Book Tour & Giveaway - Farsighted - by: Emlyn Chand

Farsighted by Emlyn Chand

Publisher: Smashwords

Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, 

Suspense, Mystery

Length: Full Length (206 pages)

Reviewer: Tawania

BLURB: 

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.

REVIEW:

I don't usually read YA books, but I thought I would give this one a shot. I really liked the synopsis, and I'm happy to say this book doesn't disappoint.

Alex is a sixteen year old high school student living in a small town. He is a typical teen, except for the fact that he's blind. His disability makes him a outcast and he's always having to deal with the school bully. Add overprotective parents to the mix, and you can see that the poor guy is dealing with a lot. Then out of nowhere Alex starts having visions of the future. They scare, and confuse him at first because he doesn't understand what he's seeing.

Then Alex's life gets really interesting when a psychic opens up shop, next to his mothers flower shop in town. The psychic has two girls with her, a daughter named Shapri, and another girl from India named Simmi. Alex likes Simmi immediately, and the three become fast friends. Alex soon realizes that Shapri, and Simmi both have unique gifts of their own. Knowing that, Alex doesn't feel so alone, and confused. He develops a serious Crush on Simmi, but his feelings are   unrequited Simmi doesn't think of him like that. She thinks of him as her brother, but Alex won't give up on changing her mind about that.

Alex's visions steadily starts getting worse, and he is seeing very disturbing things. They all seem to center around a guy his age named Dax.  In the visions the boy seems to want to kill Simmi. Alex knows he can't let this happen, he has to find a way to save her. He promises that he will save Simmi, regardless of the fact that he is blind.

I really enjoyed reading this story. The author did a good job getting into the teenage frame of mind, and had I not known she was an adult, I would have thought the dialogue came straight from a sixteen year old mind. I felt all the emotions coming from Alex, and he was a very believable character. I simply adored the friendship between Alex, Simmi, and Shapri. I liked how they didn't treat him differently because he had a disability. I found myself smiling at a lot of the dialogue, Ms. Chand really captured the essence of the characters, and Alex's situation.

I would definitely recommend this book to YA lovers, I already gave it to my fifteen year old niece, and I can't wait to hear what she thinks about it. I thought Farsighted was well written, and very believable. The book had it's highs, and lows, but I was ultimately happy with the ending. I will definitely be checking out the next installment.

****4 STARS

EXCERPT:

“I’m just teasing you.” Simmi blows a raspberry and pulls her body up onto the circular wall surrounding the flagpole area. I hesitate before pulling myself up too. Simmi scootches over so we touch at the hip. She loops her hand through the crook of my arm and places her head on my shoulder. “I never would have gotten away with this in India,” she says. “But I’m glad I can here. I’m a psychic feeler. I need to be in touch with others.” She pauses and strokes my arm with her free hand. “You know, when I touch someone I can make them feel what I want them to, but I can also sense their existing emotions. It’s almost the same as being able to read minds. Everything important has to do with the heart, not logic.” She lightens her tone. “But don’t tell Dr. Brown I said that, he’d take marks off of my next chem exam out of spite.”
I laugh nervously. Is she like Miss Teak in a way? Can she read my feelings for her? If she can, why hasn’t she said anything? I contemplate reaching over and kissing her, so I can know for sure how she feels. But I’ve never kissed anyone before. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to initiate it. Do I take her out for dinner and a movie first? Or make some lengthy speech declaring my intentions? Do I kiss her, just like that? Or do I ask for her permission before making my big move?
I decide to ask if it’s okay. Simmi is a classy girl. She needs respect. I swallow, hoping the motion will open up my airway, because right now, I’m kind of having trouble catching my breath. “Simmi,” I start.
“Yeah, Alex?” She lifts her head and links her hand in mine, nudging her slender fingers in between each of mine.
“Would it be okay if I…”
“There you two are!” Shapri says, running over to us, panting heavily. “I thought we were meeting in the commons.”
“No, we agreed on the flagpole,” Simmi says, hopping down from the wall.
The moment is gone. I don’t know when I’ll get the chance and the nerve again. My opinion of Shapri transforms from cautious indifference into outright hatred. Why did she invite herself along?
Shapri clears her throat. “Did I—Did I interrupt something here? Maybe a little romance?”
“What? No, no,” Simmi says shaking her head adamantly. “Nothing like that, Alex is like a brother to me.”
Ouch. Pain. Stabbed in my heart. I’m like a brother to her? I guess this means romance is off the table…

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 www.emlynchand.com for more info. Don’t forget to say “hi” to her sun conure Ducky! 

Find Emlyn On The Web:

Author Website: www.emlynchand.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/emlynchand
Twitter: www.twitter.com/emlynchand

GoodReads: www.goodreads.com/emlynchand

Google+:  www.gplus.to/emlynchand

Novel Publicity: www.novelpublicity.com

SUPER AWESOME BOOK TRAILER: http://youtube/tZjskE5zjzM

GIVEAWAY DETAILS!

Emlyn will be giving away a $25 Amazon.com gift certificate to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour and a $50 Amazon GC to the host whose post receives the most comments (excluding Emlyn’s and the hosts).