Love Blind

February 15, 2016
Going on 16, Hailey has "the eyes of a ninety-six-year-old" due to macular degeneration. Encouraged by her adoptive moms, Hailey keeps a list of fears and increasingly risky behaviors to conquer before her sight disappears. When her band, Blinders On, plays for the school radio station, she meets Kyle. Traumatized by bullying and berated by his mentally ill single mother, Kyle battles his own anxiety. Both teens are white. Their alternating narration forms a believably messy picture of hormonally charged friendship as they cross off their worst fears. Unfortunately, the plot's long list of teen issues courts stereotypes and gives short shrift to poignant incidents and likable secondary characters. The kids' awareness of these stereotypes only highlights them; for instance, when Hailey feels Kyle's face so she'll "know how to see people when [she's] blind," Kyle thinks, "I'd seen that in movies, but people really did that?" (Generally, they don't, which is acknowledged in the text, but Hailey still does it.) Two characters' disparate reactions to a shared trauma sympathetically raise questions of survivor guilt and denial, but one character quotes platitudes so relentlessly that, lacking further development, he risks being reduced to a plucky sidekick. While teens have complicated lives that don't necessarily unfold in order of importance, such nuanced subjects as post-traumatic stress don't deserve to be foils for the sake of a romance. Readers wanting more balanced portrayals of troubled characters should try Ron Koertge's Stoner and Spaz (2001) or Corey Ann Haydu's OCD Love Story (2013). (Romance. 14-18)

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March 1, 2016

Gr 10 Up-Sixteen-year-old Hailey Bosler has what her ophthalmologist calls "old-people eyes" (macular degeneration and glaucoma), two moms, and a position as the lead singer of a girl band. She also has a fear list, a compilation of things that she wants to conquer before she goes completely blind. After her band is interviewed at a local radio station, she bumps into the station's sound engineer, Kyle. They engage in a mumbling conversation that ends with Kyle shuffling off and Hailey intrigued. The two run into each other a second time at a concert in a bar, where she ends the night puking on his shoes. As an apology, she buys him a new pair and convinces him to start his own fear list, and thus their story begins. Partnering up for this emotionally charged novel, Desir and Perry create a duo readers will identify with and cheer for. As the teens set out to conquer their fears, the sexual tension quickly builds, with both refusing to accept the depth of their mutual attraction. Hailey is confident, stubborn, and funny and isn't afraid to show her sassy side. Meanwhile, Kyle is shy and awkward. The authors combine perfect pacing with spot-on character development that will leave readers empathizing with the characters from the very beginning. The plot takes several unexpected turns; it hits hard, exploring issues such as depression, loss of virginity, and homosexuality. VERDICT For fans of Sophie Kinsella's Finding Audrey (Delacorte) and Jennifer Niven's All the Bright Places (Knopf, both 2015).-Erin Holt, Williamson County Public Library, Franklin, TN

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