"...doesn't affect whether I think you're beautiful." (210)
Title: Love and First SightAuthor: Josh Sundquist
Publisher: Little Brown for Young Readers
Release Date: January 3, 2017
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Fiction
Love is more than meets the eye.
On his first day at a new school, blind sixteen-year-old Will Porter accidentally groped a girl on the stairs, sat on another student in the cafeteria, and somehow drove a classmate to tears. High school can only go up from here, right?
As Will starts to find his footing, he develops a crush on a sweet but shy girl named Cecily. And despite his fear that having a girlfriend will make him inherently dependent on someone sighted, the two of them grow closer and closer. Then an unprecedented opportunity arises: an experimental surgery that could give Will eyesight for the first time in his life. But learning to see is more difficult than Will ever imagined, and he soon discovers that the sighted world has been keeping secrets. It turns out Cecily doesn’t meet traditional definitions of beauty—in fact, everything he’d heard about her appearance was a lie engineered by their so-called friends to get the two of them together. Does it matter what Cecily looks like? No, not really. But then why does Will feel so betrayed?
What does love have to do with sight? You've heard of the expression, "love at first sight," but what if you take the "sight" out of the equation? That is what author Josh Sundquist did in his debut novel, Love and First Sight". I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I like young adult fiction for many reasons, and one is the clean factor (which sadly to say, many are swaying away from that). Love and First Sight is clean in terms of language and content. True there are some tiny bit of teenage angst, but all acceptable. Next is the kind of romance that kind of sneaks up on you, with a certain level of trial and error, as well as friendship that makes it perfect.
In Love and First Sight, our main character, Will is born blind. He's never experienced the sight of things we find beautiful because we see it as beautiful. There are no differentiation of colors or understanding of perspective. What he "sees" as beautiful is from his heart. And that, my friends are the epitome of messages that relates to beauty that's within, and not by sight. There are themes of loyalty, friendship, courage and bullying, and it makes up a perfect young adult novel. A coming of age time in kids' lives, becoming more than a kid, but an adult, sometimes the mature thing may not be what you expect. Books like Love and First Sight makes for a novel that informs as well as understands. Let love be not about sight, but about what's in the heart.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher. I was not required to write a positive review, and have not been compensated for this. This is my honest opinion.
TO PURCHASE A COPY
Internationally-Known Motivational Speaker
Josh Sundquist is a bestselling author, motivational speaker, and Paralympic ski racer. He has spoken across the world to groups ranging from Fortune 500 companies to inner city public schools to the White House.
Cancer Survivor
At age nine, Josh was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer and given a fifty percent chance to live. He spent a year on chemotherapy treatments and his left leg was amputated. Doctors declared Josh cured of the disease at age thirteen and he took up ski racing three years later.
Paralympic Athlete
He trained for the next six years and in 2006 he was named to the US Paralympic Ski Team for the 2006 Paralympics in Turino, Italy. Today, Josh represents the United States in international competition as a member of the U.S. Amputee Soccer Team.
Bestselling Author
Josh's first memoir, Just Don't Fall, was a National Bestseller in hardcover and is now available in paperback and audiobook. It was been translated into German and is also available in an Australia/New Zealand edition, for which, as it turns out, no translation was required. His second memoir We Should Hang Out Sometime, which is about his adolescent dating disasters, is under development to become a movie. His debut novel Love and First Sight will be published in 2017.
YouTube personality
Best known for his viral hit "The Amputee Rap," Josh has built a YouTube channel with over 25 million views and two-hundred-thousand subscribers. In 2010 he was a winner of both the YouTube NextUp and YouTube On The Rise contests.
Service
Josh served a two-year tenure as the National Spokesperson for the Combined Federal Campaign, an effort that raises over $300 million dollars a year for charities. He has been featured on the back of Doritos bags nationwide for his work on behalf of amputees.
Media
Josh has been featured on CNN, USA TODAY, and NPR, and in many other less-famous and important sounding media outlets.
Education
Josh received a degree in business from the College of William and Mary and a Master's in Communications from the University of Southern California. He lives with his wife near the beach.
3 winners will receive a finished copy
of LOVE AND FIRST SIGHT, US Only.
I read and loved this book! I randomly requested a copy through Netgalley (had a different name then, even) and I was pleasantly surprised. It was a very eye opening--pardon the unintentional pun--story. Thanks for the amazing giveaway chance!
ReplyDeleteKristy, I know what you mean! Very true indeed! Thanks for sharing!
DeleteThe description of this book sounds like something I'd enjoy.Thanks for the chance.
ReplyDeleteIt's a simple concept, but well executed!
DeleteSounds very interesting. Thank you for the review.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lucy for stopping by!
DeleteSounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteO it is. Thanks Caryl!
DeleteI cant wiat to read this book, I first heard of you when goodreads did a giveaway for this book and I added to my tbr then
ReplyDeleteTruly enjoyed it. So here's to a win! Lots of luck!
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