Author: Rachel DeWoskin
Release date: August 7, 2014
Published by: Viking Books for Young Readers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
You would think that relearning everything would be enough to keep you busy after losing your eyesight to a terrible accident. Of course that is just not enough for Emma Sasha Silver apparently since she also grabs onto the death of a local girl which has been found to be a suicide. How can a young girl commit suicide and no one have ANY idea that she was headed in this direction? That's the sad mystery that Emma wants to solve. She's only 15 and now completely blind but is bent on solving what happened and what should happen next for her and her friends.
My thoughts: I really liked this one. I got to meet Rachel and hear her talk about researching for this book. I was seriously impressed that she not only went to a school for the blind to talk with kids about being blind, going blind, their fears, etc. but that she also learned braille. The best part about the book for me was the main character, Emma. She is tough, strong and resilient like all of us hope to be every day. She is a great role model without dressing things up and playing at being a fake teenage girl. She's real. That really means a lot in a book.
Emma's family was a character all on its own in the book. She has 6 siblings along with her mother and father who surround her throughout the book. I, of course at this point in my life, really loved the mom and the dad. They were great, and also very real. They never let up on trying to help her even when Emma didn't want help they still did things in little ways for her. Even if it was an inappropriate sip of wine at midnight when she couldn't sleep. Of course so were her siblings, including her sister who was just awful to her even though she had lost her sight. Others tended to want to treat Emma with "kid gloves", but not this sister. She also has this adorable younger brother Benj who she adores and who adores her. I could honestly go on and on about her family; they were so well written.
There isn't much romance in this one and I was ok with that since Emma is, and should be, focused on putting herself (her mind and body) back together after such an awful accident. The development of Emma as a character was really the main event in this book. She is so well written.
The audiobook: There was one actress reading this one and we really liked it. We actually listened to this one after ALAMW15 in the car back and forth from school and home each day. The girls and I that is. I was a bit nervous here and there about the YA content, and even made sure to listen to a large section without them which they were really angry about. LOL! I actually finished reading the book as the actual book since I got it at ALAMW15 too ironically. They have been begging me to get another book to listen to in the car. :)
Final thoughts: This is a great story about a girl who is trying to find her way at a point where she has to start over because she is now suddenly completely blind. Plus, it's about what it means to be there for your friends and your family. Try it!
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| A goofy picture of Rachel and I this fall @Anderson's YA Conference. LOL! |
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