Book Synopsis:
The Rules
Don't deceive me. Ever. Especially using my blindness. Especially in public.
Don't help me unless I ask. Otherwise you're just getting in my way or bothering me.
Don't be weird. Seriously, other than having my eyes closed all the time, I'm just like you only smarter.
Parker Grant doesn't need 20/20 vision to see right through you. That's why she created the Rules: Don't treat her any differently just because she's blind, and never take advantage. There will be no second chances. Just ask Scott Kilpatrick, the boy who broke her heart.
When Scott suddenly reappears in her life after being gone for years, Parker knows there's only one way to react - shun him so hard it hurts. She has enough on her mind already, like trying out for the track team (that's right, her eyes don't work but her legs still do), doling out tough-love advice to her painfully naive classmates, and giving herself gold stars for every day she hasn't cried since her dad's death three months ago. But avoiding her past quickly proves impossible, and the more Parker learns about what really happened - both with Scott, and her dad - the more she starts to question if things are always as they seem. Maybe, just maybe, some Rules are meant to be broken.
My Review:
3.5/5 stars. I was really looking forward to reading this book because of the fact that it was a blind character, but I was disappointed. The portrayal of blindness was great and accurate, but there was way too much bad language and some sexual content I was uncomfortable with. It's just like another book I read recently that was worse because of the negative content. I loved the character development the main character had, but her personality also felt a little inconsistent at times.
I had high hopes going into this book. I first picked it up because there was a blind main character, and the plot itself was intriguing. The book started off strong. The last sentence of the prologue was a very engaging hook that got my attention and pulled me in. However, the plot relevance of the end of the prologue ended up not being as important as it seemed.
Right away, I didn't really like the main character, Parker. She was rude to everyone, even her friends, and thought she was too cool to be bothered by anyone. This was written as kind of a positive, like Parker is just too good for other people who don't understand her, but it just made her annoying and mean. Then, later in the book, the way she was written was inconsistent. Suddenly she was a girl who loved her friends more than anything and didn't want to be mean to people. This wasn't character development, it was inconsistent writing. Parker had actual character development later, which I loved, but this wasn't that.
Speaking of, I'll talk about the character development. It was the best part of this book. Parker grew in two big ways over the course of the book. At the beginning, she has a star chart and rewards herself for not crying each day. This frustrated me, because she was bottling up her emotions. I was relieved when she broke down and finally learned that it's okay to express emotions and cry. The second way she had major growth was that she forgave Scott, learned not to jump to conclusions, and learned not to hold grudges. This made me happy.
Both love interests in this book were great. Jason, introduced first, was such a sweet, attentive, and considerate guy. I understand why Parker liked him. I felt bad for him later in the book when Parker broke up with him, even though their relationship had barely started. Scott is also a great guy, especially in the flashbacks and memories Parker has of him. I love that their romantic relationship was rooted in a platonic friendship, because that's what all the best relationships are.
On that note, I loved Parker's monologue she gave about what real love is, both platonic and romantic. That was a really cute scene. It was also the catalyst for most of her development, and she realized her own feelings as she gave advice to someone else. You don't see a lot of discussion in romance books about there being a strong friendship first, so that was nice.
Content Warning:
Language: About every curse word you can imagine, multiple times. sh*t, b*tch, h*ll, d**chebag, a**hole, dumb*ss, d*ck, d*dm, f**k, t*ts, God's name taken in vain.
Sexual Content: A mention of a female classmate liking girls, mention of a stripper, mention of a threesome, saying that a beautiful girl makes a girl "question her sexual orientation", mention of a "bondage fetish", a comment that a classmate might be gay, the phrase "get in your pants", a kissing/make-out scene that goes way further than I was comfortable with, describing the feelings evoked and giving details.
Violence/gore: Parker lost her vision in a car accident, nothing is described
Drugs/alcohol: Parker's dad died from a combo of prescription pills and alcohol
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