THE ONE THING

Maggie, who became blind after contracting bacterial meningitis six months earlier, experiences a magical cure. Sort of.

After meeting with the probation officer following a prank she pulled at her new school, Merchant's School for the Blind, Maggie meets bighearted, straight-shooting, mile-a-minute-talking 10-year-old Ben Milton. Shockingly, she can see Ben, and the novelty of Maggie’s temporarily returned sight makes her go along with it when Ben invites her home with him. Coincidentally, Ben's older brother, Mason, turns out to be the teenage lead singer of the Loose Cannons, Maggie's favorite band, and he is certain Maggie is faking both her blindness and her interest in Ben to get close to him. Although Maggie has been spending most of her post-meningitis life pushing away friends and family and finding reasons to ditch her orientation and mobility specialist, the relationship Maggie builds with the Miltons sparks change. Maggie's voice is sharp and quick-witted, and Ben's persistent exuberance provides an excellent foil. Although discovering a mystical cure for a disability is an overused, usually offensive trope, this book's conclusion points toward accepting disability rather than hoping to vanquish it. The payoff here is not just the inevitable romance, but also Maggie's strengthened relationships with friends, family, and herself.

Funny, sweet, and hopeful.