A Walk In Someone Else's Shoes

Review by Madelyn Buxton

Love and First Sight

By Josh Sundquist

Ever wonder what it would be like to be blind? To navigate everyday life using only four senses? That’s exactly what Will Porter has done for 16 years of his life until he gets news from his doctor that changes his life.

Will Porter is a normal kid, just like you and me. He does everyday activities almost the same as everyone else, except he can’t see what he’s doing. He has been blind since birth, and he has grown up without ever seeing the world around him. He can’t see his family, or his surroundings, or himself, or his friends. Even though to us that seems horrible, he enjoys life even with his disability, most of the time that is. As expected, being blind causes frequent frustration. The author, Josh Sundquist, does a great job portraying to the reader what Will goes through. After transitioning from a school for the blind to his new public school, Will realizes how much he wants to see his surroundings. Will wants to see colors, and board games, and sunsets, and his crush. If only he could see, his life would be so much easier, or so he thinks. One day, his doctor reveals to Will that there is a surgery he could undergo that could potentially give him eyesight. After debating whether it’s worth the risk of disappointment, Will decides to get the operation. It’s a long process, but Will is up for the challenge. He soon discovers all of the things the world has been hiding from him his whole life. Learning to be a sighted person is a lot harder than one may think. Will is faced with many shocks once he has sight, like the fact that he has to “not only...memorize every shape, every object, [he] will have to memorize every object and every shape from every angle” (175). It becomes apparent to him that his road to seeing the world like a sighted person is going to be a lot longer than he thinks. Even with his awareness of the obstacles he will face, he is determined to tackle the challenge. He knows that the rewards he will get from being able to see are worth putting in the effort to learn a whole new way of life.

If you are looking for an eye-opening story that will show you what it’s like to live with a disability, head to your local library because this is for you. This story really spoke to me because it proved how much we take for granted, like our ability to see. I never knew how much my eyesight is worth to me until I read this book. It made me realize that eyesight isn’t the only thing I take for granted. I forget how lucky I am to have all the things I have in my life. Another aspect of this story that stood out was how little importance our appearance really has. We spend so much time worrying about how we look so that other people won’t judge, but it really doesn’t matter. Will makes great friends and gets a girlfriend without knowing how they look. He knows their personalities, which is what really matters. Will believes how most people perceive “pretty” or “attractive” is wrong. He grows feelings for a girl at his school without ever seeing her for himself, which proves that her appearance really doesn’t matter. Will fell for her personality, not her looks. After getting to know sighted people in his new school, Will comes to the conclusion that “society or the media or whoever says people should look a certain way, and the more you deviate from that, the less beautiful you are” (222). Unlike most people, he understands that what other people think of you shouldn’t really matter. He believes that every person gets to decide how beautiful they are, and other’s opinions should have no influence on that decision. If more people could understand this concept form Will’s point of view, our society would be much more positive because people wouldn’t worry about they look. Another concept that Will doesn’t understand the reasoning behind is racism. Will had expectations for a drastic difference between colored people and white people, and when he sees his colored friend for the first time, he thinks to himself “for all the attention race gets, for all the wars that have been fought over it, all the atrocities committed and hatred based on differences in skin tone over the centuries of human history, I would have honestly expected something...more” (206). Will proves that skin color doesn’t matter because to him as a blind person, there was no major difference between his white and black friends. Out of all people, Will has the best understanding that no matter how light, dark, pretty, ugly, tall, short, skinny, or fat someone is, we are all human in the end. One thing that makes Will a great person is his advantages of once being blind. His friends trust him because they know that their friendships are strong due to the fact that they have gotten to know each other for who they really are on the inside.

I recommend this book to anyone who can read. It is an easy read for all ages, and everyone could learn from this realistic-fiction story. “Love and First Sight” is entertaining because Will’s story takes many unexpected turns. I found myself eager to read what happens next in almost every part of the book. From Will’s social life as a highschooler, to his medical troubles, to his inner thoughts, I was always engaged in the story. Will has the ability to adapt to any situation thrown at him and work with what he has. I was inspired to do the same after finishing the novel. Additionally, this book put me in someone else’s shoes, and I was able to understand what it’s like to be blind in a sighted society. I will never forget this book, and for that reason, I recommend that anyone who is curious like me should invest their time in reading this book.