100 Days of Sunlight

**Disclaimer: I received a free electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

First off, I would like to say that I did not know Abbie Emmons is a YouTuber prior to reading this book, in fact, I did not find out until like halfway through the book because I read it somewhere in some reviews. Despite this fact, it does not affect my opinion on this review.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The characters are likable (especially Weston), showcasing considerable growth in character, both Tessa and Weston. When we are first introduced to Tessa we find that she is in a very dark place in her life due to reasonable circumstances and Weston is just an overly optimistic guy. Over time we come to find out how Weston is the way he is and why he is so persistent in helping Tessa despite not telling her about being disabled himself (amputee). We learn how Weston is cherishing the fact that he is treated as a normal person with Tessa because she finds no reason to pity him being that she cannot see why and he is not saying anything about his disability. Also, Weston understands the situation that she is in and wants to pick her back up, which I found well constructed because he begins to help Tessa realize that sight is not the only sense that she has. I found it to be really sweet that he first started with scent by bringing her flowers and having her remember the scents.

Through the time Tessa spends with Weston we see that she has shifted from being hostile to Weston to being very comfortable with him and eventually falling in love with him. This journey I appreciate, especially the romance aspect because it was not insta-love, which I despise and is an issue that is quite common in Teen/YA books.

Overall, the story was well paced and sheds light to temporary and permanent physical disabilities, which are topics I have not encountered very often in books. The romance is well written and in general, the whole story was. The way the ending was handled was beautiful as well. I definitely recommend this to anyone interested in YA/Contemporary genres.

THOUGHTS
… it took me so long to try and write this review … my thoughts are such a mess. This beautiful novel has made in nearly impossible to put my thoughts into coherent words. Uplifting, inspiration, motivation … Emmons’ debut novel reminds me of those beautiful classics but with more relevant references and no prejudice or discrimination (sorry, classics … but it’s true). For my first NetGalley novel in about a year, Emmons has set the standards high.

This is a partial review, highlighting key points of my original; this is due to my original review being longer and more in-depth. For full review, please visit Bookmark Your Thoughts: https://bookmarkyourthoughts.blog/2019/06/27/100-days-of-sunlight-by-abbie-emmons-book-review/

THE PROS
– The writing style of this novel is reason alone to read it — it’s absolutely lovely! Emmons balances the use of prose and poetry, making the reader FEEL the emotions of each character as though it’s them in the situation. The different point of views are also carefully crafted, showing the difference in Tessa and Weston’s characters.

– Blatantly and un-apologetically, Emmons displays the social stigmas towards those with disabilities while also educating readers. She illustrates how this discrimination is shown both with good intentions and in a negative light, emphasizing the need for society to educate themselves regarding how the world views those with disabilities. Through Weston and Tessa’s character development and growth, Emmons highlights the most beautiful message: “There’s nothing you can’t do.”

– In a well-balanced manner, Emmons portrays a number of diverse elements to this grand novel such as main characters with disabilities and different beliefs/ideologies. As someone who’s unsure of her own belief system, I was nervous going into this novel. But Emmons not only discusses all these tastefully, but she doesn’t try to SWAY readers to believe a certain way. They’re simply elements to these characters, showing that people who have differentiating beliefs can still get along with one another.

– Though heart-wrenching and an emotional rollercoaster, 100 Days of Sunlight provides a positive message for all those struggling. Emmons manages to provide a balance of saying it’s okay to be frustrated and sad, while still empowering readers to take control of their lives. Because at the end of the day, we are responsible for creating our own happiness.

– The tie to a life of a blogger was a wonderful treat, making this novel feel close to home. I’ve never read a novel with this element, but OH MY WAS IT FANTASTIC! The close connections Tessa has made reminds me of my own in the blogging community. And the support they show her during this difficult time reflects our community so much.

THE WOES
– The beginning of the novel is perfection, but I would’ve liked more background knowledge of Tessa’s character. The one thing I would’ve enjoyed is a back-flash chapter (or half of a chapter) of ‘a-day-in-the-life-of-Tessa’. in order to compare pre- and post- accident Tessa.

– I honestly don’t know how I feel about the ending of the novel. On the one end, the simplicity is something to admire and it’s rather beautiful. On the other hand, it felt rather abrupt and unfinished. I wasn’t left fully satisfied, wanting a few more pages to close things off.

– Weston and Tessa are lovely … but the insta-love? For a person who’s anti insta-love, it’s not too bad — it did feel rather gradual … but to be in-love in a couple of months? It just seemed too sudden. However, this is ONE person’s opinion on the matter and I feel it’s a more biased opinion than normal — so please keep this in mind.

OVERALL

100 Days of Sunlight is a novel that I TRULY believe everyone should read — it’s powerful, uplifting and doesn’t hold back. Following Tessa and Weston’s journey to self-acceptance and happiness has been grand, illustrating how to take charge of one’s fulfillment in life even when you feel the world’s against you. Weston is also a WONDERFUL role-model for any age demographic — he doesn’t let fear control his life and he finds ways to love life no matter the circumstances. This novel is a true work of art. Emmons even remembers to pay attention to the times, showing the use of relevant technology to show how society as progressed for those with physical disabilities. For those who need an inspirational read, make sure to pick up your own copy!

Even before I started reading this book, I was prepared to give it three stars.

*cringes* okay, okay, don’t kill me, but if there’s a looooot of hype about a book, I usually won’t care for it.

The truth? *I l o v e d this book.* I mean, first of all, I looooove how the cover ties everything, every lil’ bit of this book together. Ahhhh *happy sigh*

I was completely prepared to give this baby 5 whopping stars. But…there were two things that kept me from it.

1. The language.
Wait, did anyone see what just flew past? *looks out into the front yard* oh, that was just 3/4 of a star that just flew out the window.
Honestly, if I’d known how much swearing was in this book, I might’ve passed it up. I get it that most people use cuss words without a care. I, however, am not one of those people. Really, is it *necessary* to have so much cussing in a book? I don’t like swearing, but add to that God’s name being used frequently and flippantly retracted pleasure from the dialogue for me.

2. The romance.
*another quarter of a star jumps out the window*
So, the romance was actually pretty adorable. Until you contemplate the fact that these two people are 16 yrs old. SIXTEEN, PEOPLE. I know this opinion is kinda unpopular, but . . . I don’t like. XD Thankfully, there wasn’t a huge amount of romance, which is what kept this baby from being docked down another star.

What did I like??
-UM WESTON HELLO PEOPLE. Ahhh he was so amazing! And I could seriously relate to him more than I could to Tessa. I mean, I’m not exactly handicapped, but I totally got his suck-it-up-buttercup, don’t-let-others-know-how-I-feel attitude. I mean, I really, *really* wanna wash his mouth out with soap. But otherwise he’s fabbb. AND HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS BROTHERS LIKE YASSSS PLEASE <3
-The writing style was o n f l e e k. The story wasn't fast-paced. At all. But somehow I kept reading . . . and reading . . . it was so engaging!! Ahhhh, Abbie's writing voice was so good . . . I could go on reading it forever.
-The plot!! Can I just express how much I AM IN LOVE WITH THE PLOT?? It's so genius!! Executed so flawlessly . . .

I read this a digital ARC from Netgalley and will be purchasing this YA book for my classroom library later this summer when it is published. I will be recommending it to teen readers this upcoming school year. I can not say enough good things about this YA book. I loved how the books is divided into the five senses and completely makes sense with the storyline.

I haven’t read many contemporaries this year, BUT, as soon as Abbie Emmons put her debut up on NetGalley, I KNEW I had to request to read it. Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC. <3
I'm so impressed with this book. It was that lighthearted romantic story I've needed to balance my recent fantasy binge. In fact, I flew through it in three days, reading over half of it in a single sitting in my bed at midnight. I haven't stayed up late to finish a book in forever!
Now, for my review:
The characters are so well developed. Abbie delivers on her famous advice: "It's not about what happens. It's about how what happens affects the characters."

I loved seeing Weston's story through flashbacks. It really helped me love him as a character. To be honest, Weston wins the award as one of my favorite fictional guys ever. We need more guys like him in the world today. He's gentle, kind, funny, etc. But he's also fighting his own struggles, just like Tessa.
When going into this book, I was curious how Abbie was going to approach writing a blind character--something I'd never myself read before. However, it was amazing. I love being able to just feel Tessa's experiences of using her other senses to create her own image of where she was.
My favorite thing about this book is the romantic development. In one chapter, Weston would want to hold her hand but resist because he didn't want to cross boundaries. Then, in the VERY NEXT chapter, Tessa would be thinking the SAME THING. MY HEART. Please give me more Tessas and Westons. Thank you. Bye.

Abbie Emmons’ debut novel, 100 Days of Sunlight, is a refreshing and charming read. Emmons’ writing is a breeze to read, allowing for great binge-reading before realizing that the day has already come and gone. I finished it much faster than I thought I would, as I had been stuck in a reading slump for months now, and this sweet story left me feeling bubbily and happy inside.

The novel follows the perspectives of our two main characters: Tessa Dickinson and Weston Ludovico, who both have serious physical impairments: Tessa loses her sight temporarily due to a car accident, and Weston has two prosthetic legs. After losing her sight, Tessa lost all motivation to write, which led to losing motivation to find the good and happy things in life. When Weston struts in, his driven and incredibly optimistic personality guides (and sometimes forces) her to “see” the world in a different, and much more hopeful light. This delightful teen romance is sure to make your heart flutter as it did mine.

I could go on and on about Emmons’ writing style: it’s simple, but whimsical; smooth, but purposefully styled. It’s easy to read through and sucks you into the story, but it takes you on a roller coaster. I loved the poetic elements sprinkled in and the stylized type that conveyed emotion artfully. The way everything was written made me feel like I was reading the characters’ thoughts, not just a narration of what the character was going through.

Writing in the perspective of a blind character is difficult, but Emmons had done an admirable job. Both of the main characters were easy to fall in love with, and I am so glad I was able to go along their journey with them. Tessa is quiet but fierce, and a genuine, strong character. Weston is extremely driven and a fantastic contrast against Tessa. I thought Weston to be a bit cliche at times, but fell in love with him nonetheless. I loved watching these two opposite characters develop and work together. With them interacting and constantly being compared to one another, I could truly see how they differ and how they are as individual characters. The use of Weston’s backstory and connecting it with Tessa’s present was a valuable addition to the telling of the story. The humor was thoroughly enjoyable and sincere. I laughed out loud quite a few times! Not to mention it had a quite inspirational message.

However, in the beginning of the story, I felt it was rushed and introducing the world and situation as quickly as possible in order for the plot to move forward. The info-dump could have possibly been avoided, but with all the medical information needed to understand Tessa’s situation, it probably would have been difficult to dodge without having a long and uneventful beginning. Weston, especially, seemed to take it upon himself to move the plot along so we readers could get to the good stuff as soon as possible. As the story began to take shape, though, the pacing became more consistent and there was no rush to get through one plot point to the next.

Overall, the story is flat-out adorable. Well thought-out and developed characters, the pacing is great, and it contains that freeing feeling of summer break. If you are looking for a cute and light young adult romance, I wholeheartedly recommend. It is so pure, lovely, and the epitome of sunlight. I would love to see a copy of this book on my bookshelf come August!

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I came into this not knowing what to expect. I’ve been watching Abbie’s “Writer’s Life Wednesdays” off and on for a while now. While I enjoy most authortube videos, I’m never sure what to expect when I actually try reading something they’ve written. Authortuber books are pretty hit or miss, and most have landed on the “miss” side for me.

That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was sweet, tear-jerking (of both sad and happy varieties), and full of sunshine. It was exactly what I wanted to read to start of the summer.

Let’s get into it.

I cried a lot. I cried for many spoilery things that I won’t share here. I cried nearly every time Wes and his best friend (Rudy, right? I loved him.) had a sweet, we’re-teenage-boys-and-this-is-awkward-but-I-love-ya moment. I. CRIED.

I love all of Weston’s flashbacks; they’re very poignant and well-written. Many people have commented on the language used during Wes’s chapters. I’m with those who agree with the use of language in the book. I don’t love swearing, but it’s real life. They’re teenage boys. (The repeated “pansyass” got a bit annoying after a while. But then again, when have 16-year-old boys had a large vocabulary?) I also appreciate that there’s no insta-conversion in this story. Abbie definitely writes with Christian undertones, but too many Christian novels are squeaky clean and end with everybody converting to Christianity and living happily ever after. Truth is, converting is hard and gritty and doesn’t happen in the snap of a finger. So, kudos on that one, Abbie!

The romance was sweet. I liked both MCs and their development. However, I do wish that some of the other characters had been fleshed out a bit more. Wes’s best friend and brothers were awesome, but they never developed and they never played a pivotal role in the present, only in Wes’s past. I would’ve liked to see more interaction between them and Tessa.

Something I truly didn’t enjoy: the poetic elements. I don’t dig free verse poetry, so it would stand to reason that I didn’t dig it here, either. The sunlight one on page 49 was alright, though. I just wish Wes hadn’t turned it into a song. Sweet, maybe, but I picture every teenager who thinks they can play and/or sing but just can’t. Awkward. I’m also not sure how I feel about the spaced out words (ex: p a t h e t i c), but I guess they do give more of a feeling to those words. All in all, it was easy to deal with the poetic stuff that I didn’t enjoy because the MC is a teenager who writes amateur poetry on a blog. And that’s exactly what it felt like. So, that works, I guess!

Anyway, to wrap this up, I really did have a great time reading this story. It flowed nicely. I loved the back and forth POVs (I thought a lot of the transitions were really smooth, too!) and the flashbacks. I loved the humanity of the MCs. It was sweet in all the right ways and left me feeling content at the end. Definitely worth a try if you need some sweet and light reading this summer.

(Also, cover. GORGEOUS. And makes so much more sense now that I’ve read the book.)

The Characters in this book are what make this book so special. Weston guides Tessa through various journeys without sight. Both these characters (and the rest, of course, but these two especially) are charming and lovable. I felt all kinds of emotions reading this book and it took me on a journey. 100 Days of Sunlight is what I’m going to be rereading this summer and all year long.

“Constructed with such elegant description, Abbie Emmons coveys three things in 100 Days of sunlight. Joy, naive optimism, and soul.”

I don’t think I’ve ever been so connected to characters before – in a way in which, I felt what they could.

While It has been made so clear what Weston and Tessa want (her sight to return) I have to say that I would be more than happy with the beautiful ending of that wish not being granted.

Seeing through Tessa’s senses throughout the book felt like living in a different way.It felt like hovering above ground, experiencing but not interacting. It felt wonderful.

Weston’s story was something unlike any other and the imagination and description that flowed through this character was indescribable.
The way we can see who Weston is as a person (not just through Tessa – but through his past) helps us see why he would need to be treated like “normal”.

I love this book because every flip of the page makes my heart warm, and there was not one moment when I doubted the loyalty of these characters.

The selflessness, The pure heart and soul that screams love, family and friendship is clearly shown through each comma, each period and each well-crafted description.

I lived through Tessa and Weston Ludovico…and I loved every sunlit moment of it.

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.- Goodreads

I don’t really read contemporary especially contemporary romances. However, I won’t lie this cover and the title really caught my attention and let me just say this book was so freaking adorable.

Seriously adorable and I loved so much about this.

Tessa is feeling it; as she should. She is a hermit that doesn’t go out often and when she does unfortunately, she gets into an accident that makes her blind for a 100 days. The fact that she may get her sight back doesn’t exactly help because it is a big MIGHT and she doesn’t have much faith in things right now.
Enter Weston and he is determined to make sure Tessa doesn’t fall down a dark hole because he knows that it is a very easy thing.

One of the most important parts of this book that I loved is the fact that it is told in both of their point of views AND you also get to read about Weston’s past first hand. It was just raw honesty. I appreciate the author taking the time and care to dig into Weston as opposed to making this book only about Tessa.

Speaking about that. I strongly believe that this book favors Weston more than Tessa. Yes, she is a focal point but something about the way the author writes, the digging of Weston’s past nothing in me believes this book is about Tessa but about Weston and how he helps someone overcome the darkness growing inside him and how he pretty much does the same for himself.

But out of everything I read, the best part of the book was the ending. It broke my heart. It really broke my heart and Weston is perfect. He is such an adult for a 16 year old well actually all the surrounding characters appear to be older than they actually are.

Overall, this was a good book and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
4 Pickles