Children's Fiction Diseases, Illnesses & Injuries
Sight Unseen
- Publisher
- Scholastic Canada Ltd
- Initial publish date
- Oct 2015
- Category
- Diseases, Illnesses & Injuries, Friendship
- Recommended Age
- 9 to 12
- Recommended Grade
- 4 to 7
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781443146906
- Publish Date
- Oct 2015
- List Price
- $7.99
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781443146913
- Publish Date
- Oct 2015
- List Price
- $7.99
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
What would it feel like to know you are going blind?
Thirteen-year-old Finn loves bike riding — the more dangerous the trail, the better. But he had a spectacular crash a few months ago, and he’s just received a diagnosis that will change his life. He is slowly going blind. In a few years his vision will be gone.
Desperate to salvage something of his “last” summer, Finn invites a friend to the cottage and is drawn to a strange island that seems to glimmer — but no one else can see it. When he gets close, he’s sucked into something he could never have anticipated. Can Finn’s friend Cheese help him come to terms with “lights out” . . . or will it take something much more extraordinary?
About the author
DAVID CARROLL is a CBC radio producer and an Ultra-marathon runner with five 100-mile races under his belt. He has written short stories and radio series for NPR, as well as for numerous CBC programs including Canada Reads, GO, Sounds Like Canada, and The Arts Today. His first novel, Ultra, was a Silver Birch Award finalist and won the 2013 Cybil Award for Middle-Grade Fiction. David has guided several blind runners on marathons and sections of an end-to-end Bruce Trail run. He lives in Toronto, Ontario. Visit David Carroll at www.writerunrepeat.com.
Awards
- Short-listed, Red Cedar Award (BC Young Readers' Choice)
- Commended, Best Books for Kids and Teens, Canadian Children's Book Centre, Starred Selection
- Commended, Resource Links, Best of the Year
- Short-listed, Sunburst Award, Young Adult category
Excerpt: Sight Unseen (by (author) David Carroll)
Excerpt from Sight Unseen
Here’s your latest update: I now had 4.594 million seconds left in the summer. And then there was that bigger number: 5 years.
“That’s just the doctor’s estimate,” Mom said. “You might have a lot more time than that.”
“I might have less time too,” I said.
I was at the clinic for my fourth appointment in three weeks. Both of my parents came along, which was suspicious. Dad never came to those things.
After ninety minutes of eye drops and flashing lights, Dr. Zhang led me into a small room. “Wait here
while I speak with your parents,” she said.
“They’re my eyes,” I said. “Don’t I get to hear?”
Half an hour later, in the car driving home, I still didn’t have a clue what was going on. Mom and Dad were in the front seat, saying zilch.
“I need glasses, don’t I?” I asked.
Editorial Reviews
Awards and Praise for Ultra:
• Short-listed, Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award, 2015
• Short-listed, Diamond Willow Award (Saskatchewan Young Readers’ Choice), 2014
• Short-listed, Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award, 2014
• Short-listed, Red Cedar Award (BC Young Readers’ Choice), 2014
• Short-listed, OLA Silver Birch Award, Fiction, 2014
“A story of determination and perseverence. It was impossible for me to stop turning the pages.”—OWL Magazine
“With every step, observation and revelation that Quinn makes, the reader pounds along with him.”—CanLit for Little Canadians
