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Truesight (Truesight #1)

by David Stahler Jr. (Goodreads Author)

3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 · rating details · 691 ratings · 94 reviews

Everyone in Jacob's colony is born blind. It has always been this way. They embrace the philosophy of Truesight: Blindness brings unity, purity, and freedom. It is an exceptional community. Everyone is happy.

As Jacob nears his thirteenth birthday, he anxiously anticipates his new role as an adult and all the changes that will bring. But as the day approaches, a far greater...more

Paperback, 256 pages

Published December 28th 2004 by HarperTeen (first published February 17th 2004)

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Aug 11, 2012 Arielle rated it 5 of 5 stars

Whenever I rate a book, I look at the whole idea of the book. What was the author trying to communicate; to elucidate; to explore? Was the writing clear, understandable? Did it have a beginning, middle, and end? And were those timings clear?

And this is where I don't understand the low ratings that were given to this book. I understand if you didn't like it. But be clear about that. Because as a whole, this book was very good. The target audience, which would have a lower understanding of true dy...more Whenever I rate a book, I look at the whole idea of the book. What was the author trying to communicate; to elucidate; to explore? Was the writing clear, understandable? Did it have a beginning, middle, and end? And were those timings clear?

And this is where I don't understand the low ratings that were given to this book. I understand if you didn't like it. But be clear about that. Because as a whole, this book was very good. The target audience, which would have a lower understanding of true dystopian futures, was given just enough information to think beyond the very basic society in this book.

At one point, Oedipus was mentioned in relation to this society's beginnings. However, Jacob does not know, and will most likely never know, the history of Oedipus, at least in the context of his society, which never teach him. In his school, it is said that the students must not ask questions. The information they are given is very narrow, as in any cult.

The limitation that is used in this dystopian society, willing blindness, is the best crutch I have seen to date, especially for the audience it is intended. Other crutchs are harder to understand, more philosophical or technological, or simply too obscure. Telepathy is nice, but we've never done that. A computer chip in your brain that enables you to connect to the Internet is very cool, again, doesn't exist in our world, at least not yet.

Blindness is very real, and exists now. It opens the mind to the world a blind person would see, if I may use that word metaphorically, and without offense to blind people.

Indeed, all it takes to experience what Jacob feels, is to simply close ones eyes.

Jacob, as a character, is surprising, complex, and also makes decisions that make sense in HIS world, not in ours. We would say, "Run away!" Where he meekly submits. And THEN rebels, when something very shocking is reveled to him.

Even the other characters, are multicolored, and faceted in ways Jacob discovers with his sight.

In the end, the author slowly revels the true reality; corruption, betrayal, and crime all exist as in any society, it is merely hidden by the citizens sightless eyes. It is a catch-22, if you cannot see the crime, it does not exist.

But most essentially, this story was about a boy discovering the world around him, and in a way, quite literally, because his sight enabled him to do so. It is quite simplistic, but very realistic. In a way, I could imagine a society developing just like this one, in our own future.

Perhaps, that is what is most striking, or even chilling, about this book. (less)

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Jan 01, 2012 Karin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian, future, blindness, other-worlds, secrets, lies, runaways, young-adult-fiction, mystery, borrowed-from-the-library, science-fiction, families, friendship, relationship-problems, relationships, moral-dilemmas

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Jacob lives in Harmony, a community of blind people. They emigrated from earth to another planet years ago to found their society, which is based on a philosophy that blind people see more deeply than sighted people (i.e. seeing and Seers - those who see - are not actually perceiving the world as it is). When Jacob begins to see, he’s not sure what is happening to him at first. Gradually he learns to identify the strange shapes and information coming into his brain; he learns to focus, and then...more Jacob lives in Harmony, a community of blind people. They emigrated from earth to another planet years ago to found their society, which is based on a philosophy that blind people see more deeply than sighted people (i.e. seeing and Seers - those who see - are not actually perceiving the world as it is). When Jacob begins to see, he’s not sure what is happening to him at first. Gradually he learns to identify the strange shapes and information coming into his brain; he learns to focus, and then he begins to see what was hidden from him as a blind person – the way people communicate with their body language that belies the words they speak (his mother’s adultery with a community leader, the sadness in his father, thefts of food). All of these things make him extremely uncomfortable and confused. Harmony is not what it purports to be. Jacob doesn’t say anything immediately about what he has witnessed. He reasons that some people steal food because they are hungry – maybe they need it. His mother’s lies make him sick, but he has no idea how to confront her. He decides to tell his friend Egan about having sight, but Egan betrays his confidence and soon the whole town knows – knows and fears what Jacob may have seen. Everyone has secrets. The council decides that Jacob must lose his sight as well as his memory.

Jacob can’t imagine what this would do to him – losing the knowledge of what has happened to him would be awful. He decides to visit the grave of his friend, Delaney, and talk to her. But when he programs a “Finder” to seek out her “Sounder” (a device that emits a sound unique to the individual wearing it), it is not buried with her as her father had told him, but is somewhere far beyond the borders of Harmony. Delaney isn’t dead after all – she successfully ran away. With this knowledge, Jacob confronts her father when he brings him in to have the surgery the following day. And then another terrible truth is revealed: Delaney’s father is the one who committed adultery with his mother, and, he, too, is sighted. Jacob can’t bear it – all of the lies. He breaks away and escapes from Harmony.

The story ends kind of abruptly, but is fascinating. There are people who come to Harmony as sighted individuals, and then undergo surgery to make them blind because they believe that the Harmony way of life is more pure and perceptive than the Seers’. The ways they have for keeping people safe and able to move about Harmony are really fascinating to read about. And Jacob’s gradual discoveries about his community are haunting and sad. So much deception is present everywhere.

I’m not sure if it’s possible to learn as quickly as Jacob did, what you’re seeing if you’ve been blind since birth. Perhaps he’s more flexible because he’s young, but I read about a case where an older person who had been blind was suddenly able to see again, and it was very difficult for him to understand/process the information his eyes were receiving. Jacob, however, seems to instinctively understand facial expressions that people unconsciously made (is this a learned behavior?). The story ends suddenly, so we’ve no idea what becomes of Jacob – only that he gets away (at least for now). (less)

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May 18, 2011 MizziQ rated it 3 of 5 stars

***SPOILER***SPOILER***SPOILER***SPOILER***SPOILER***SPOILER***

This book reminded me a lot of The Giver by Lois Lowry, so if you liked that than you will most likely enjoy this. This was a pretty short book but I enjoyed it. It was very strange though. Joshua (the main character) begins to gain sight, which he has never had before, and shoudn't have. The time is in the future and Joshua lives in a community that embraces "truesight", a new way of seeing things, without ever seeing them. To embra...more

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Sep 11, 2009 Julie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, young-adult, blind

A colony planet where everyone is blind due to medical procedure, genetic whatever manipulation. The society is cultish. This is about a kid growing up in that community who rather suddenly gains the ability to see. He angsts about this and eventually it gets him into trouble.

It's an interesting book and an okay read. It suffers a little for being part of a trilogy.

One quibble I had with it is that once genetic modification became really popular and people were making super-awesome, designer kid...more

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Sep 13, 2012 Ms. Myers added it

Truesight is a great book about a kid named Jacob going through a change. The change really stood out to me because everyone goes through changes and everyone's change is different.
The setting is in a colony named Harmony, in a different world.
In my opinion Truesight is a very interesting book because it did not take place on Earth, it took place in a different world NEAR Earth.
The characters in this book were, Jacob, The high councilor (Martin Corrow), The high councilor's daughter (Delany Corr...more

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Aug 04, 2010 Cornmaven rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: middle-school

Good but had the potential of being a much better dystopian fiction book. I think Stahler took a long time to set up some climactic events, and then when they occurred, he abruptly stopped. I think there's a sequel, but I would have liked it a little more if he had spread out the 'incidents' more.

Having said that, the storyline has nice elements for discussion about utopian "visions" versus reality, whether typical human nature with all of its flaws is in the end a better prospect, what kind of...more

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Sep 22, 2012 Stacy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian, tween

For a younger audience, this is a nice intro to dystopian stories. Nothing too complex, not a lot of history, limited area and understanding of life, compelling character, interesting premise. I do wish the blind colony wasn't filled with slow-moving, cautious people, however. In a world of only sightless people, wouldn't life have developed technologies to allow for quick movement and fun? I would also love to know how many people are Seers in hiding. Guess we'll have to wait for the inevitable...more

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May 30, 2011 Alicia Montgomery rated it 2 of 5 stars

As I mentioned in the book review above, I'm trying to find quality dystopian books for my kiddos. This was another attempt and sadly, another fail. As in the last book, the premise is pretty cool, but the outcome isn't so great. What is wrong with me this week? I'm usually very happy with all the books I read. Maybe I'm getting pickier in my old age?

Jacob lives on a planet far from Earth in a community called Harmony. Due to genetic engineering, everyone in Harmony is blind. It is believed that...more

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Aug 23, 2010 Hannah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-for-school, dystopia

I thought this book was really, really good! Of course, I do love about all utopian, dystopian novels where theres a society in the future or even on a distant planet or alteruniverse, whatever you call it, and the society isn't right. Then the main character finds him/herself in the middle of it. I love discovering the principals of the society and the major difference that sets it apart and makes it awesome (even if it is corrupt), like how in this novel, it's blindness. But anyways...SOOO goo...more

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Jul 24, 2010 Judy Desetti rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, gr-5-8

Science Fiction

This is book one of a trilogy. The protagonist, Jacob, lives in a blind society. At just the time when the young must choose or be selected for their trade or career at 13 years of age he mysteriously develops sight. This leads him to see the community in a different light. He wonders about many things, right, and wrong. He struggles with innocence and the reality of what his community is. He cannot understand why his community is so against sight and seeing. This is a very engagi...more

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Sep 27, 2009 Ms. Kassim rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: classroom

Jacob grows up in a community where everyone is born blind. The premise is being blind is better because then you focus on what is important instead of superficial characteristics. Everyone follows the rules unconditionally without question. What Jacob learns is everything is not always what it seems.

This book encourages discussion about the positives and negatives of everyone being the same. It also examines the idea of whether or not rules should be questioned. Just because something has alwa...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Vicki rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen

Jacob lives in a world where everyone has genetically engineered removel of their eyesight and everyone is happy to conform to the Truesight community. As Jacob approaches his 13th birthday, he begins to see slowly and a few weeks later clearly. He also discovers that with sight, there is so much more that is going on in his community that many are living a lie. When he tells his best friend Egan, who tells his father, Jacob must make a decision to stay and have his sight taken away or leave his...more

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May 16, 2012 Ricky Relf rated it 5 of 5 stars

Truesight was probably one of my favorite books that I read last year, it is a suspensful story built around a city called Harmony, a community of blind people. The biggest struggle was when he gains his vision, and has to hide it from his family, friends, and community. once he is discovered, his people want to take his vision from him, and he is forced to run. Jacob is your typical teen, who just wants top have fun, and when he is forced to run away his life changes greatly. one big problem wi...more

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Aug 05, 2008 Erin rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: teenagers who like sci-fi and/or The Giver, maybe some adults as well

Shelves: ya-fiction, sci-fi

David Stahler Jr.'s "Truesight" is like George Orwell's "1984" and "Animal Farm" meets Lois Lowry's "The Giver." Only with blind people. The premise is that about a hundred years in our future, parents are choosing their unborn children's genetics, and a blind couple decides they want their child to be blind like they are, so they tinker with the DNA. It becomes a big media thing, a whole community of blind people grows around them, and eventually they get persecuted by the "seers" (i.e. people...more

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Jul 28, 2009 Helen rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: those who like dystopian literature or soft sci-fi

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I thought this book would be too much like The Giver (Lois Lowry) to be original or thought-provoking, but it turned out to be quite different.

Jacob is "cursed" with sight near his 13th birthday in a community called Harmony which is genetically engineered to be blind (with the idea that sight distracts us from truth and knowing ourselves). At first he's delighted to behold the beauties of nature, but it's not long before he learns that seeing the ugly side of nature comes with seeing beauty. He...more I thought this book would be too much like The Giver (Lois Lowry) to be original or thought-provoking, but it turned out to be quite different.

Jacob is "cursed" with sight near his 13th birthday in a community called Harmony which is genetically engineered to be blind (with the idea that sight distracts us from truth and knowing ourselves). At first he's delighted to behold the beauties of nature, but it's not long before he learns that seeing the ugly side of nature comes with seeing beauty. He witnesses death, blood, hunger, adultery, theft, and so on, realizing that in a world where no one else has sight, everyone gets away with crimes underneath others' noses.

It certainly makes me think about all the things we take for granted about the seeing world (much like Children of Men made me think about all the things we take for granted about a world with children). In Jacob's world, for instance, people do their tasks and spend their time in the darkness, for there is no need for light. Visual art is unimportant, and nothing that is created by people features extra effort to produce visual appeal. The buildings in Jacob's community are bland and appear undifferentiated from others.

As far as I can tell, animals still have their vision. This must be interesting, for the animals to be able to see sightless humans wandering about. It's also interesting to undergo the enlightenment Jacob does, when he truly sees the appearances of the people and objects that he has known since birth.

People lack non-verbal cues in communication, too. Jacob watches his parents speak coldly to one another, realizing that without a telltale tone of sarcasm, and being unable to see each other's facial expressions, words' meanings can be completely misinterpreted.

And though it is not difficult to hide from one another in our world (one only has to go inside a building or hide behind an obstruction), in Jacob's world, people can hide right out in the open.

The fact that the citizens of Harmony believe their sightlessness leads to greater truth and a better society than that of Seers (those who can see) is ironic, as the citizens actually find it easier to hide their sins from one another due to communal blindness.

Jacob is able to see for three weeks before he gives his secret away; prior to that, no one is any wiser. With some stretch of the imagination, we know that anyone who can see in Harmony has an advantage over those who cannot, especially if they carry out the charade of being blind. Near the end of this novel, Jacob learns that the main leader of the community is, in fact, also able to see. I'm interested in finding out if this sets up an interesting story for the next two books.

There are two other books in the trilogy, but I question whether they'll strike the same chord with me.

I would consider buying this book.(less)

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Apr 17, 2012 emslibbooks rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, belonging, choices, dystopia, end_of_the_world, families, fiction, future_worlds, handicapped, ms_bognar, mystery, rebellion

This is a world which believes that vision only misleads us, so everyone is born blind (genetic changes). It also means that a whole lot of life can't be experienced and Jacob is concerned about this especially when his sight starts to return.Jacob is convincing in his doubts about himself, his friends and family and eventually the society as a whole. He is not your typical rebel - and that makes it all the more interesting. Would like to read the other two novels in the series.

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Dec 30, 2010 Julie S. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010, sci-fi-dystopian-fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 07, 2011 Jenny rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi, teen

Jacob has never known anything but Harmony, a colony of people genetically engineered to be blind. TAught to despise Seers and their self-indulgent lifestyle, Jacob is secure in his life, doing what is best for the colony. When bad headaches afflict him, he doesn't realize that he is about to be able to see. With new sight, Jacob learns more about himself and his colony than he ever thought possible. But now people know he can see, and they want to "fix' him.

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Dec 09, 2010 Alexa rated it 4 of 5 stars

If you enjoy dystopia novels or movies, this is worth a read. It is similar to the Giver, however the next 2 in the series go a totally different way that the 2 others in the Giver trilogy. It's an interesting concept, this community based on blindness in order to truly 'see'...even more interesting to consider what things aren't 'seen' as the main character soon finds out. Lots of great discussions in my classroom & an easy read.

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May 15, 2012 Alexis rated it 4 of 5 stars

If you liked the Giver, then you'll definitely love Truesight. A lot of people are saying this isn't a great book just because of the fact that it's part of a trilogy... they can suck eggs. The trilogy is amazing, each book was better than the previous. "Starter books" are always slow. It gets 100000x more interesting in the second book, The Seer, and the suspense never fades til the last page of the last book. Trust me.

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Jun 17, 2011 Charity rated it 2 of 5 stars

I liked this book as I was reading it - I felt it was compelling, and I liked the characters and the world. But it really let me down in the end, and the more I think about it the more I wish it had been fleshed out more. It's just one more book about a teenager becoming disillusioned with his world. And that's fine, and all, just not particularly memorable or moving.

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Jan 22, 2011 Dotty rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopia, fantasy-sci-fi

The benefits of being blind far outweigh the benefits of seeing. Jacob’s colony praises all the other senses. Everyone is happy and look down on Seers from other worlds. One day Jacob begins to change. He sees lights, then fuzzy shapes and colors until finally he can see it all. No one knows of the change. Can Jacob keep his sight a secret? Should he keep it secret?

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Jul 27, 2011 Medina added it

An interesting concept. I am reserving judgement untill I have read the rest of the trilogy but I am hopefull. I will be recomending it to my neice in the 6th grade. It does a great job of showing how the world is now always what you think it is. And how sometimes something can be more wonderful and terrifying than you ever thought was possible.

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Jul 22, 2010 Julia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: its-a-series

A futuristic novel that reminds me a lot of The Giver. Jacob thinks he is living in a Utopia that consists solely of Trusight follower, "blindness is great and makes you a better person" type religon. Its only when Jacob mysteriously starts to see that he realizes how corrupt his world actually is. Very intresting premise with good writting and flow. I will definately be reading the next one in this series.

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May 28, 2012 Em rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

I'd never heard of the book or author before, but it seemed like an interesting premise (and I got the book used from the library for free). This book wasn't bad, but I couldn't help but keep thinking that I'd rather be re-reading "The Giver" by Lois Lowry, "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld, or "Delirium" by Lauren Oliver. Those books all dealt with similar subject matter in a way that I felt was more compelling, and characters I cared about more.

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Feb 09, 2012 Ruth rated it 3 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed stepoing into the world of Truesight. David Stahler uses good descripive language that made it easy to imagine living in a world of blindness. He also writes believable characters and it was wonderful to read how Jacob's perspective changed concerning himself and those around him when he was finally able to see. An enjoyable book, I want to read the next one.

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Jun 16, 2012 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction-predicted

Definitely reminded me of the Giver. I was interested to see how the author described things being seen for the first time, and a little disappointed there wasn't a BIT more description of that, but it was pretty sufficient. I also wish the ending...well, I always like a happy ending, and this is one of those classic endings that make you think. Definitely intriguing.

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Nov 08, 2011 Jalen Yang rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was very interesting. I feel the book put me in the middle of it and it was very descriptive. Every chapter i read it made me visualize every scene. Overall i gave this book a 4/5 because of the book's detail and great story line. Only a 4 because it lacked excitement but it still kept me reading.

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May 27, 2011 M6 Hope rated it 3 of 5 stars

I kind of liked this book. I read it last year when we had to read the books of a certain genre in library. It's really weird though, and a little upsetting in a way. I tried reading the second, but dropped it quickly. It is pretty much a total copy of the Giver, so that bugged me a little, too.

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Apr 13, 2011 Janna Ross rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a good read, reminding me a good deal of The Giver. A contained society ruled absolutely by sets of rules which are indoctrinated into the community from birth where the individual is nothing compared to the community. I can't wait to read the next 2 in the series.

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About David Stahler Jr.

I'm a fourth generation Vermonter living in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. I teach Honors and AP English at my alma mater, Lyndon Institute, an independent high school in Lyndon Center, VT. I graduated from Middlebury College with a BA in English in 1994 and received my MA from Dartmouth College in 2001.

I'm an author of YA Fiction across a variety of genres with an emphasis on the unusual. My b...more

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Truesight (Truesight #1)

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