Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Review: Blind Spot by Laura Ellen

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Blind Spot
Laura Ellen
Publication date:  October 23rd 2012
by Harcourt Children’s Books

 

There’s none so blind as they that won’t see.

Seventeen-year-old Tricia Farni’s body floated to the surface of Alaska’s Birch River six months after the night she disappeared. The night Roz Hart had a fight with her. The night Roz can’t remember. Roz, who struggles with macular degeneration, is used to assembling fragments to make sense of the world around her. But this time it’s her memory that needs piecing together—to clear her name . . . to find a murderer.

This unflinchingly emotional novel is written in the powerful first-person voice of a legally blind teen who just wants to be like everyone else

 *A copy was provided by Thomas Allen & Son for review purposes*

Blind Spot was definitely not the thrilling murder mystery I had first envisioned, but because of some recent reviews I was forewarned, and I was expecting about what we got: A crazy contemporary regarding extreme teenage drama, drugs, special ed class, and an insane, mind boggling mess.

We have a girl, Roz, who has an eye disease that causes her to see spots in her vision–imagine looking at the sun too long. This part of the story was saddening and made me appreciate what we don’t always realize we’re lucky to have–clear vision. Being laughed at, accused, and bullied is what she has to deal with on a daily basis, not to mention being put in a special ed class where she meets other kids who are… a little messed up. Let’s just say we have a very eccentric cast of characters in this book. From the popular jock to the druggy, I can’t say I was a fan of any of them. Every single character in this book made me want to slap myself in the face and pretend it was them. In fact, I hated one so much–the teacher with the bizarre fixation on Roz–that it affected my overall enjoyment of the book. What was his problem? This happened with another book recently, too, where one character annoys me to such degree that I can’t even enjoy hating them. On the other hand, I couldn’t help finding their strangeness completely intriguing. Weird!

As for our protagonist, she was not my favourite. Although she made me sympathize to her eyesight situation and the difficulties it caused her, I could not forgive the decisions that she makes in this book, especially when it came to Jonathan. Jonathan, a douchebag of a guy; they call him Zeus, that alone should be enough to steer clear of him. Yet, our dear protagonist is all over him because he’s popular. Yes, that is all. I did not understand Roz’s affinity towards him. Honestly, he made me cringe. She makes mistake after mistake when she gives in to his preposterous ideas and I could not understand why she kept trusting him. Like the book overall, her mind remains a mystery to me.

What we have here is a complete mind game of a plot. You never understand why the characters are acting a certain way,you’re never sure who you can trust, who to believe, and then a girl goes missing. This is the part that I did like. I actually quite enjoyed trying to figure out what the heck everyone’s problem was. In this particular case it was as fun as it was frustrating. Hence why I feel very undecided towards the book as whole. It was all very…interesting?  Then there were parts of the story I did not like very much. The whole plan near the end where the cops get involved is absurd. No way would any police play into this realistically. And then the ending, frankly I feel a little cheated. You will know why.

Did I like this book? To be honest, I’m not quite sure. I feel kind of like a deer in headlights. It’s not a murder mystery, even though there is a murder (or so they think), and a mystery; it’s a contemporary novel filled with angst and baffling situations. If you enjoy those types of reads then I would say give it a try. It’s certainly different from anything I’ve read and I feel it may be one of those you have to experience for yourself.

3 Hot Espressos
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Giselle

Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

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17 Responses to “Review: Blind Spot by Laura Ellen”

  2. Aylee

    Okay yes, I will grant it that: it was sort of interesting how there were so many characters and you didn’t really know who to trust and who was telling the truth. But otherwise, ye gods! I couldn’t stand the characters and the bad decision after bad decision that Roz made. But mostly I feel annoyed that the synopsis was so misleading! I was fooled into thinking this would be a riveting murder mystery! Fooled I tell you! Heh, I enjoyed reading your thoughts on this one though, Giselle 🙂

  3. Christina

    This is one of those books where you need .5s in your ratings, because you didn’t quite like it and didn’t quite not like it, which is where I use my 2.5 rating.

    I’m glad it didn’t pain you as much as it did Blythe!

  4. Jenn Renee

    great review. Sounds like quite a love/hate relationship. this was on the top of my list, but maybe I can move it down a bit. It doesn’t sound much of what I was expecting. Thanks for the review.

  5. Amy

    I am looking forward to reading this. It does sounds a bit different than I was expecting, but I am even more curious now after reading your review. At least I will know what to expect going into it. Fab review chicky!!

  7. Jenni @ Alluring Reads

    I had the exact same feeling about the wrap up of the murder mystery. It’s almost as if she completely forgot about it and then was like “OH YEAH! I have to wrap that up!” There were so many unlikable characters in this one, but like you, the weirdness of it all kepy me going.

  9. Jen (A Reading Daydreamer)

    Wow, this sounds like QUITE the read! I was really excited to pick this one up, but I’m not quite sure anymore. It sounds confusing and the characters definitely seem a little frustrating towards the reader. Hmm, I’m still a bit indecisive. Thanks for your honest thoughts though, Giselle! Wonderful review. 🙂

  11. Jenn@OwlReadIt

    Ugh, the teacher! YES! So much hate towards him. Like seriously? He was a bully, no if, ands or buts about it. I don’t care what his intentions were, he was actuing completely inappropriately! I did like the overall story a bit more than you it seems, but hated him.

    I was kind of the same way, reading because I couldn’t look away and NEEDED to know who was behind it all!

    Thanks for the review 🙂

  13. Mel - Thedailyprophecy.

    Hmmmm, confusing! I think I will stay away from this book. Her eye disease sounds horrible and it’s always good to reminder yourself how lucky you are if you are healthy, but I don’t like the sound of her character. I don’t like it when they make stupid decisions.

    And hating a character so much that it’s not fun to hate them? Oh, that must be a horrible one then!

  14. Alexa

    It certainly sounds different, especially the condition the main character possesses. However, based on your review, it sounds like it’s not the type of book I’d necessarily enjoy, so thanks for sharing your honest thoughts!

  16. Lauren

    I felt the same way when I finished! I actually rated it 3 stars and then when I started to write my review I realized it was actually more of a 2 star for me. I was actually really disappointed with the ending, so much so that I am really upset with this book, haha. But I still am in love with this cover <3

    Great Review!!

  17. Rachel

    We had similar feelings on this read. I hated the teacher even after things were explained. Hated Jonathan and was irritated that she’d even consider him. But I loved the long-time friend she had a crush on (can’t remember his name off-hand) that was so nice to her.