Thank you to NetGalley and Abbie Emmons for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
When 16 year old poetry blogger Tessa Dickinson is involved in a car accident leaving her temporarily blind she feels like her whole world is turned upside down.
Scared that her vision will never come back, Tessa hides herself away in her room with the overwhelming feeling that she has nothing left to be happy about it. When her grandparents place an ad in the local newspaper looking for a typist to help Tessa write an unlikely answer knocks on the door in the form of Weston Ludovico, a 16 year old boy with bright eyes, an optimistic smile and no legs.
Weston knows what Tessa is going through and is adamant to help Tessa get back to the life she once lived. Plus, with Tessa not being able to see Weston’s disability he can finally be treated like a normal person, even if that does involve being screamed at and told repeatedly to leave her house.
Weston wants to help pull Tessa out of the darkness and show her that there is more than one way to experience the world. As time goes on Tessa finds herself unable to imagine a life without Weston and while Weston feels the same he knows he is keeping a big secret from her and he has to make the decision on whether he should vanish from Tessa’s world or overcome his own fear of being seen.
I really like books that venture into that somewhat taboo topic of disability and what I like even more is when it’s done correctly. Both Weston and Tessa both lost something and this book and this is a story of leaning to accept that you can do anything if you put your mind to it.
Tessa feels like she has lost everything and understandably withdraws into herself with the fear that life isn’t going to get better. Weston made a stupid mistake that led to him losing his legs but no matter what he wanted to prove he was strong enough to carry on as if nothing had happened. Together they learn to adapt to a new life and stayed strong through all the ups and downs that life threw at them.
I honestly loved the representation of disability in this book and wish that more books approached the subject. Since finishing this book I’ve started to take notice of the little things in my life that I honestly take for granted. It’s also reminded me to stay strong and to keep fighting no matter how much the darkness tries to swallow you up.
So, if you’re looking for a story about romance, hope and family values then I really do recommend you pick up this book!
Rating: 4/5 stars
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