100 Days of Sunlight By Abbie Emmons
I’ve been following Abbie Emmons’ WritersLife Wednesday YouTube videos for a while and Abbie is a writer who is full of passion for story. So naturally, when she said she was releasing her debut novel I requested an ARC copy! I mean, obvs.
GENRE: GENERAL MARKET, TEEN/YOUNG ADULT SPECIAL NEEDS FICTION
MY REVIEW
Oh My Goodness! If you liked Fault in Our Stars then you will LOVE this book. I could not read this book fast enough. 100 Days of Sunlight deals with overcoming hardships and finding the courage to accept what life throws at you with more than just survival. There are some strong family themes in the book as well as sensory detail that comes alive on the page since Tessa is blind. Tessa and Weston are teenagers facing seemingly catastrophic change. If I didn’t have to sleep I would have read 100 Days of Sunlight in one sitting. It is only after I turned the last page that the beautiful cover art makes perfect sense. The end was more than satisfying and as the story is woven there are moments of laughter and joy and moments of heart-wrenching emotion. The sweet romance that develops hangs in the balance as Weston keeps his secret from Tessa. Abbie Emmons kept me engaged and turning pages as fast as my eyes could read and then swipe to the pages on my kindle. I’m kinda sad that it’s over, that I’ve already read it after looking forward to it for weeks. Remedy: I’ll be getting a print copy for my keeper shelf when it is available. I’ll also be watching to see what Ms. Emmons is going to publish next. Rock on Abbie!
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley from the publisher, my honest opinion is my own.
NOTE FOR PARENTS OF VERY YOUNG TEENS: There are a few mild cuss words, but nothing they will not have heard at school or on TV.
ABOUT THE BOOK
When 16-year-old poetry blogger Tessa Dickinson is involved in a car accident and loses her eyesight for 100 days, she feels like her whole world has been turned upside-down.
Terrified that her vision might never return, Tessa feels like she has nothing left to be happy about. But when her grandparents place an ad in the local newspaper looking for a typist to help Tessa continue writing and blogging, an unlikely answer knocks at their door: Weston Ludovico, a boy her age with bright eyes, an optimistic smile…and no legs.
Knowing how angry and afraid Tessa is feeling, Weston thinks he can help her. But he has one condition — no one can tell Tessa about his disability. And because she can’t see him, she treats him with contempt: screaming at him to get out of her house and never come back. But for Weston, it’s the most amazing feeling: to be treated like a normal person, not just a sob story. So he comes back. Again and again and again.
Tessa spurns Weston’s “obnoxious optimism”, convinced that he has no idea what she’s going through. But Weston knows exactly how she feels and reaches into her darkness to show her that there is more than one way to experience the world. As Tessa grows closer to Weston, she finds it harder and harder to imagine life without him — and Weston can’t imagine life without her. But he still hasn’t told her the truth, and when Tessa’s sight returns he’ll have to make the hardest decision of his life: vanish from Tessa’s world…or overcome his fear of being seen.
100 Days of Sunlight is a poignant and heartfelt novel by author Abbie Emmons. If you like sweet contemporary romance and strong family themes then you’ll love this touching story of hope, healing, and getting back up when life knocks you down.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
If you want to see Abbie in her element (ranting about stories) just type her name into YouTube and search.
Melony Teague is a freelance writer and author. Co-author of As the Ink Flows, Devotions to Inspire Christian Writers & Speakers. A South African Canadian, wife, mom of two teenagers & two cats. ACFW member.
