Book Review: Farsighted

Alex Kosmitoras’s life has never been easy. The only other student who will talk to him is the school bully, his parents are dead-broke and insanely overprotective, and to complicate matters even more, he's blind. Just when he thinks he'll never have a shot at a normal life, a new girl from India moves into town. Simmi is smart, nice, and actually wants to be friends with Alex. Plus she smells like an Almond Joy bar. Yes, sophomore year might not be so bad after all.

Unfortunately, Alex is in store for another new arrival—an unexpected and often embarrassing ability to “see” the future. Try as he may, Alex is unable to ignore his visions, especially when they begin to suggest that Simmi is in danger. With the help of the mysterious psychic next door and new friends who come bearing gifts of their own, Alex must embark on a journey to change his future.

Farsighted ( Farsighted #1 ) by Emlyn Chand
E-book for review, 228 pages
Published November 24th 2011 by Blue Crown Press

REVIEW:
There are just so many things i liked about this book! I can't even believe i had doubts on reviewing it. At the end was a really pleasant surprise.

So i was at my bed, warm and all (and ill) and i was like "ok let's start this book. i would read about 50 pages for start and i'm done". So i started. At some point i noticed i was past the 50 pages, and i decided to go until 100 because i like those round numbers. Needless to say i got past 100 without even noticing and finished the book like that. I just couldn't stop. At the end of every chapter i was "i can't stop here! just one more chapter". Yeah...so enough with my monologue...

The writing is simple and light. Still it engages you and connect you with the story easily. I mean i did have a headache when i started the book, and it was actually a really calm and easy read and didn't tire me at all. There is action, there is romance, there is mystery. Even though the book is small, the author manage to blend everything so good in the right amount and the story turned out just really good.

At the start of every chapter, there is also a really small paragraph -3 lines most- which i decided to call "little prophecies" because they were mystically telling you what will happen, without spoilers or names and really in general. I was trying to guess what the author meant by that. Sometimes i did, sometimes i didn't. Anyway, i really liked those "little prophecies" because firstly i connected them with the voice and the character of the book, Miss Teak, who kinda tells the future so i decided she was the one talking. And secondly, because i liked how i could see and understand what the author wanted to show us by writing a certain chapter and how she thought in general with proceeding the story.

On the other side we have the characters! Oh how much i loved all of them. They seemed so normal with their weak and strong characteristics. Alex is just one of the greatest guys i have seen. Yes the book is written by his POV and the fact he is blind made a nice change on caring how everyone looked like. He can see thought the characters personalities and appearance doesn't matter at all in this book. Which actually made me connect more with all the characters, even the secondary ones.
Then we have the whole family thing. I really love when in YA books, the family of the kiddohs (he is 16 but i just i like the word too much), are also big part of the story instead of forgetting them in a corner and just appear to cook or something.

So yes, the book might be a little cliche at some points but still has an originally and sweetness in it. I really really liked it and once again it was proved to not judge a book by its publisher or how famous is it. For me: read it!

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Announcing the Farsighted Social Media Whirlwind Tour!

As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Farsighted eBook edition is just 99 cents this week.

What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes, including lots of Amazon gift cards (up to $100 in amount) and 5 autographed copies of the book. Be sure to enter before the end of the day on Friday, December 30th, so you don’t miss out.

To Win the Prizes

1. Purchase your copy of Farsighted for just 99 cents on Amazon or Barnes & Noble
2. Fill-out the form on Novel Publicity to enter for the prizes
3. Visit today’s featured event; you may win an autographed copy of the book or a $50 gift card!
4. BONUS: If you leave a comment on this blog post, you have another chance at $100!
5. DOUBLE BONUS: If I receive more comments than any other blogger, *I* win $100.

...And I can win too!

Over 100 bloggers are participating in this gigantic event, and there are plenty of prizes for us too. The blogger who receives the most votes in the traffic-breaker poll will win a $100 gift card as well. So when you visit Novel Publicity’s site to fill-out the contest entry form, don’t forget to say that I referred you, so I can get a point in the poll.

The Featured Events include:

Monday, a guest blog on Novel Publicity! Emlyn kicks off the tour on the Novel Publicity Free Advice blog by discussing her brightly burning passion for books in a guest post entitled “My journey through the pages and toward a life-long love of reading.” One commenter will win an autographed copy of Farsighted. Don’t forget to enter for the other contest prizes while you’re over there!

Tuesday, Twitter sharing contest! A tweet is tiny, only 140 characters. But on Tuesday, it could win you $50. Send the following tweet across the twittersphere, and you just may win a $50 Amazon gift card. An autographed copy of Farsighted is also up for grabs. The winners will be announced Wednesday morning. Here’s the tweet: Looking for a fun read to round out your holiday break? The paranormal YA hit Farsighted is just 99 cents! http://ow.ly/81Dt1 #whirlwind

Wednesday, Google+ sharing contest! Yup, there’s yet another awesome opportunity to win a $50 Amazon gift card, and this time it just takes a single click! Visit Google+ and share Emlyn Chand’s most recent post (you’ll see the Stay Farsighted book cover included with it). On Thursday morning, one lucky sharer will be $50 richer. An autographed copy of Farsighted is also up for grabs. Two chances to win with just one click! How about that?

Thursday, Facebook sharing contest! Stop by Novel Publicity’s Facebook page and share their latest post (you’ll see the Farsighted book cover included with it). It’s ridiculously easy to win! On Friday morning, one lucky sharer will be $50 richer. An autographed copy of Farsighted is also up for grabs.

Friday, special contest on the author’s site! Are you ready for some more fun? Take a picture of yourself with your copy of Farsighted either in paperback or on an eReading device, then post it to Emlyn Chand’s Facebook page or email a copy to author@emlynchand.com. You just way win one of three Amazon gift cards! A $100 prize will go to the photo with the most interesting setting (so put your holiday travel time to work for you). Another $50 will go the funniest photo, and one more prize of $50 will go the scariest photo—this is a paranormal YA book after all. An autographed copy of Farsighted will go to one randomly selected entrant. For more details about this contest, please visit www.emlynchand.com.

Remember, it’s all about the books!

About Farsighted: Alex Kosmitoras may be blind, but he can still “see” things others can’t. When his unwanted visions of the future begin to suggest that the girl he likes could be in danger, he has no choice but to take on destiny and demand it reconsider. Farsighted is the winner of the 2011 Dragonfly eBook Awards. Get it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

About the Author: Emlyn Chand has always loved to hear and tell stories, having emerged from the womb with a fountain pen grasped firmly in her left hand (true story). When she’s not writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm, Novel Publicity. Emlyn loves to connect with readers and is available throughout the social media interweb. Visit her on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.