Not If I See You First

Selected as Teen Companion Book for Silicon Valley Reads 2018
Winner of Handi-Livres Prize: Best Teen Youth Book 2017
On YALSA’s List of Best Fiction for Young Adults 2017
Shortlisted for the Trinity Schools Book Award 2017
A Best-of-the-Year Selection in CCBC Choices 2016
Shortlisted for the Buxtehuder Bulle 2016
A Lovereading4kids Book of the Year 2016
Voted Teen Hamilton’s Top Novel 2016
One of Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Books of 2015
Top Ten Selection on the Kids’ Indie Next List Winter 2015
One of Barnes&Noble’s List of Most Anticipated December 2015 YAs
Available via the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) as a Talking Book
Amazon Editor’s Pick for Best Books of December 2015: Teen and Young Adult Fiction
Launched as #1 Hot New Release in Amazon’s Teen & Young Adult Special Needs Fiction

INTERNATIONAL EDITIONS BELOW!

The Rules:

Don’t deceive me. Ever. Especially using my blindness. Especially in public.

Don’t help me unless I ask. Otherwise you’re just getting in my way or bothering me.

Don’t be weird. Seriously, other than having my eyes closed all the time, I’m just like you only smarter.

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.

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INTERNATIONAL EDITIONS (Eleven translations so far!) : UK, French, Hebrew, Dutch, German, Spanish, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian, Indonesian, Portuguese, Turkish…

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Praise for Not If I See You First:

“Lindstrom’s immersive portrayal of the dimension Parker’s blindness adds to both atypical and everyday angst imbues his protagonist with mature complexity….An unflinching exploration of trust, friendship, and grief.”
―Kirkus Reviews (starred review) and a Kirkus Best Teen Books of 2015 Selection

“[Not If I See You First] possesses crackling wit, intense teen drama, and a lively pace that pulls readers in, as do the everyday details of Parker’s world: spoken-word texts, clever methods of finding her way, and a guide runner who helps Parker when she considers joining the school track team. This unique coming-of-age tale is off and running from the start.”
―Booklist

“Characterization is fantastic―very few high school stereotypes, and lots of challenged expectations about mean girls, pretty girls, blind girls, fat girls, jocks, and coaches. Parker has just the right degree of acerbic wit to be likable even when she’s bitchy, and when she falls apart, her insight into her own character is heartbreaking.”
―BCCB

“Lindstrom’s realistic and humorous dialog breathes life into an eclectic cast of characters. Parker’s relationships, including the one with herself, do not sugar-coat the mental struggles familiar to many teenagers. Readers will laugh through tears, with the novel ending on a note of hope and maturity.”
―School Library Connection

“…the strength of this debut novel is that Parker’s blindness isn’t her defining characteristic. Parker instead presents her challenges matter-of-factly, with a relentless need for independence and a killer sense of humor, which falters only occasionally, as when, in the story’s most wrenching moments, she grieves for her recently deceased father. This is a nuanced, compassionate portrait of what it’s like to live with a disability and of a girl who’s much more than her limitations.”
―Horn Book Magazine Reviews

“…in creating a heroine whose drive for independence brings both risks and rewards, Lindstrom adds a note of complexity to his gripping depiction of how Parker learns to trust and forgive.”
―Publishers Weekly

“An incredibly uplifting, thought provoking and sharply beautiful debut. Within a few pages you get a feel for the type of person Parker is, she’s different, and not just because of the obvious reason, but because she feels so real it almost hurts….as she tells her story you can hear her voice and picture every second as her personality bursts from the pages. With sharp kicks of wit and hugs of compassion ‘Not If I See You First’ is a wonderful read…”
―Lovereading4Kids (May 2016 Debut of the Month, in Books of the Year 2016)

“Not If I See You First is thoughtful and honest, with characters that made me laugh, cry, and surprised me at every turn. It’s a book I’ll recommend for years to come.”
―Kody Keplinger, New York Times bestselling author of The DUFF and co-founder of Disability in KidLit

“This book is fierce, funny, and honest. And get ready for some of the most likable characters you’ve read in years.”
―Deb Caletti, National Book Award Finalist

“Bursting with complex, lovable, and, best of all, real characters, Not If I See You First is a beautiful story about love, loss, friendship, and the difference between looking at and truly seeing. Parker Grant feels like a friend now — a friend I want to laugh with, to cry with, and especially…to run with.”
―Jennifer Brown, author of Hate List

“Parker Grant is unforgettable: vivid, feisty, and absolutely loveable. This book broke my heart, but left me smiling.”
―Fiona Wood, author of Wildlife and Six Impossible Things

Reader Reviews on Amazon and B&N:

On Goodreads: