Open Heart

by Emlyn Chand

[violetpeanut]

Each book in the Farsighted series is written from the point of view of a different character. The first book, Farsighted, was written from the POV of Alex, a blind teenager who develops psychic powers that allow him to "see" flashes of events. He develops a crush on Simmi, another gifted teen who has clairsentience. That means that she can sense and manipulate the emotions of others. This second book in the series is written from Simmi's POV.

In Farsighted, we only see Simmi through Alex's eyes. She is sweet and considerate and perfect. Here in book two, we get a much more complete picture of Simmi. She is sweet and considerate but she is far from perfect. She is the picture of many teenaged girls. She has self-esteem issues, she constantly worries about her weight and appearance. She is confused by her feelings towards Alex and her growing attraction to Dax. She has horrible guilt and crippling self-doubt that keep her from doing the right thing in her relationships and also keeps her from finding her true potential. She manipulates people but justifies it with her good intentions. Her self-esteem and body image issues lead to an eating disorder.

These struggles were both heartbreaking and frustrating for me as the reader. I wanted to cry for her as she describes the emptiness she feels that needs to be filled and so she binges on food. And then her anxiety and self-loathing cause her to purge. The author does a really great job of showing how an eating disorder can start as something seemingly insignificant and then turn into something so devastating. At times I wanted to just shake her and make her wake up and get out of her own head!

Simmi's relationships with Alex and Dax are also very well written. I was reminded of my own teenage years when it felt so validating to have attention and affection from a boy but at the same time worry that you're not good enough. Then someone else comes along that gives you butterflies and you want to be with them but you feel horrible breaking up with and hurting a boy who has only ever cared for you. Ah, teenage romance.

As for the paranormal aspect of the series, the abilities of the characters really take a back seat in this book. They are there, and are integral to the plot but this book really read more like realistic-fiction involving characters who just so happen to be "gifted." We see a bit more of what Dax can do under normal circumstances which was fun. There are some really great scenes between Simmi and Dax where he uses his powers in little ways to make things special. There are a few scenes that involve abilities that other minor characters have as well. I suspect that these little glimpses are setting up for bigger things to come later on in the series.

There were a couple of things that seemed a little bit outlandish. Alex and Dax are "magnets" who draw other gifted people to them. As a result, the population of the small town doubles in a matter of months. There are so many new people that the road needs to be widened and new condos are being built. That didn't seem quite right to me. Wouldn't it take longer for the town to approve new roads and construction, etc.? With zoning laws and town hall meetings and everything else that goes along with town development these things sometimes take years. In the grand scheme of things, this was really a minor flaw that was a little distracting but didn't really detract from the overall story.

My main complaints (if you can call them that) with Farsighted were lack of character development, and dialogue and actions that were not entirely believable. I did not have those same problems here. Although we are still only seeing the cast of characters through Simmi's interpretation of them, I felt they were all a little bit more fully developed in this book and there was no cheesy dialogue. Alex's parents weren't entirely believable to me, but Simmi's parents were.

Overall, I'm not sure if it's because the storyline has developed further, or the author is more comfortable in the writing of this series but I enjoyed this one even more than the first. I was drawn in to Simmi's story right away. Maybe that's because I could really identify with her. I'm an adult now, but her story and struggles really resonated with me. This book really read more like realistic fiction whose main characters just so happen to have special powers. The characters all deal with normal teenage experiences and drama. I loved that. This is a highly recommended read both for fans of Paranormal and Realistic Teen Fiction. I can't wait to read the third book in the series, Pitch.