couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to be in Will's position. I am very glad that I decided to pick up this book.

Will is starting a new school. He previously attended a school for the blind but is transferring to a mainstream high school. He starts out having to deal with a well meaning but unhelpful assistant pricinpal and before the day is over he has not only made a girl run from the room crying but has also sat on another student's lap at lunch. Before long, Will seems to find his place at his new school with a group of friends that keep him busy.

Will has the opportunity to have an experimental surgery that can make it possible for him to see for the first time in his life. Once he has the surgery the sudden ability to see isn't as smooth of a transistion as you might expect. Since he has never had the sense of sight, he has no reference point. His brain developed without visual input and it takes a lot of work to understand what he can now see. The descriptions regarding his sudden ability to see were incredibly strong in this book. I felt Will's frustration along with him and his family.

Will's relationship with Cecily was a major focus of the story. They develop a strong friendship through their work together on a school project. Their personalities just seemed to click and they both seemed to gain a lot by being together. When Will can finally see her, things don't go exactly as planned and I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed by Will's actions. I do understand that he was upset by the fact that things were kept from him but I hated that he was willing to make as big of a deal about it as he did.

I would recommend this book to others. I found it to be a quick read that was rather eye opening. Will's quest to be independant and fit into the world was such an interesting story. The humor was nicely woven into the story and really added a lot to the story and character developement. I plan to look for future novels by Josh Sundquist.

I received an advance reader edition of this book from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers TheNovl.com.

Initial Thoughts
This was a nice quick read. I liked the characters and the premise was interesting.