Blind Spot

Dec 26, 2012 Blythe rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1-star, synopses-that-lie, 2012-reads, almost-fell-asleep, disappointments, doesn-t-deserve-the-hype, highly-anticipating-2012, i-totally-saw-that-coming, judge-a-book-by-the-cover, losing-my-faith-in-humanity, snark-bait-ooh-ah-ah, unmet-potential, read-reviewed

I've been tricked! Bamboozled! Played! *goes to look up other synonyms for tricked* Cheated! Conned! Deceived! Duped! Flimflammed (that's my favorite)! Swindled!

But most of all, I've been disappointed. Disappointed that I went into Blind Spot thinking it'd be, well... good, disappointed in what it actually ended up being, and also, disappointed that it wasn't what it could have been. And what this could have been is so, so much more than it was.

Your enjoyment in this novel boils down to one ma...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Giselle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, own, mystery-thriller

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 reali...more 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.

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An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.

For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

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Oct 05, 2012 Ashleigh Paige rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-via-amazon-vine, arc, i-screamed-at-it, not-worth-a-proper-review, skipping-through-the-book, the-shameful-shelf-of-get-rid-of-it, uh-oh-someone-has-the-idiot-ball, what-kind-of-mess-is-this, worst-books-i-ve-ever-read, wow-what-a-douchecanoe

See more of my reviews sooner on The YA Kitten! My copy was an ARC I received via Amazon Vine.

Novels filled with characters readers are supposed to hate are tricky books to pull off. Courtney Summers, with her ability to make us dislike everyone and yet want to keep reading about them because the characters are also well-drawn and full of potential, can easily pull those kinds of books off. Laura Ellen cannot because she makes readers hate her cast of characters too much and fails to make them i...more

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Apr 11, 2013 Shari rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed, read-in-2012

3.5 stars

Roz's character is unlike any other that I have ever read. She wants to be "normal" so badly and is beyond angry that the school has decided to put her in a class of kids that she deems definitely not "normal". Little does she know that these kids have a lot more to offer than she ever thought.

The mystery surrounding Tricia's murder is full of plot twists right up until the moment that I had that unmistakable "ah ha" moment.

An interesting, captivating YA mystery. Totally worth the read...more

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Oct 09, 2012 ♥Rachel♥ rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley-e-book, arc

3.5 Stars.

Just as there are stars in the day sky that you can’t see until nightfall, I realized, there were things right there in front of me that I’d missed. *

And that is a central theme to this story.

I found Blind Spot an engrossing read with a realistic protagonist, and a story that put me on the edge of my seat, and made me a little anxious. It isn’t a perfect story, but it was fascinating enough to make me read it in one sitting.

Sixteen year old Roz find herself in the middle of a murder...more

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Oct 28, 2012 Isamlq rated it 1 of 5 stars

Things went from confusing to mysterious to frustrating and unfair and then to so utterly stupid. Granted the ‘stupid’ came in, much later, but it’s also on its account that my appreciation for things in BLIND SPOT died a quick and unexpected death. Seriously though it’s been a long while since I’ve been disappointed in a book’s turn out!

It’s all very complicated from the start for Roz with absent father and overworked mother, the girl’s got a chip on her shoulder the size of Mt. Rushmore! With...more Things went from confusing to mysterious to frustrating and unfair and then to so utterly stupid. Granted the ‘stupid’ came in, much later, but it’s also on its account that my appreciation for things in BLIND SPOT died a quick and unexpected death. Seriously though it’s been a long while since I’ve been disappointed in a book’s turn out!

It’s all very complicated from the start for Roz with absent father and overworked mother, the girl’s got a chip on her shoulder the size of Mt. Rushmore! Without fail, the girl’s all, “I’m not special… I just can’t see well.” So when made to attend Special Ed class, everything seemed to be an insult against her with just about everyone seemingly out to get her. Of course, considering her best friend had just dropped her, you’d think she’d be over the moon at having new people approach her… and there were many who approached, so suddenly at that! I mean there’s The Jock, that weird manic pretty girl who’s so out of this world and Stanford or cute shy guy as he is initially labeled.

It’s all very upsetting/frustrating/confusing too… It’s authentically frustrating how unfair things got… and I was sitting here wondering why everyone else is letting things slide! Except at the back of my head, I was also wondering if I could rely on her side of the story at all, because what she’s told had me wondering if there was something she wasn’t telling. Was some vital piece being held back? So there I was: doubting the narrator and at the same time feeling sorry for her because I was simply unsure about things, but the worse thing is how her words got second place to what everyone else has to say. I can’t say I enjoyed it… but the goings on riled something in me.

Add that not so complicated boy girl goings on: the girl likes the boy who treats her badly, another guy likes the same girl but the girl is unaware, so it all becomes a little pedestrian, so standard YA. Except wait a couple of beats and you see a side to some of them. Some of them don’t back down, some of them say some pretty crappy things, but then there are also others among them who have their heads buried deep in the sand totally oblivious to what is. So, I don’t know if I enjoyed this part at all because a lot of the time all I wanted was for them to have a sit down and talk things through, minus the assuming, minus the fuming, and minus the unsupported jealousies.

And when so suddenly, Roz starts putting things together and finally starts thinking, I confess I wasn’t exactly thrilled by the change. Instead I was more SURPRISED by her going from, “She said... He said… And I heard this,” to connecting the dots. And she’s not the only one who changes too! Mostly the shift in the story line: I was kind of enjoying (but not completely, mind you)semi-smart mystery where you just don’t know whose word to put stock that it BLIND SPOT was going for at first. I was even sorta loving the whole people have got something to hide thing as well; but all that went bye- bye once Roz went all Velma on me and started in on an episode of Scooby Doo!

It’s the shift into the last I could not enjoy, let alone buy, simply because it was so sudden. Imagine if your dog suddenly spewing mathematical formula and you can approximate how I felt. Because once she starts suggesting they pull together and do this or that, all I’m recalling is her having her head buried in the sand for most of the book just moments before. Also, the things she was suggesting? It really seemed to come straight out of Scooby Doo, minus cute dopey dog and skinny shaggy haired duo to make laugh.

1.5/5

What a waste of a good cover.
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Oct 23, 2012 Ashelynn rated it 4 of 5 stars

3.5 rating

You can read my full review here.

I had my difficulties with Blind Spot by Laura Ellen. For one, I hated Mr. Dellian, a teacher that deals with the special education classes (and AP history, I think.) It was SO frustration that he was out to get Roz. WHY? What did Roz do to him? NOTHING. ABSOLUTELY FREAKING NOTHING.

It’s frustrating when someone clearly has a vendetta against one and it isn’t explain—and even more frustrating when it’s a teacher against a student. There should be NO REA...more 3.5 rating

You can read my full review here.

I had my difficulties with Blind Spot by Laura Ellen. For one, I hated Mr. Dellian, a teacher that deals with the special education classes (and AP history, I think.) It was SO frustration that he was out to get Roz. WHY? What did Roz do to him? NOTHING. ABSOLUTELY FREAKING NOTHING.

It’s frustrating when someone clearly has a vendetta against one and it isn’t explain—and even more frustrating when it’s a teacher against a student. There should be NO REASON for a teacher to do what Dellian does to Roz—marking her absent for sitting in the front, which he KNOWS she has to do in order to see, etc. etc.

And yet I can’t help but wonder if that was Laura Ellen’s intent: to make the readers get so frustrated with Dellian. But I don’t think it actually works, because at the end we learn more about Dellian and his relationship with Tricia and now we have to feel sympathetic for him? Oh hell no. That doesn’t work for me at ALL.

As for Roz. Oh holy mother, I ended up hating her at points. She makes mistakes, yes, but they’re mistakes she could have easily avoided, especially with Dellian. Look, I get that when you have a disability, you don’t want people to act different around you, but getting in trouble with the school because you and Dellian have some twisted war going on is NOT going to make you sympathetic toward the readers.

What I did like was the writing style. I LOVED that this book is written differently than most, but after a while it gets annoying. This book is almost split in half: we have a prologue that hooks the reader, stating that Tricia’s body was found six months after she disappeared and then chapter one is when Roz meets Tricia. You know there’s an impending doom, but while readers are waiting for the story to GET ON WITH IT, the story is taking its time to develop the relationship between the characters.

While this one was addicting, I found my thoughts wandering and resulting in me having to reread a lot of paragraphs because of the writing style, especially during the first half before Tricia goes missing.

Le sighhh.

Also, the ending. Ugh, that ending. It was a disappointment. I wish it would have been awesome. It’s just . . . everything was building up to something epic and then the mystery was resolved and instead of it being this huge explosion of awesome, it fell back down to the earth and broke. No explosion. NOTHING. It was a letdown of an ending.

BUT I liked it. It’s a strange little book. I like those type of books.(less)

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Jul 16, 2012 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-lit, mystery, arcs

Roswell Hart can't remember anything about the night her classmate Tricia Farni died, and she needs to start remembering soon - her life depends upon it.

Roz is used to living in a hazy world. Macular degeneration has caused her vision to fail her on many occasions, but on the night Tricia disappeared, it's Roz's memory that fails her, not her vision. All Roz can remember from that night is that she and Tricia had a fight. What happens after that is completely erased from her memory.

But when Tric...more

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Oct 31, 2012 Book Sp(l)ot rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-release

and it comes out just in time for my birthday (or for me to review if I get it early ;-) )
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review:

Blind Spot was so, so different from what I was expecting based on the synopsis - and the cover, too, actually. We find out int he beginning that the body of Tricia Farni has been found, after her long disappearance, but then the story goes back in time to introduce the characters. We meet Roz who's just starting her sophomore year, her first year without her best friend after their friendship rec...more and it comes out just in time for my birthday (or for me to review if I get it early ;-) )
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review:

Blind Spot was so, so different from what I was expecting based on the synopsis - and the cover, too, actually. We find out int he beginning that the body of Tricia Farni has been found, after her long disappearance, but then the story goes back in time to introduce the characters. We meet Roz who's just starting her sophomore year, her first year without her best friend after their friendship recently fell apart.

Roz also hates any time her macular degeneration, and eyesight problem that's led to her being declared legally blind, makes her stand out - and she's about to find that she'll be less able to blend in this year thanks to one person.

Readers also meet Tricia, a troubled girl in one of Roz's classes and other possible friends for Roz - as well as possible suspects in what the first part of the book is counting down to: Tricia's death.

The characters - and their circumstances and situations - in Blind Spot were both unique and a great way to move the story forward. I appreciated that Roz's 'disability' wasn't the only out of the norm thing a character was dealing with in this story. Some of the characters' personalities, on the other hand, seemed to rub me the wrong way. While Roz had a lot of book smarts, she had very little, let's say, walking around sense. There were so many times that I just wanted her to exhibit some common sense.

We did see that she was given several major stressors - both before the story began and especially during it - didn't have a decent parental figure, but a bit more introspection or logical actions would have made her a better character for me. Perhaps it was that the story was first person that created some of my difficulties here, but she aggravated me sometimes. (Sony!)

The adult figure creating a lot of conflict in the story also brought up a lot of questions. The actions did move the story along, create emotional turmoil for Roz and trouble between different characters, but at times I had trouble finding it all entirely plausible. If everything was happening as Roz told it, it seemed unlikely that no one else would take issue and/or believe her reporting of things.

The first part of the novel did read a like a great contemporary. There was a nice mix of characters, including characters with attributes that you don't normally see in most YA (or adult, for that matter) fiction. I don't see this quite as the 'mystery' the synopsis seemed to promise and do think the other aspects of the story were stronger. Though there were parts of (or character in) the book that I did not like, there were aspects that I did and I'm curious to see what Ms Ellen follows this with.

(thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my e-galley)
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Mar 14, 2013 Liviania rated it 4 of 5 stars

BLIND SPOT came out in October, but I've just now gotten around to it. It was a difficult read for me. I wanted to know what happened, but there was a character in particular who made me so mad that I had to keep setting the book down. Really, that's a compliment to Laura Ellen. She made me feel, even if I didn't always like what I felt.

BLIND SPOT begins when Roswell "Roz" Hart hears that Tricia Farni's body has been found and she finally starts questioning her own memories and why she can't rec...more BLIND SPOT came out in October, but I've just now gotten around to it. It was a difficult read for me. I wanted to know what happened, but there was a character in particular who made me so mad that I had to keep setting the book down. Really, that's a compliment to Laura Ellen. She made me feel, even if I didn't always like what I felt.

BLIND SPOT begins when Roswell "Roz" Hart hears that Tricia Farni's body has been found and she finally starts questioning her own memories and why she can't recall the evening Tricia disappeared in any detail. The book is then divided in three sections covering before her disappearance, during, and after. This is no simple mystery. There are many characters who could've done it and plenty who were capable of it. BLIND SPOT is populated with some nasty people.

Tricia had problems. She was battling drug addiction and traumatized by the violence of her past. There's a reason she and Roz met in Life Skills. Roz is there because of her vision - she can't see anything dead center. She doesn't want to be there, however, nor does she want to be partnered with an obvious crazy like Tricia. There begins a long rivalry between Roz and the Life Skills teacher Dellian. But things aren't all bad. Roz starts dating super hot Jonathon and makes friends with Greg and Heather. Things start getting nuttier, especially after Tricia's body is found.

I'll be straight. Roz makes some of the dumbest decisions I've ever seen a protagonist make. I can stomach it because she faces some major consequences for her stupidity. Ellen does not let her off the hook easily. But I can see many readers getting frustrated with Roz. She wants to find Tricia's murder, but her bumbling actions could help the guilty party go free.

I kind of loved how messy BLIND SPOT is. Every answer leads to more questions. There is no obvious suspect because there are too many obvious suspects. It is a story populated by flawed characters. Even Greg, sweet boy that he is, sometimes acts like a jerk. However, I think Ellen held back from pushing it too far. There isn't so much meanness that it leads to despair. The book really succeeds on the fact that there are people who cared about Tricia and want to find out what happened to her. It's that small core of love that kept me going through the rough patches.

I think Ellen shows great promise as a writer. I like that BLIND SPOT is different and not afraid to be abrasive. I did have to keep some space between me and it at times, but I'm interested in what Ellen will be able to do once she becomes a more polished author. (less)

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Mar 04, 2013 Awurama rated it 5 of 5 stars

i really did enjoy this book. i have a stack of books beside my bed and most of them i haven't read so when i saw this last night, i decided to read it since i wanted to get rid of the books (i have another stack of books i finished reading in a bag, waiting to go back to the library; i read alot). at first, i thought this book was going to be a little boring since some of the books i have are like that. the moment i began reading, i couldn't put the book down and i saw it was 12:39 by the time...more

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Feb 18, 2013 Alex rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fair warning: If you go into this book expecting a murder mystery, you will be disappointed.

Luckily for me, I went into this expecting nothing and ended up loving it. No, it wasn't a suspenseful mystery like the description claims, but it was a great read. I stayed up way too late trying to finish it, as I just couldn't put it down. I had to know how everything would turn out!

The ending was kind of lackluster, though, and left a lot of unanswered questions, which is annoying. I also can't belie...more

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Jan 01, 2013 Ina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-books

Set in a small Alaska town, this story centers on 16-year-old Roz, and her high school friends. There is the usual cast of high school characters with the typical high school issues and experiences: Dances, parties, relationships, betrayal, class assignments, teacher hassles, teasing. When Roz, who has macular degeneration, an eye condition that renders her legally blind, is placed in a special ed class her life changes dramatically. She comes face to face with drugs, secrets and the disappearan...more

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Oct 22, 2012 Medeia Sharif rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012, 2012-debut-challenge

Roz has a condition called macular degeneration. There are spots in her vision and she has to mainly use her peripheral vision, as well as her memory, to see her surroundings. When Roz awakens after a party she can’t fully remember, she finds out that one of her classmates, Tricia, has disappeared and is later found dead. People are telling her different accounts of what happened that night. Roz trusts the wrong people and gets involved in a crime in her pursuit of the truth.

The characters in th...more

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Oct 18, 2012 Misty Baker rated it 3 of 5 stars

** 3.5 Review **

Sophocles once said:

“Every man can see things far off but is blind to what is near.”

I’m going to make a judgement call and say this wasn’t a literal statement. Do you agree? I choose to believe he meant this in the metaphorical sense. That sometimes we are blinded by ourselves, that at times…we can’t see what is right in front of us because we are too “attached” to it, to “close.” We become biased or prejudice depending on the actual situation or the people it involves.

“blind to...more

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Oct 06, 2012 Barbara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: addiction, bullies, families, friendship, mysteries, music, romance, school, special-ed, teachers

I loved the cover of this book whose sixteen-year-old protagonist Roz has just learned that she has macular degeneration, making it hard for her to see the world around her. Additionally, the book starts out promisingly enough with the discovery of the body of Roz's classmate, Tricia Farni, revealed as the ice and snow begin to melt. What caused her to die? That's the central question in the novel, one which is never really answered although possibilities are shared. The fact that Roz is unable...more

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Oct 01, 2012 Cheryl rated it 3 of 5 stars

Roz has macular degeneration. A condition that results in the loss of vision in the center of the eye. This usually makes it hard for the person to see very well. In fact Roz is considered “legally blind” by the DMV. With this condition, Roz can come off as being snobbish as she does not make eye contact with anyone. Roz just wants to be normal. That is hard to do with you are stuck taking “Life Skills” class. A class for people with disabilities to learn how to interact with others. One plus ab...more

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Jun 13, 2012 Shauna rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was very excited to have won an ARC for this book a few weeks ago. Even signed by the author :) I actually stayed up late last night to finish this book. I could not put it down!

It has a "Girl, Interrupted" feel to it except for the YA crowd. Roz, who is fully capable is stuck in the special ed class because of her eyesight and feels she really doesn't belong. Tricia is the crazy girl dancing in the hallways in a cape. They impact each others lives without being aware of it and Roz does everyt...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Stephanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-fiction-read, my-library, mystery-suspense-read, young-adult-read

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

My Summary: Roz has a condition known as macular degeneration - she can barely see. And when one of her best friends is found dead a few months after her mysterious disappearance, Roz's condition becomes more of an enemy than ever: she knows the key to finding Tricia's killer is locked inside her head - a memory that she can't seem to access.

But can she remember in time to clear her name...more

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Apr 01, 2013 Sally Kruger added it

Roz is furious. It is her first day as a sophomore at Chance High, and her schedule is wrong. According to the paper she's holding, she has a class called Life Skills on her schedule. She made it perfectly clear last year that she would not be taking that class for special ed students. It was suggested because of her disability, but Roz refuses to acknowledge that she has any limitations.

Diagnosed with juvenile macular degeneration which severely limits her vision, Roz is considered to be legall...more Roz is furious. It is her first day as a sophomore at Chance High, and her schedule is wrong. According to the paper she's holding, she has a class called Life Skills on her schedule. She made it perfectly clear last year that she would not be taking that class for special ed students. It was suggested because of her disability, but Roz refuses to acknowledge that she has any limitations.

Diagnosed with juvenile macular degeneration which severely limits her vision, Roz is considered to be legally blind. She has learned to cope with her condition and most people don't even know she has a problem seeing things that are directly in front of her. Her IEP requires she be given a front seat and copies of notes given in class, but including Life Skills on her schedule is not what she agree to.

Mr. Dellian teaches the class and is determined from day one to get Roz to admit she has a disability. She dislikes him instantly, especially when he assigns each student a partner and insists that looking out for their partner is their number one job. Roz is partnered with Tricia, an odd girl who spends her time spinning around in a brown, hooded cape. It doesn't take long for Roz to discover Tricia has a drug problem and that it isn't going to be a walk in the park to be her partner.

When Roz finds out Mr. Dellian is also her history teacher, she can't believe it. Her late arrival to class results in a tardy and the threat of being marked absent. She soon learns that her trouble with Mr. Dellian has just begun.

Roz's life becomes complicated with romance issues, best friend difficulties, and of course, pressure at home, and when her partner Tricia disappears, Roz becomes involved in a murder mystery that threatens her own safety. As one of the last to see Tricia alive, Roz is determined to find out what really happened and if her attractive ex-boyfriend, Jonathan is involved or if Mr. Dellian is guilty of taking the life of the girl who has become her friend.

BLIND SPOT is the first novel of author Laura Ellen. Ellen suffers from macular degeneration and artfully captures the effects of the disease in the development of her main character. The often snarky Roz fights to be recognized for her strengths and not her weakness as she deals with the difficult characters that surround her. This reader was reminded of the stressful aspects of high school and teachers who misunderstand their students.
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Dec 04, 2012 Victoria rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-thriller, young-adult

This is YA novels sucks you in from the very first page! Roswell, or Roz, with her uniquely impaired vision and stubborn attitude makes for a surprisingly sympathetic narrator as she tries to uncover the truth about the untimely death of a classmate, Tricia Farni. Roz feels authentically teenaged, with her motivations and reactions striking familiar chords. Her attitude, mistakes and vulnerability all combine to paint her in a very realistic way. Each character comes to life in a similarly three...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Charlie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: amazon-vine-reviews, mystery, teen-ya

Author Laura Ellen primes Blind Spot perfectly showing how thematic incorporation doesn't have to be obscure to be substantially complex. Like most young adult novels, Blind Spot sports a high school setting with a misfit hero. However, what makes this book stand out is the use of a physical disability to communicate perception, an interesting concept approached in multiple ways throughout the book. It may seem obvious, but given some thought and with a little direction from the author, so much...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Trisha rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: a-z-challenge, reading-relay, ya-book-club-a-z-challenge

Hmmm. I'm sure this would have been an okay book, I may have even enjoyed it, if the synopsis hadn't lead me astray.

The book opens with you finding a body has been found and that Roz, the main character, was around her that night but can't remember anything. The chapters from there start in the past and count down to the day of death of Tricia, the body that was found. Very cool idea and one that I was ready to read.

But, this book is not a mystery. Not really. I was ready to stumble through the...more

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Jul 29, 2012 Kayla Eklund rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, reviews-completed

First of all, I must say something about the gorgeous cover. I love all the different colors in the eye. The contrast of the dark eye-lashes, and eye on the pale skin drew me in right away. I have mixed feelings about the book though. The story line was fantastic. It drew me in until I finished it at about 3 a.m., reading it in just four hours. I'm going to try to make this rant as spoiler free as possible. The ending really made me mad. I thought Tricia, as a character, deserved a better ending...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Jenni French rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: genre-contemporary-fiction, topic-disabilities, topic-death-and-dying, age-5-grades-9-12, genre-suspense-thriller, genre-mystery

This book sounded so good. A missing girl. A girl with a physical impairment as the main character. Some creepiness. I thought I'd fly through it because it would be so hard to stop reading.

Wow, was I ever wrong.

The main character has macular degeneration, a condition I am fairly familiar with as two of my college friends had that same condition. Her teacher must spend time reading "Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun" for fun, because he's crazy. Just plain crazy. And not following her IEP, wh...more

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Oct 30, 2012 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: review, i-own

This was such an enjoyable book. I had a really hard time setting it down because I needed to know who did it (even though I thought I knew the whole time, I was wrong!!!!) There were a couple of things that irritated me, but not too badly. I really like Laura Ellen's writing style and you could tell that she knew a lot about Roz's disability (since she has experience with it herself). I felt bad for Roz. Having bad vision myself (not as bad as her) I hate not being able to see things, I will ac...more This was such an enjoyable book. I had a really hard time setting it down because I needed to know who did it (even though I thought I knew the whole time, I was wrong!!!!) There were a couple of things that irritated me, but not too badly. I really like Laura Ellen's writing style and you could tell that she knew a lot about Roz's disability (since she has experience with it herself). I felt bad for Roz. Having bad vision myself (not as bad as her) I hate not being able to see things, I will actually get depressed if something happens to my glasses because not being able to see more than a foot in front of your face clearly, sucks. It's no blind spot, but still irritating in it's own way, so I was able to connect with Roz, if not completely understanding her vision issues.

Roz is mostly your typical teenager. She doesn't like to accept help from others regarding her vision problems, and hates the word "disabled". So when she is put into the Special Ed class against her wishes, she does everything she can, and fails, to get out of the class. She meets and somewhat becomes friends with Tricia, and then Tricia goes missing. Roz thinks she just ran away until her body shows up, but she can't remember what happened that night. We follow Roz as she leads up to and after the death of Tricia, as she tries to figure out exactly where she messed up (Roz made a lot of poor decisions) and to figure out the truth.

Alright, so I said there was a couple of things that irritated me, not enough to discourage me from reading obviously. Firstly, just because a girl talks to a guy a lot does NOT mean they are involved. Even if they were once involved with them. Secondly, Mr. Dillian was a bully, there was no excuse for his behaviour and even after all was said and done, I still disliked him for how he treated Roz. I would literally get into rage mode reading about his treatment of her, he was way too harsh. Yes, I realize that was the way he was supposed to be written, but I can still hate on his fictional self.

Overall, Blind Spot is a fast paced read. If you're someone who enjoys a little mystery with your realistic fiction, you should enjoy this. I will definitely be recommending this one, I think Laura Ellen has made a wonderful debut into the writing world and I hope she will continue! It will keep you on your toes (and the ending isn't as predictable as you'd think!)(less)

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Feb 15, 2013 Vivian rated it 2 of 5 stars

I would have rated this book higher if:
1. The introduction wasn't so damn long
2. The main character wasn't so annoying, stupid, and inconsiderate of others' feelings for two thirds of the book
3. (view spoiler)
4. It was actually a mystery novel

Most of the introductory part was very necessary for the building of character and to show how things eventually lead up to the actual good, juicy stuff. But one thin...more I would have rated this book higher if:
1. The introduction wasn't so damn long
2. The main character wasn't so annoying, stupid, and inconsiderate of others' feelings for two thirds of the book
3. (view spoiler)
4. It was actually a mystery novel

Most of the introductory part was very necessary for the building of character and to show how things eventually lead up to the actual good, juicy stuff. But one thing that made me really frustrated was how extremely long it was. It was about half the entire book. That would've been okay, if it weren't for the fact that their summary/synopsis tells the readers about Tricia's death. So for half of the entire book, I was literally reading and waiting for Tricia to die. It was agonizing to wait for the mystery part of it.

The main character, Roz, was one of the most annoying and dumbest person I have ever read about. She changed for the better later on, but for the majority of the book, she was completely oblivious to how stupid her relationship with "Zeus" was, along with the total ignorance that it should have been her and Greg together. She also doesn't tell people about her eye condition, even when they start accusing her of not looking them in the eye. Yes, it humiliates her when she tells people, but in her situation, she should have told them WHY she wasn't making eye contact so that they wouldn't get the wrong idea! There's a lot more, but I'll keep this short.

What I liked was the second half of the book. That was when the action started, when the characters developed more, when Roz finally grew up and matured enough to see how much harm she'd done to her friends and other people. She also finally realized that Zeus wasn't the one for her and dumped him, but only after seeing Tricia giving him a blowjob. Well, that was what everyone was assuming. And Roz only changed drastically after spending a lonely time in juvy.

I also liked the plot twists and the uncertainty behind what had happened the night before Tricia's death. It made the reader unable to predict what had happened with so many different stories floating around. There was one suspect after another and lots of nicely placed misunderstandings. Overall, I would have given this a 3/5, but the beginning was a 1/5, so I balanced it out in the end.(less)

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Nov 15, 2012 Abby rated it 3 of 5 stars

I really want to give this book more stars. I loved the idea of it. When I read what it was about I immediately wanted it. But once I finished I just felt..unsatisfied. It was good, don't get me wrong. I liked it but not as much as I really thought I would. Roz's character kinda annoyed me at times. A lot of the characters did. When it came to Roz and Greg I was waiting for them to get to that special level with each other but right when they would, they'd end up fighting and it was just ridicul...more

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Dec 20, 2012 The Library Lady rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-books

Be warned, this ain't a "Sweet Valley High" or The Worst Vampire Books Ever Written kind of high school story.

This book is raw. NC-17 raw. Sex, drugs and 4 letter words raw.
Not as raw as, say The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo, but very raw by YA standards.

I also think it's uneven and at times unbelievable.
And yet, there was something compelling enough about it to make me read it in one quick gulp. Go figure.....

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Feb 06, 2013 Linda Munro rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is a youth fiction that I found sometime ago on goodreads. I was a bit leery about the book over the first few chapters, but then I remembered it was a youth book and continued reading. This book is about an extremely intelligent teenaged girl who is considered legally blind. She manages to hide her disability until one day on the softball field when her trusted friend outs her to the coach and then her entire life changes.

This book holds a lot of twists and turns but it truly shows h...more

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