Sixteen-year-old Parker Grant has been blind since the car accident that killed her mother when Parker was seven. Now Parker’s father, who helped Parker become the independent young woman she is, has died of an overdose. Parker hadn’t even known he was taking antidepressants and wants to believe it was an accident. In a novel that exquisitely balances deep, sometimes gut-wrenching feelings with levity and humor, Parker finds herself questioning past decisions, current friendships, and her own self-centeredness as she realizes she is an accomplished self-advocate but often oblivious to the feelings and struggles of others. Those others include her former boyfriend, Scott, whom she’s shunned since an eighth-grade betrayal; her current best friend, Sarah; and her shallow cousin, Sheila, whose entire family uprooted their lives so Parker wouldn’t have to move. The characters in this book are vivid, the depth of their conversations and the nuances of their relationships marvelous. Even the secondary characters are far more than stereotypes as the author delves beneath the surface, so that even bitchy Trish, who is paired with Parker as a running partner when Parker joins the track team, has depth and surprise. Parker starts out believing her emotional control is a strength—she keeps a chart to track the number of days she’s gone without crying since her dad’s death. By novel’s end, she understands that the greater strength is in letting go, reaching out, and letting others in. (Age 12 and older)

In the tradition of Gayle Forman and John Green comes this extraordinary YA debut about a blind teen girl navigating life and love in high school.

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.

Debut author Eric Lindstrom's Not If I See You First combines a fiercely engaging voice with true heart.