Review: The One Thing by Marci Lyn Curtis

Maggie Sanders might be blind, but she won't invite anyone to her pity party. Ever since losing her sight six months ago, Maggie's rebellious streak has taken on a life of its own, culminating with an elaborate school prank. Maggie called it genius. The judge called it illegal.

Now Maggie has a probation officer. But she isn't interested in rehabilitation, not when she's still mourning the loss of her professional-soccer dreams, and furious at her so-called friends, who lost interest in her as soon as she could no longer lead the team to victory.

Then Maggie's whole world is turned upside down. Somehow, incredibly, she can see again. But only one person: Ben, a precocious ten-year-old unlike anyone she's ever met.Ben's life isn't easy, but he doesn't see limits, only possibilities. After awhile, Maggie starts to realize that losing her sight doesn't have to mean losing everything she dreamed of. Even if what she's currently dreaming of is Mason Milton, the infuriatingly attractive lead singer of Maggie's new favorite band, who just happens to be Ben's brother.

But when she learns the real reason she can see Ben, Maggie must find the courage to face a once-unimaginable future... before she loses everything she has grown to love.

When I read the synopsis for The One Thing, I was immediately captivated. I read a book about a main character who is blind before in Wattpad and I loved it, so of course I was anticipating this one. I was expecting this to be a bit depressing given the situation, but no. The main character is so snarky and her friend Ben is a ten-year-old smart ass. Gosh, I have so much love for this book, and I read this just at the right moment.

The journey that the main character took was fantastic.She didn't rely on anyone else but herself, and she changed mostly for herself too. Yes, Ben and other circumstances were catalysts, but she changed and snapped out of it because of her own realizations and not because she fell in love or was told to do so. This book took me to a roller coaster of emotions; I smiled, laugh, cried and bawled my eyes out. (And yes, I realized that I said cried and bawled my eyes out because those were the stages of my crying.) But what I loved about this book was that even though I cried my eyes out, it made me feel so happy and so full of life. It made me feel so inspired that I just wanted to jump up and start really living. The book was just so honest, so gritty, and so full of life.

“That's the one thing about being blind: you see people as they really are.”

Romance was not a central part of this story. It was only on the side that Maggie and Mason's romance bloomed, but oh my gosh, I still felt a rush of feels. This book is also filled with lots of amazing quotes, and now my copy is full of pink tabs because there were just a lot of amazing passages. I haven't rated a contemporary book 5 stars in a long time, but this book is no doubt a solid 5! I couldn't even put this book down while I was reading it, and when I absolutely had to, it was like the Choppin + Clarissa song in Maggie's head - it's constantly there on my mind.

I was a little sad that this book had to end, but I realized that for me, the story will never end because I will bring it with me in my heart wherever I go. This book is just full of meaning, emotions and life; it's monumental. If you haven't read the book yet, then what the heck are you waiting for? Hurry up and go buy yourself a copy! This is definitely a must-read.

5 aahhh-idsjfsoidghis! stars

Labels: 5 Stars, Contemporary, Review, Romance, Young Adult