Blind

Blind
by Rachel DeWoskin
Viking, 2014. 394 pages. Young adult fiction.

After being blinded in a horrible firecracker accident, Emma Silver must relearn everything about her life, from how to make her way around to how to read and write using Braille. Going back to her school for the start of tenth grade, after spending the last six months at a school for the blind, Emma learns about how to adapt to her new world and the kind of strength it takes to be different.

I thought this book has a lot of good, thought-provoking information about the nature of disability and how a person can adapt to their environment. I thought the plot was muddied significantly, however, by the introduction of a girl who commits suicide at the school and the teens' efforts to process the information. Although it did give Emma opportunities to wonder why she didn't commit suicide at her lowest moments, it just made the plot more convoluted. I would have preferred to focus more exclusively on Emma's journey without the excursion into teen suicide.

JH