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3.25 AVERAGE
3.25 AVERAGE
Hmmm. I'm sure this would have been an okay book, I may have even enjoyed it, if the synopsis hadn't lead me astray.
The book opens with a body being found and that Roz, the main character, was around her that night but can't remember anything. The chapters from there start in the past and count down to the day of death of Tricia, the body that was found. Very cool idea and one that I was ready to read.
But, this book is not a mystery. Not really. I was ready to stumble through the world through Roz' sun-spotted eyes trying to understand who done it.
instead, I got a lot of high school drama and a world I just didn't think was very realistic.
The fact that Roz has gotten through her life this far without admitting she needs any help - and with most teachers somehow not knowing of her sight-issues is just so unrealistic I want to scream at this book.
The whole school dynamic, lunches, the students - all of it felt made up. None of the classes or people even felt remotely real and the power one teacher had - I mean really?!?! Not even maybe.
I kept forgetting who each person was because none of them felt real - when they mentioned Heather was missing in the 6 or 7th chapter, I literally had to go back through the book to try to figure out who she was (the lunch buddy...)
It just didn't hold my attention or seem realistic at all.
The book opens with a body being found and that Roz, the main character, was around her that night but can't remember anything. The chapters from there start in the past and count down to the day of death of Tricia, the body that was found. Very cool idea and one that I was ready to read.
But, this book is not a mystery. Not really. I was ready to stumble through the world through Roz' sun-spotted eyes trying to understand who done it.
instead, I got a lot of high school drama and a world I just didn't think was very realistic.
The fact that Roz has gotten through her life this far without admitting she needs any help - and with most teachers somehow not knowing of her sight-issues is just so unrealistic I want to scream at this book.
The whole school dynamic, lunches, the students - all of it felt made up. None of the classes or people even felt remotely real and the power one teacher had - I mean really?!?! Not even maybe.
I kept forgetting who each person was because none of them felt real - when they mentioned Heather was missing in the 6 or 7th chapter, I literally had to go back through the book to try to figure out who she was (the lunch buddy...)
It just didn't hold my attention or seem realistic at all.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Not much of a murder mystery like I thought it would be. Kind of an odd story đŹ
From my blog:
Blind Spot was by far one of my most anticipated reads of the year. As soon as I read the synopsis I knew I had to read it, it sounded amazing. Such an interesting plot, and the cover is beautiful to boot. I read it almost as soon as I received it, which is unusual as I normally wait a bit but I could not hold off on this one. The entire story I was hooked, I couldnât put it down-I just needed to find out who killed Tricia and who was involved. In fact, I was approx 20 pages from the end and I thought I knew how it was going to end so I put it down to go to bed. The next day I was telling a friend about it and said, ââŚI really like itâŚthereâs no way the book can be ruined in 20 pagesâ. And it was. There will be mild spoilers in this review. Sorry, I really try to post reviews without spoilers but itâs just necessary in this one.
The main character is Roz, she is legally blind as she suffers from Macular Degeneration and her year is started off by being placed in a special education class to help assist in learning necessary life skills. It is now a mandatory class due to a recent suicide of another special education student. Roz is severely pissed off about this as she feels like she doesnât belong there so she immediately is at odds with the teacher. In Life Skills she meets Tricia, who is a drug addict. Roz and Tricia arenât exactly the best of friends but they have a sort of mutual understanding and get along so-so. Roz then starts dating the hottest, most popular boy in school and it all goes downhill from there. Tricia and Roz are at a party one nightâŚand then Roz wakes up the next morning and doesnât remember a thing. And Tricia is missing. Several months later Triciaâs body is discovered and the search for the person involved is started. And Roz is a prime suspect.
Letâs start off with the characters. I have never disliked a main character like I dislike Roz. First of all, she has absolutely no common sense. She dates the most self-obsessed guy in high school and doesnât even cast a thought that he may be using her? She claims that she is super independent and she doesnât need any special help with anything but yet when it comes to Jonathan she turns into the neediest, whiniest, clingy human being imaginable. Ugh. Despite that, until the ending was ruined(which I will get to) I still enjoyed the story, which is very rare for me because if I canât even like the main character normally itâs a DNF. Also, I could not stand that Greg was so sweet and adored her and she was just not having any of it. I loved Greg though, he was so sweet and tried so hard to get Roz to see that he liked her. My favorite character of all, ironically was Tricia. I thought she was interesting and had a really intriguing manner about her. I really wanted to know what happened in her life. And I enjoyed her sassy attitude.
The story starts off before Tricia goes missing, so you do get to experience Triciaâs personality and thatâs great. Iâm glad the author didnât start the story off after that night and work backwards. The entire reason that I hated the story is you never really find out how Tricia dies. I honestly thought I was going to scream when it got to the last page and thenâŚnothing. The entire point of the story was trying to figure out how she died and then NOTHING?! So aggravated. The only part of the ending that I enjoyed was at the prom and I wonât spoil that for anyone that wants to read this.
I give it 2 stars because I did like the story until the ending. Unfortunately because I disliked how it finished so much, I can barely remember why I in fact did enjoy it initially. I think a lot of people will enjoy this book, it just wasnât for me. I really cannot get past the ending and that is unfortunate because I really was on the edge of my seat waiting for it. On the plus side, if I could give an award for best cover⌠it would probably go to this one
Blind Spot was by far one of my most anticipated reads of the year. As soon as I read the synopsis I knew I had to read it, it sounded amazing. Such an interesting plot, and the cover is beautiful to boot. I read it almost as soon as I received it, which is unusual as I normally wait a bit but I could not hold off on this one. The entire story I was hooked, I couldnât put it down-I just needed to find out who killed Tricia and who was involved. In fact, I was approx 20 pages from the end and I thought I knew how it was going to end so I put it down to go to bed. The next day I was telling a friend about it and said, ââŚI really like itâŚthereâs no way the book can be ruined in 20 pagesâ. And it was. There will be mild spoilers in this review. Sorry, I really try to post reviews without spoilers but itâs just necessary in this one.
The main character is Roz, she is legally blind as she suffers from Macular Degeneration and her year is started off by being placed in a special education class to help assist in learning necessary life skills. It is now a mandatory class due to a recent suicide of another special education student. Roz is severely pissed off about this as she feels like she doesnât belong there so she immediately is at odds with the teacher. In Life Skills she meets Tricia, who is a drug addict. Roz and Tricia arenât exactly the best of friends but they have a sort of mutual understanding and get along so-so. Roz then starts dating the hottest, most popular boy in school and it all goes downhill from there. Tricia and Roz are at a party one nightâŚand then Roz wakes up the next morning and doesnât remember a thing. And Tricia is missing. Several months later Triciaâs body is discovered and the search for the person involved is started. And Roz is a prime suspect.
Letâs start off with the characters. I have never disliked a main character like I dislike Roz. First of all, she has absolutely no common sense. She dates the most self-obsessed guy in high school and doesnât even cast a thought that he may be using her? She claims that she is super independent and she doesnât need any special help with anything but yet when it comes to Jonathan she turns into the neediest, whiniest, clingy human being imaginable. Ugh. Despite that, until the ending was ruined(which I will get to) I still enjoyed the story, which is very rare for me because if I canât even like the main character normally itâs a DNF. Also, I could not stand that Greg was so sweet and adored her and she was just not having any of it. I loved Greg though, he was so sweet and tried so hard to get Roz to see that he liked her. My favorite character of all, ironically was Tricia. I thought she was interesting and had a really intriguing manner about her. I really wanted to know what happened in her life. And I enjoyed her sassy attitude.
The story starts off before Tricia goes missing, so you do get to experience Triciaâs personality and thatâs great. Iâm glad the author didnât start the story off after that night and work backwards. The entire reason that I hated the story is you never really find out how Tricia dies. I honestly thought I was going to scream when it got to the last page and thenâŚnothing. The entire point of the story was trying to figure out how she died and then NOTHING?! So aggravated. The only part of the ending that I enjoyed was at the prom and I wonât spoil that for anyone that wants to read this.
I give it 2 stars because I did like the story until the ending. Unfortunately because I disliked how it finished so much, I can barely remember why I in fact did enjoy it initially. I think a lot of people will enjoy this book, it just wasnât for me. I really cannot get past the ending and that is unfortunate because I really was on the edge of my seat waiting for it. On the plus side, if I could give an award for best cover⌠it would probably go to this one
I was very excited to have won an ARC for this book a few weeks ago. Even signed by the author :) I actually stayed up late last night to finish this book. I could not put it down!
It has a "Girl, Interrupted" feel to it except for the YA crowd. Roz, who is fully capable is stuck in the special ed class because of her eyesight and feels she really doesn't belong. Tricia is the crazy girl dancing in the hallways in a cape. They impact each others lives without being aware of it and Roz does everything she can to help her even though she thinks they hate each other.
In a weird way it also reminded me of "Carrie" by Stephen King. Its far from a horror story but when the most popular boy in school is attracted to misfit Roz, I kept waiting for some bad prank to happen to Roz. Fortunately, it doesn't but still I couldn't shake that feeling.
This book really was so good. Like I said, I could not put it down and read it in one day. Its face-paced and well written with characters we all met in high school.
Definitely worth checking out when its released later this year!
It has a "Girl, Interrupted" feel to it except for the YA crowd. Roz, who is fully capable is stuck in the special ed class because of her eyesight and feels she really doesn't belong. Tricia is the crazy girl dancing in the hallways in a cape. They impact each others lives without being aware of it and Roz does everything she can to help her even though she thinks they hate each other.
In a weird way it also reminded me of "Carrie" by Stephen King. Its far from a horror story but when the most popular boy in school is attracted to misfit Roz, I kept waiting for some bad prank to happen to Roz. Fortunately, it doesn't but still I couldn't shake that feeling.
This book really was so good. Like I said, I could not put it down and read it in one day. Its face-paced and well written with characters we all met in high school.
Definitely worth checking out when its released later this year!
While certainly entertaining and quite captivating, Blind Spot is hardly an edge-of-your-seat murder mystery. That wouldn't necessary be a bad thing, if it wasn't marketed as one. And it really isn't a bad book, in fact, I quite enjoyed all the drama. And though I expected something entirely different (based on the synopsis), I still had fun reading about the silly love affairs, betrayals and backstabbings, troubled teens and vengeful teachers. Most of all, I found the premise of the book really fascinating and full of potential (not entirely realized potential, but still). It was interesting to read about the lead character's disability and consider all the difficulties she'd have to face in her life.
The body of a teenage girl, Tricia Farni, was pulled from the local river. Tricia disappeared 6 months earlier after leaving a homecoming party at Birch Hill. Just before she disappeared she got into a fight with our MC, Roz, her cheating boyfriend, Jonathan, and their AP history teacher, Mr. Dellian. To Roz, that night is one big blur. She has witnessed Jonathan cheating on her with Tricia and got drunk. She then passed out and doesn't remember what exactly happened. She doesn't even remember how she got back home. All she has is bits and pieces of memories and images that don't make much sense. She now needs to figure out what happened to Tricia that night and who is responsible for her disappearance.
As thrilling and exciting as it sounds, the murder mystery serves only as the backdrop to a plot line focused almost entirely on highschool drama, dating, cheating and getting out of special ed class. And it isn't much of a murder mystery to begin with, but that's yet another plot twist we get to discover as we read on. While Tricia's disappearence takes the back seat to everything else, and it only really becomes the center of the plot line in the last 1/3 of the book (the first 2/3 happens before the prom night), the book is still quite intense and engaging. We know from the get-go that something bad will happen to Tricia, and we get to know her a bit through Roz's first-person narrative, which allows us to get more engaged in her story. We don't necessarily care about Tricia, as she's not exactly a likeable character. She doesn't get along with people, including Roz. But we at least get to understand her better. ("The whipped-cream-squirting, cloak-twirling, I-don't-give-a-shit routine was all an act. Underneath she was a defeated, deflated shell of a girl struggling to right herself. Fighting for control. Broken.").
Blind Spot is filled with characters that are perfectly imperfect. Some are damaged goods, some are lost and trying desperately to find themselves, some are misunderstood and some are downight annoying. It's all too easy to get frustrated with them and not easy at all to relate to them. That being said, I still find all these characters fascinating to read about. Most of them are complex and multi-layered, and not at all what they initially seem to be. Getting to know them and discovering their true selves is part of the fun.
The book touches on many different things - some more serious than others - but doesn't really explore any of them in depth. Roz is legally blind due to the macular degeneration she struggles with, yet all we really learn about her disability is that a) a dot obscures her central vision and therefore to see something/someone, she has to focus on the object/area to the side b) that her condition often results in awkward situations and misunderstandings and c) that she doesn't consider herself disabled in any way and hates when she's labeled disabled by others. We hardly get any insight in how her disability makes her feel (other than mad at the entire world), we don't get to see how it affects her family/peer relationships (other than that her mother insists on Roz's special ed class, and that her friends often think Roz is purposefully ignoring them) and we don't really get to explore her psyche in depth. For the most part, Roz is too focused on dating and keeping her gorgeous (and incredibly narcissistic) new boyfriend happy. And if she's not doing that, she's usually fighting with everyone else - from her teachers to her classmates.
When I finished reading Blind Spot, I sat there for a while trying to decide whether I liked the book or not. I was a bit disappointed, but then again, my disappointment stems from the misleading synopsis, and why should we punish the book for that? The more I thought about the plot and the characters, the more I appreciated the story. It was a good story. The ending was a bit disappointing, yes, but the book had so much more going for it than just that murder mystery everyone was so counting on. So don't think of Blind Spot in terms of a thriller or even a mystery, because you'll end up being disappointed or/and frustrated, think of it as a character study and human drama. It's a story about how sometimes we fail to see things that are right in front of us. A story about mistakes, misunderstandings and misplaced trust.
Blind Spot really is a good book, so if you enjoy dramatic plot lines, flawed characters and real-life struggles, chances are you'll like it just as much as I did, if not more!
The body of a teenage girl, Tricia Farni, was pulled from the local river. Tricia disappeared 6 months earlier after leaving a homecoming party at Birch Hill. Just before she disappeared she got into a fight with our MC, Roz, her cheating boyfriend, Jonathan, and their AP history teacher, Mr. Dellian. To Roz, that night is one big blur. She has witnessed Jonathan cheating on her with Tricia and got drunk. She then passed out and doesn't remember what exactly happened. She doesn't even remember how she got back home. All she has is bits and pieces of memories and images that don't make much sense. She now needs to figure out what happened to Tricia that night and who is responsible for her disappearance.
As thrilling and exciting as it sounds, the murder mystery serves only as the backdrop to a plot line focused almost entirely on highschool drama, dating, cheating and getting out of special ed class. And it isn't much of a murder mystery to begin with, but that's yet another plot twist we get to discover as we read on. While Tricia's disappearence takes the back seat to everything else, and it only really becomes the center of the plot line in the last 1/3 of the book (the first 2/3 happens before the prom night), the book is still quite intense and engaging. We know from the get-go that something bad will happen to Tricia, and we get to know her a bit through Roz's first-person narrative, which allows us to get more engaged in her story. We don't necessarily care about Tricia, as she's not exactly a likeable character. She doesn't get along with people, including Roz. But we at least get to understand her better. ("The whipped-cream-squirting, cloak-twirling, I-don't-give-a-shit routine was all an act. Underneath she was a defeated, deflated shell of a girl struggling to right herself. Fighting for control. Broken.").
Blind Spot is filled with characters that are perfectly imperfect. Some are damaged goods, some are lost and trying desperately to find themselves, some are misunderstood and some are downight annoying. It's all too easy to get frustrated with them and not easy at all to relate to them. That being said, I still find all these characters fascinating to read about. Most of them are complex and multi-layered, and not at all what they initially seem to be. Getting to know them and discovering their true selves is part of the fun.
The book touches on many different things - some more serious than others - but doesn't really explore any of them in depth. Roz is legally blind due to the macular degeneration she struggles with, yet all we really learn about her disability is that a) a dot obscures her central vision and therefore to see something/someone, she has to focus on the object/area to the side b) that her condition often results in awkward situations and misunderstandings and c) that she doesn't consider herself disabled in any way and hates when she's labeled disabled by others. We hardly get any insight in how her disability makes her feel (other than mad at the entire world), we don't get to see how it affects her family/peer relationships (other than that her mother insists on Roz's special ed class, and that her friends often think Roz is purposefully ignoring them) and we don't really get to explore her psyche in depth. For the most part, Roz is too focused on dating and keeping her gorgeous (and incredibly narcissistic) new boyfriend happy. And if she's not doing that, she's usually fighting with everyone else - from her teachers to her classmates.
When I finished reading Blind Spot, I sat there for a while trying to decide whether I liked the book or not. I was a bit disappointed, but then again, my disappointment stems from the misleading synopsis, and why should we punish the book for that? The more I thought about the plot and the characters, the more I appreciated the story. It was a good story. The ending was a bit disappointing, yes, but the book had so much more going for it than just that murder mystery everyone was so counting on. So don't think of Blind Spot in terms of a thriller or even a mystery, because you'll end up being disappointed or/and frustrated, think of it as a character study and human drama. It's a story about how sometimes we fail to see things that are right in front of us. A story about mistakes, misunderstandings and misplaced trust.
Blind Spot really is a good book, so if you enjoy dramatic plot lines, flawed characters and real-life struggles, chances are you'll like it just as much as I did, if not more!
This book was hard to get into at first, but once I got into I was glued. Took many twists and turns and definitely kept me guessing till the end. Thanks for a great quick read!
I finished Blind Spot in a few days. I was completely enthralled in the story. Itâs an attention grabbing âwho done it.â
Roz is a character that I related to, and wanted to shake some sense into at the same time. Sheâs legally blind and wants to be normal. Being placed in a new class for kids with impairments of some sort completely rocks her world. Sheâs being forced to get help she doesnât want after an incident with a student the year prior. I think the fact that she has handled her disability all of these years has been amazing. She doesnât realize that people just want the best for her. I couldnât stand Rozâs mom. She has no idea whatâs going on in her daughterâs life, and she doesnât really care as long as it doesnât interfere with hers. The side characters were intriguing, especially Tricia. Tricia definitely has issues, and will manipulate anyone she has to in order to get what she wants.
I liked the mystery of trying to find out what happened to Tricia. I kept trying to figure out who had a hand in her disappearance, and for the life of me I couldnât guess who. I was even blabbering to my husband about it. He said I was way to invested in the characters, but thatâs how I know when I really get into a storyline. There are so many things that happened the night Tricia disappeared, and events that led up to that night. I did feel like Roz made the wrong decisions in how she handled everything. Sheâs still a teen though, and she was scared. She doesnât know what exactly happened that night. Sheâs just trying to piece things together from what everyone is telling her.
I suggest this for those that want a great mystery with unique characters.
Roz is a character that I related to, and wanted to shake some sense into at the same time. Sheâs legally blind and wants to be normal. Being placed in a new class for kids with impairments of some sort completely rocks her world. Sheâs being forced to get help she doesnât want after an incident with a student the year prior. I think the fact that she has handled her disability all of these years has been amazing. She doesnât realize that people just want the best for her. I couldnât stand Rozâs mom. She has no idea whatâs going on in her daughterâs life, and she doesnât really care as long as it doesnât interfere with hers. The side characters were intriguing, especially Tricia. Tricia definitely has issues, and will manipulate anyone she has to in order to get what she wants.
I liked the mystery of trying to find out what happened to Tricia. I kept trying to figure out who had a hand in her disappearance, and for the life of me I couldnât guess who. I was even blabbering to my husband about it. He said I was way to invested in the characters, but thatâs how I know when I really get into a storyline. There are so many things that happened the night Tricia disappeared, and events that led up to that night. I did feel like Roz made the wrong decisions in how she handled everything. Sheâs still a teen though, and she was scared. She doesnât know what exactly happened that night. Sheâs just trying to piece things together from what everyone is telling her.
I suggest this for those that want a great mystery with unique characters.
I was fortunate to receive an early ARC of this October debut, and I just about devoured it. I was on a trip with my family to my little brotherâs graduation (he goes to college about 9 hours away), and I was very happy to read this along the way, but I was pretty upset when I was slated to drive around town all weekend! Not because I didnât want to drive (as I somewhat knew the town), but because it meant I had to put this book down! So, letâs get into it.
The book opens with the middle of the plot. Itâs fascinating, because we know the major turning point of the story at the outset (unlike John Greenâs Looking for Alaska). Yet, nothing feels like itâs spoiled or revealed because of this. I like the choice of making the hook not just a hook, but a nice piece of meat to chew on for a while.
Our story revolves around Roz (short for Roswell, not Rose) and her life being relegated to a special-ed âLife Skillsâ class. She is adamant about not needing this. You see, Roz has macular degeneration, which causes her to see large spots in her vision, the most notable being one right where her focus would be. She must look to the side and use her peripheral vision to see things properly. The irony here, of course, being that if she does look someone in the eyes, thatâs when she actually cannot see them at all. Anyway, she has an IEP, but this clearly states that she really only has one accommodation: she must be allowed to sit up front in class. Nowhere does it say she has to take a Life Skills class.
Except Mr. Dellian is in charge of her IEP now, and he happens to teach this Life Skills class (not to mention AP History). It is mandatory for anyone receiving special needs services. So everyone from the severely autistic kid, to the legally blind Roz, to the possibly psychotic Tricia are in this class.
This class has a feel of Mr. Kotterâs class in a way. Everyone is tight-knit and watches out for one another. One student even brings in baked goods every morning. Jonathon, a hockey player is an aide in the class (Mr. Dellian is also the hockey coach, which is believable, as there is a small-town small-school feel to this book). He has got an eye for Roz, and she has weak knees for him.
But donât let yourself get fooled into thinking this book is about the romance between them (donât worry; there is some). No, itâs much more than that. You see, Tricia has gone missing, not long after Roz and Jonathon help her get some weed to help her cope with her heroin addiction. Things went sour at the homecoming dance, and Roz is trying to piece it all together. The thing is, her vision isnât the only thing that has a blind spot. Thereâs a lot of that night she canât remember. Sheâs losing her friends as she dives further after the truth. The cops are breathing down her neck â can she see through her blind spots and figure out what really happened in time?
There are so many things going on in this book, most of them fantastic. First off, the cover. Whoa. I canât believe how good the cover is. Secondly, the characters are phenomenal. Mr. Dellian, Tricia, Roz, Greg, Fritz (I love Fritz), Jonathon. . .itâs just a great cast. Every character is so real. Some of them may be a bit one-dimensional, but itâs also first-person narration. And who didnât view some of their friends as âthe ________ girlâ or something like that in high school? Most of them are full, deep characters, and itâs neat to watch them all interact. I imagine it was fun to write with so many characters who have some pretty strong personas.
Also great here is the mystery. Iâve seen this categorized as a thriller, and Iâd disagree with that a bit, but it certainly is a mystery. I mean, someoneâs gone missing, and it seems like Roz should know what happened. . .but she doesnât. So neither does the reader, though thereâs just the right amount of foreshadowing going on in there.
The best thing, though â the BEST THING â about this book is that it is not an issue book. Does the narrator have macular degeneration? Yes. Does that impact the plot in a meaningful and not insignificant way? Yes. Is that what the book is about? ABSOLUTELY NOT. And this, I think, is exactly the way it should be.
Honestly, I could keep going, but Iâve rambled enough already. Okay, just a little more: there were a lot of parts in the beginning that I thought âthe Printz committee should read this.â Not because I think it would win, but because itâs good, and itâs a debut. I think Laura Ellen has something going on here, and Iâd like to see her write more.
Ultimately, though, I canât give this 5 stars. Itâs a solid book, I really enjoy it, etc., etc. But I think it tried to do a little too much at times. Also, the ending, while I liked it, was a little too rushed (in my opinion). But really, the nail in the 5-stars coffin: comparing Tesla to Buckcherry. Come on. I guess I just canât be as open-minded about that as Greg. Now, excuse me while I go rock out to some âModern Day Cowboy.â
I recommend this to high schoolers and up. I think the language and some topics (explicit drug use as well as references to drugs like GHB as well as sex â consensual and otherwise) may be a bit much for middle schoolers.
The book opens with the middle of the plot. Itâs fascinating, because we know the major turning point of the story at the outset (unlike John Greenâs Looking for Alaska). Yet, nothing feels like itâs spoiled or revealed because of this. I like the choice of making the hook not just a hook, but a nice piece of meat to chew on for a while.
Our story revolves around Roz (short for Roswell, not Rose) and her life being relegated to a special-ed âLife Skillsâ class. She is adamant about not needing this. You see, Roz has macular degeneration, which causes her to see large spots in her vision, the most notable being one right where her focus would be. She must look to the side and use her peripheral vision to see things properly. The irony here, of course, being that if she does look someone in the eyes, thatâs when she actually cannot see them at all. Anyway, she has an IEP, but this clearly states that she really only has one accommodation: she must be allowed to sit up front in class. Nowhere does it say she has to take a Life Skills class.
Except Mr. Dellian is in charge of her IEP now, and he happens to teach this Life Skills class (not to mention AP History). It is mandatory for anyone receiving special needs services. So everyone from the severely autistic kid, to the legally blind Roz, to the possibly psychotic Tricia are in this class.
This class has a feel of Mr. Kotterâs class in a way. Everyone is tight-knit and watches out for one another. One student even brings in baked goods every morning. Jonathon, a hockey player is an aide in the class (Mr. Dellian is also the hockey coach, which is believable, as there is a small-town small-school feel to this book). He has got an eye for Roz, and she has weak knees for him.
But donât let yourself get fooled into thinking this book is about the romance between them (donât worry; there is some). No, itâs much more than that. You see, Tricia has gone missing, not long after Roz and Jonathon help her get some weed to help her cope with her heroin addiction. Things went sour at the homecoming dance, and Roz is trying to piece it all together. The thing is, her vision isnât the only thing that has a blind spot. Thereâs a lot of that night she canât remember. Sheâs losing her friends as she dives further after the truth. The cops are breathing down her neck â can she see through her blind spots and figure out what really happened in time?
There are so many things going on in this book, most of them fantastic. First off, the cover. Whoa. I canât believe how good the cover is. Secondly, the characters are phenomenal. Mr. Dellian, Tricia, Roz, Greg, Fritz (I love Fritz), Jonathon. . .itâs just a great cast. Every character is so real. Some of them may be a bit one-dimensional, but itâs also first-person narration. And who didnât view some of their friends as âthe ________ girlâ or something like that in high school? Most of them are full, deep characters, and itâs neat to watch them all interact. I imagine it was fun to write with so many characters who have some pretty strong personas.
Also great here is the mystery. Iâve seen this categorized as a thriller, and Iâd disagree with that a bit, but it certainly is a mystery. I mean, someoneâs gone missing, and it seems like Roz should know what happened. . .but she doesnât. So neither does the reader, though thereâs just the right amount of foreshadowing going on in there.
The best thing, though â the BEST THING â about this book is that it is not an issue book. Does the narrator have macular degeneration? Yes. Does that impact the plot in a meaningful and not insignificant way? Yes. Is that what the book is about? ABSOLUTELY NOT. And this, I think, is exactly the way it should be.
Honestly, I could keep going, but Iâve rambled enough already. Okay, just a little more: there were a lot of parts in the beginning that I thought âthe Printz committee should read this.â Not because I think it would win, but because itâs good, and itâs a debut. I think Laura Ellen has something going on here, and Iâd like to see her write more.
Ultimately, though, I canât give this 5 stars. Itâs a solid book, I really enjoy it, etc., etc. But I think it tried to do a little too much at times. Also, the ending, while I liked it, was a little too rushed (in my opinion). But really, the nail in the 5-stars coffin: comparing Tesla to Buckcherry. Come on. I guess I just canât be as open-minded about that as Greg. Now, excuse me while I go rock out to some âModern Day Cowboy.â
I recommend this to high schoolers and up. I think the language and some topics (explicit drug use as well as references to drugs like GHB as well as sex â consensual and otherwise) may be a bit much for middle schoolers.
Ok, this was a very, very complex book, totally got the bad guys mixed up, and yeah, really, really enjoyed this book, though it was a little sad. But really great, too!
Stars: 2.5
Well that wasn't really the thriller I was expecting. Most of the time it shows Roz having a difficult school year, mostly created by her own attitude. Oh and yes there is of course the death of a schoolmate, but to me that wasn't the headline of the book. It was more a high-school drama, shame because it looked and sounded very promising.
Well that wasn't really the thriller I was expecting. Most of the time it shows Roz having a difficult school year, mostly created by her own attitude. Oh and yes there is of course the death of a schoolmate, but to me that wasn't the headline of the book. It was more a high-school drama, shame because it looked and sounded very promising.