The Girl Who Could See

by Kara Swanson

[Quirky Cat]

I can’t even being to tell you how excited I was about this book. First of all, the cover is absolutely stunning, so immediately it was something I couldn’t pass on. Second, the description was really intriguing to me. It sort of reminded me of Drop Dead Fred (anyone else agree?). There are obviously some major differences between the two, differences that got more obvious as I actually started reading. So now that I’ve mentioned how excited I was, you’re probably wondering why I ended up rating it only 3 ½ stars. I’m not sure if the hype I created for myself made it worse, but while being a very good read, I feel like it just didn’t live up to its potential (and there was quite a lot of that). I’m tempted to up the rating to a 4, because I liked the bones of it so much.
Ever since a horribly traumatic time in Fern’s life, Tristan has been there to take care of her. That includes all the times she didn’t want him around – like basically anytime he made her look like a nutcase. Which considering that nobody but Fern could see him was extremely frequent. It’s when she starts to listen and believe Tristan that the plot takes on a new spin, and her entire world changes.



After believe for years that Tristan was an imaginary friend that she should ignore, Fern finally learns the truth: he’s actually from another dimension, but thanks to a rift she can see him and vice versa. The problem for Fern and her world is that the rift works for more than just the two of them, other things can get through as well, which unsurprisingly is the driving force of the plot for this novel.
I absolutely loved the two main characters introduced; Fern and Tristan. Not only are the cute individually (especially Tristan) but they’re pretty perfect together as well. Despite all the years of neglect (mostly Fern ignoring Tristan) their bond is still strong, and they manage to work together as a team to save Fern’s world. Unfortunately it was too late for Tristan’s world. I’m not sure there’s anything Fern could have done to help his world, even if she had believed him sooner.
I can’t emphasize enough just how much potential this book had. Beautiful cover, engaging plot, interesting characters, all the basics needed for a fantastic read. Despite all this, I found that it fell short of my expectations. Admittedly not by much, but I can’t see to get over how much more it could have been.
For one thing, I don’t think the niece plotline was really needed for the story; it ends up just cluttering things up. Maybe if there had been more time it wouldn’t have felt this way (and I would have loved it if this had been a bigger novel). Also, I really really hate to say it, because I love Tristan’s character; but she shouldn’t have pulled that punch at the end. The way things had been built up throughout the story, it just made sense to have Tristan end up the way she implied for a little bit there. While I’m thrilled he lived, I can’t help but feel like he shouldn’t have.
All my complaints aside, this was still a well written book. I haven’t read anything by Swanson before, but you can believe I’ll be keeping an eye on her from now on!



For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks