Rae's Reads and Reviews

Will Porter, who is now sixteen, has been blind since birth. As a result, his parents have tried to protect him as best they can. He has been going to a school for the blind and visually impaired and spending his summers at blind camps for as long as he can remember. That all changes this year, when Will decides to start attending the local high school. He wants to be a writer, so going to a school with sighted students may be what he needs to get there.

When Will gets the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to see for the first time, he is wary of all it entails. There are many possible risks for the procedure, but he has a good chance of being selected as a candidate. He must make the weighted decision to leave the life he’s always known in search of that he has always missed.

I loved this story, it was just the right balance of contemporary and seriousness. The romance wasn’t cliche and it was honestly something different, which I’m always looking for in young adult contemporaries. The characters served the plot well, while still holding their own as individuals.

I especially love the way they paint Will as a person who is more than just his disability. He is so much more than “the blind student.” He is a teenage boy who goes to the mall and homecoming and has a regular table at lunch where he sits with his friends. There were situations where Will’s being blind made things appear awkward, but he had a knack for making light of these. The humor really helped ground the character further. All in all, I give this a 5/5 Stars.