Blink Once by Cylin Busby
West is a high school senior who has everything going for him until an accident leaves him paralyzed. Strapped down in his hospital bed, slipping in and out of consciousness, West is terrified and alone. Until he meets Olivia. She's the girl next door-sort of. A patient in the room next to his, only Olivia can tell what West is thinking, and only Olivia seems to know that the terrible dreams he's been having are not just a result of his medication. Yet as West comes to rely on Olivia-to love her, even-certain questions pull at him: Why has Olivia been in the hospital for so long? And what does it mean that she is at the center of his nightmares? But the biggest question of all comes when West begins to recover and learns that the mysterious girl he's fallen in love with has a secret he could never have seen coming.Publishes Sept 4th 2012
Source: netgalley
Let me start by saying this is a very hard story to review without spoiling anything, but let me try.
Blink Once is an emotional and mysterious story. This was an interesting premise, and I connected pretty well with West. It was definitely a journey being in his head while he is so hurt, not knowing what is real, what is a dream, and trying to piece together everything that happened to him, and if his dreams mean anything.
I loved Nurse Norris, and often wondered how she could stay so positive and treat the patients with respect day after day.
Olivia is such a mystery, but she is so key to the story. I love her interactions with West, how she teaches him to communicate and gives him company when others aren't there. When I figure out
Mike is also a good secondary character. I appreciate how he is there for his friend and how he supports him. He can be a little rough, but his heart is most certainly in the right place.
Bottom Line: Blink Once is sad, dealing with hard issues, but I like how there is hope laced in.
Just a preview of the great writing by Cylin Busby, one of the quotes that have stuck with me.
"Sometimes at night, when I was alone, or when I was at the pool, in the quiet stillness underwater, my mind would go to that place. To the hospital, to the people there. It was as if my heart could travel, over the miles, over the months that had passed, and I was back with her. Olivia"
About Cylin (from her site)Cylin Busby Ross likes to say that she is from Maine, but really she has lived in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Maine, New York and California.
Since both of her parents were born in Maine, and she went to high school there, she thinks of it as her home state. She can also do a mean Downeast accent.
Cylin has worked at Random House, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster as a children's book editor. She was also Senior Editor at Teen Magazine.
She is the author of fiction and nonfiction books for young readers, numerous magazine articles and short stories. She lives in Los Angeles with her family.
My question to you, my lovely readers:
Have you ever been or known anyone in a major accident?
