Day: July 23, 2021

#Diverseathon2021: 100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons

100 Days of Sunlight
Author:  Abbie Emmons

Published: August 7, 2019
315 Pages

Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: July 8-15, 2021
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars

Book Description:

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.

Jessica’s Review:

OMG, 100 Days of Sunlight knocked The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue out of my #1 read for this year (my double review with Kim is here.) Though we still have plenty of time left in 2021, I was not expecting this when I started reading this book: It made me cry!  Addie LaRue came very close, but this one did it to me! I have had this book since the beginning of the year and was able to get it read for June’s prompt for #Diverseathon, which is a main character that is disabled.  In fact, in 100 Days we get both characters with a disability: One whose blindness should go away and another who lost his legs.

100 Days deals with grief through loss, acceptance, recovery, hope, and multiple types of love. Both Tessa and Weston are our narrators and the book takes place in present day and also Weston’s past with him losing his legs.   At the beginning of the novel Tessa has already been blind for 21 days and she is an angry and scared girl.  Her sight is supposed to return around 12-14 weeks which is 98 days, but what if it doesn’t?  She is also dealing with her loss of independence. She is a poetry blogger, but how is she to continue when she can’t see? Her grandparents try to help by placing an ad in the paper for help and in the picture comes Weston.  He asks Tessa’s grandparents not to tell Tessa about his missing legs and Tessa treats him as anyone else: terribly. 

Over time the two connect and grow close.  Both are determined, yet stubborn and also scared. Weston is conflicted: Should he tell Tessa about his lack of legs and be treated differently once her sight returns or vanish from her life afterwards? 

OMG, I had so many emotions reading 100 Days. Weston took so much from “Angry Tessa” but he understood her feelings.  Over the course of the novel you really grow to care about both characters and want a happy ending, but not sure what will happen.  And I totally started crushing on Weston- I have a book boyfriend! I don’t think I have been able to say that for a long time.

I absolutely loved this novel, and it is a debut novel by indie author Abbie Emmons.  And the cover is just gorgeous!  Every object shown on the cover has a meaning that we see over the course of the novel. 

This novel would work for those ages 12 and up and is on the mild side of language and thematic elements.

100 Days of Sunlight is 1000% recommended!

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#Diverseathon201:

For full details on this year long readathon, please click here.
And don’t forget about the awesome GRAND PRIZE at the end of the year. Click the link here for that information.

July’s host is Kesara at readswithkesara over at Instagram. She is having a giveaway of One book valuing up to $20 from the Book Depository or Amazon (for US based winner)  Be sure to check out her Instagram for full details on that giveaway.

Be sure to check out her YouTube Channel!
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Purchase Links:
Amazon US 
Amazon UK