Author: Emlyn Chand
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Page Count: 218 pages
Publish Date: October 24, 2011
Book Type: ebook provided for review
Publisher: Blue Crown Press
ISBN: 9780615524689
From Goodreads: Alex Kosmitoras’s life has never been easy. The only other student who will talk to him is the school bully, his parents are dead-broke and insanely overprotective, and to complicate matters even more, he's blind. Just when he thinks he'll never have a shot at a normal life, a new girl from India moves into town. Simmi is smart, nice, and actually wants to be friends with Alex. Plus she smells like an Almond Joy bar. Yes, sophomore year might not be so bad after all.
Unfortunately, Alex is in store for another new arrival—an unexpected and often embarrassing ability to “see” the future. Try as he may, Alex is unable to ignore his visions, especially when they begin to suggest that Simmi is in danger. With the help of the mysterious psychic next door and new friends who come bearing gifts of their own, Alex must embark on a journey to change his future.
My Review: The cover definitely depicts what is going on in the story, which is always a plus. I like that Alex has his “cool kid glasses” on! He would probably scoff at me using that term now, but I couldn’t help myself.
It was refreshing to get a different kind of main character here. 1. Alex is a boy, which is sometimes lacking in YA fiction. 2. Alex is blind, which is definitely lacking in YA fiction. I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard of another YA book with a blind protagonist. Correct me if I’m wrong, please.
Another interesting aspect of this book was that the author included a rune and corresponding prophecy at the beginning of each chapter. They acted as kind of a teaser for what was to come and it was fun to try to figure them out. For a minute, I felt like Hermione deciphering the runes in The Tales of Beedle the Bard during Deathly Hallows.
I like how Alex comes into his gifts. It’s sort of a build up and it was fun to see him make the decisions about what to do with the things he saw. I also appreciated that romance wasn’t the main aspect of this book. Sure, it was in there, but it wasn’t the focus. Maybe this has something to do with the main character being male. Thinking back on my other YA reads with male protagonists, I don’t think their main focus is romance either. I’ll have to find more of these.
I really applaud Emlyn Chand for choosing to have a blind character. It could have been really awkward to read about, but Chand knew all of the right descriptive words to use. I’m excited for the next one!
Have you read this one? Does it sound like something you might want to read?
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THE BOOK: Alex Kosmitoras may be blind, but he can still “see” things others can’t. When his unwanted visions of the future begin to suggest that the girl he likes could be in danger, he has no choice but to take on destiny and demand it reconsider. Get your copy today by visiting Amazon.com’s Kindle store or the eBook retailer of your choice. The paperback edition will be available on November 24 (for the author’s birthday).
THE GIVEAWAYS: Win 1 of 10 autographed copies of Farsighted before its paperback release by entering the giveaway on GoodReads. Perhaps you’d like an autographed postcard from the author; you can request one on her site.
THE AUTHOR: Emlyn Chand has always loved to hear and tell stories, having emerged from the womb with a fountain pen grasped firmly in her left hand (true story). When she’s not writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm, Novel Publicity. Emlyn loves to connect with readers and is available throughout the social media interweb. Visit www.emlynchand.com for more info. Don’t forget to say “hi” to her sun conure Ducky!
Hi, Kaitlyn. Thank you for the great review. You're right, there aren't many male protagonists in YA lately, and the genre has also been trending very romance-heavy. The next book in the series, Open Heart, will definitely have more of a romantic aspect and will be narrated by a different main character. I'm glad the runes made you feel like Hermoine! Hermoine is SO cool! Go Gryfindor!
ReplyDeleteI like to try and take on destiny too. My motto recently has been "it is what you make it". Sounds like a pretty good read. I voted for you in the contest. I hope I can win a $100 with you! Good luck!
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