What
if you were the only witness to a kidnapping but found you were
incapable of helping the investigation? Although Finn O'Sullivan saw the
abduction of his brother's girlfriend, he finds he can't identify the
tall man who took her away. All the mug shots look alike to him because
Finn suffers from a condition known as face blindness (prosopagnosia).The people of Bone Gap called Finn a lot of things, but none of them was his name. When he was little, they called him Spaceman. Sidetrack. Moonface. You. As he got older, they called him Pretty Boy. Loner. Brother. Dude.—Big Gap by Laura Ruby (HarperTeen / Balzer + Bray, 2015, p. 1 [ARC])
But whatever they called him, they called him fondly. Despite his odd expressions, his strange distraction, and that annoying way he had of creeping up on a person, they knew him as well as they knew anyone. As well as they knew themselves.
Quick Facts
- Setting: Midwest, small rural community, contemporary times
- Circumstances: Roza, a beautiful young girl, is kidnapped and held captive by a tall man, whom Finn, the only witness, cannot ID. Besides being frustrated by his handicap, Finn finds himself slipping out of favor when the townsfolk begin to doubt his story.
- Characters: Finn and his brother Sean; Roza and Priscilla, their girlfriends; the tall man Finn cannot identify; quirky neighbors and friends
- Genre & audience: literary fiction, mixed with folklore, mystery, and a little magic; young adult
- Themes: love, friendship, forgiveness, self-acceptance, family, women's strength, handicaps, being different
- Miscellaneous: the story is told from multiple view points; we learn about the real condition of facial blindness
- Early thoughts: I meant to look at only the first paragraph but ended up reading about a third of the book before I realized it. I love the writing style, deep emotions, and vivid characters.
I had never heard of face blindness before but it sounds really fascinating, although it must be very annoying to have! This sounds like a really interesting read and I love the teaser, it's adorable! Thanks for sharing :) I hope you have a great week!
ReplyDeleteMy Tuesday post
Juli @ Universe in Words
Sounds good, face blindness is new to me. Think I'll look this one up.
ReplyDeleteI never heard of that condition before. Sounds like an interesting read. Here is mine
ReplyDeletehttp://totallyaddictedtoreading.blogspot.com/2015/03/teaser-tuesday-7.html?zx=e4741754c637adea
I recall another book about face blindness, although think it was a memoir? I do think that I would read more though--enjoy
ReplyDeleteI have heard of face blindness, but haven't yet read a book featuring the condition. I like the sound of this one. Thanks for sharing...and here's mine: “WHAT REMAINS”
ReplyDeleteThis sounds really interesting! I never knew there was a condition called facial blindness.
ReplyDeleteSounds good to me! I love it when you sit down to read a few pages and end up fully invested & into the book.
ReplyDeleteSounds interesting...with a refreshingly unusual twist.
ReplyDeleteMy Tuesday post: http://www.bookclublibrarian.com/2015/03/first-chapter-first-paragraph-97.html
Loved this book, especially the strong characters and the going in-and-out of the magic realism.
ReplyDeleteI've seen you tweeting about this - it does sound like a page turner!
ReplyDeleteWill definitely check this one out! I recorded a memoir several years ago by a woman who has prosopagnosia - she writes beautifully about how she discovers that she has it and finds her way to living with it (and moves past all the obstacles it had put in her life).
ReplyDeletehttp://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/58035/
sounds fascinating ... thanks!!!
ReplyDeleteFacial blindness sounds terrifying. You wouldn't know who was approaching you until they spoke, I imagine.
ReplyDeleteMy Teaser
This looks really interesting. I'd keep reading.
ReplyDeletethe book sounds interesting, I hope you enjoy it. I like how you said you meant to look at only the opening paragraph and before you knew it you'd read 1/3 of the book. That tells me more than anything that it is good.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an interesting read, face blindness must be so debilitating (although I often struggle to fit names to faces) Here is my Tuesday Post https://cleopatralovesbooks.wordpress.com/2015/03/10/4158/
ReplyDeleteFace blindness as part of a crime novel sounds, well, novel. I keep reading to see how its handled.
ReplyDeleteWhat a unique handicap for the MC. It must have been challenging to write.
ReplyDeleteI like this style of writing. I could drink it up like a cold glass of lemonade. I'm going to write it on my list. Nowadays, are there more heroines than heroes?
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting condition to wrap a mystery around, it sounds really cool. I'm very curious by the fact that it's written in multiple points of view? I've only ever seen 1 mystery done that way before, and thought it was cool. I may have to check this out. Thanks for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteHere are my Teasers!
Will be on the look out for this book.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting condition. I'll keep this one in mind.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of face blindness before, sounds intriguing.
ReplyDeletehttp://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2015/03/teaser-tuesday_10.html
I love it when a book sucks you in like that.
ReplyDeleteI've seen that condition on tv, but not noticed it in a book before. How awful Finn must have felt!
ReplyDeleteMine this week is From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris: http://wp.me/pZnGI-ki
I've seen a TV show that had a character that suffered from face blindness but I'd love to see it done in book form. This sounds interesting and unusual.
ReplyDeleteFace blindness sounds like a terrible condition to have. This book must be highly readable if you only meant to read the first paragraph and ended up reading a third of it before you put it down!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds very interesting!
ReplyDeletehere is my TT
Glad to hear you are enjoying this one - I just requested it on audio after reading a review in BookPage!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the rest of it - I look forward to starting it.
Sue
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