Not If I See You First

 Shirley J.         Teen Fiction              Auto accident, Blind, Orphaned, meeting life strong and head-on

Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom       336 pages

When Parker was 4, she was in a car accident that killed her mother and left her blind.   As a teenager her father died and now her Aunt and two cousins have moved in to Parker's house (it was way nicer than theirs) to look after her.   Parker is smart and doles out sage advice and tough love to her best friend and other friends.   Her cousin Sarah, now living with her, who is the same age and now attending the highschool that Parker goes to is not her bff.   To say their relationship is testy is being generous, but, she gets along great with Sarah's younger brother at least.   Not a lot of love showing from her Aunt, but, then they were never close till her Dad died so it is a familial unit of convenience for the most part.   Parker has strict rules she has set for herself, "Don't treat me any different" because she is blind and "Never take advantage."     She puts up a good facade of being tough but secretly she gives herself a gold star for every day she doesn't cry since her Dad's death.  Oh yeah, and her guilty pleasure is running.   Turns out, blind or not, she is good at it.   Lots happens, a blast from her past reemerges along with a new love interest and a maybe who ends up being tutored in calculus by Parker and her friends thereby earning the title of being "one of the girls."   A very well told story of teen angst with a whole lot more going on besides.    I recommend this one to middle schoolers on up.   A very good debut novel by Eric Lindstrom.