Goddess Fish Book Tour Stop: Farsighted by Emlyn Chand (Includes Interview)

Title: Farsighted
Author: Emlyn Chand
Publisher: Blue Crown Press
Publish Date: November 24, 2011
Source: Goddess Fish Tours

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You like a little mystery.
• You like a little magic.
• You're a young adult fan.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Alex Kosmitoras’s life has never been easy. The only other student who will talk to him is the school bully, his parents are dead-broke and insanely overprotective, and to complicate matters even more, he's blind. Just when he thinks he'll never have a shot at a normal life, a new girl from India moves into town. Simmi is smart, nice, and actually wants to be friends with Alex. Plus she smells like an Almond Joy bar. Yes, sophomore year might not be so bad after all.

Unfortunately, Alex is in store for another new arrival—an unexpected and often embarrassing ability to “see” the future. Try as he may, Alex is unable to ignore his visions, especially when they begin to suggest that Simmi is in danger. With the help of the mysterious psychic next door and new friends who come bearing gifts of their own, Alex must embark on a journey to change his future."

My Two Cents:

I was excited to read this book. Unknown to me before I started this book, Farsighted is actually the first book in a planned series. While I'm not wild about starting any more series, this is one that I'm sort of looking forward to. Alex is a very different character than is found in many other young adult books. First, he's a guy. So many young adult books are about females so it was nice to see the male of the species getting a little play. Second, Alex is blind; yet another topic that isn't often covered in young adult books. It was nice to see these things. It definitely gave the book a breath of fresh air.


I love magical realism and the way this book is written, Alex's magic powers are definitely believable. I like when the magic blends in with the real world. I think it makes the story more believable and I would go so far as to say that it also makes the story more fun to read. 


I really liked the characters in the book. Alex is a regular guy that realizes he has something strange going on with him. Simmi and Sharpri are regular girls too. Sharpri recognizes Alex's powers a little more since her mother is Miss Teak, the woman and clairvoyant who helps Alex grow into his powers more. It'll definitely be interesting to see how the characters grow in the future!


Bottom line: Great debut for a new series!

Follow the Rest of the Tour:


November 28: Lisa Haselton's Reviews and Interviews
November 29: I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read!
November 30: BK Walker Books
December 1: The Character Connection
December 2: The Book Sisterhood
December 5: Judge Not By The Covers
December 6: A Bookish Affair
December 7: A Pen and Fire
December 8: Hope. Dreams. Life... Love
December 9: The Plot Thickens
December 12: Fresh Pot of Tea
December 13: Reader Girls
December 14: City Girl Who Loves to Read
December 15: Dawn's Reading Nook
December 16: Good Family Reads
December 19: This is the Life
December 20: We Fancy Books
December 22: It's Raining Books
December 22: Stop #2: Sarah Ballance
December 23: J.C. Martin, Fighter Writer 

***Emlyn Chand will be giving away a $50 Amazon.com gift certificate to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.***

Interview With the Author:

How did you come up with the idea of Farsighted? 
 Everything started with a single image—my face in these tacky oversized sunglasses reflecting out at me from the car’s side mirror. I was daydreaming while my husband drove us across Michigan for my sister’s wedding. Something about my image really struck me in an almost horrific way. I felt the glasses made me look blind but found it so weird that there was still a clear image within them; it seemed so contradictory. At the time, my book club was reading The Odyssey, which features the blind Theban prophet, Tieresias. I started thinking about what it would be like to have non-visual visions of the future and began forming a modern Tieresias in my mind. Lo and behold, Alex Kosmitoras was born. I didn’t want him to be alone in his psychic subculture, so I found other characters with other powers to keep him company. Thank God for my poor fashion sense.

What's the hardest thing about being a writer? 
The worst part? I guess it would be getting stuck in a story or not having enough time to write. There is also a lot of work involved from concepting to marketing and everything in between. But that comes with the territory. 
What's the best thing about being a writer? 

For the most part, I think stories live or die with the characters who populate them. Without strong or relatable characters isn’t going to stay with readers in the same way. To that end, it was incredibly important for me to create characters who would feel real to the story. Readers have really identified with Alex and Shapri as feeling extremely authentic. Some people like Simmi too. :-D And that’s the best part of being a writer, bring your characters to life, getting to know their quirks and idiosyncracies, and hearing from readers who feel like they know them. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers? 

My advice is this:  Have fun with your writing. Don’t put pressure on yourself or your story and don’t try to fit either into some type of mold. Not every work HAS to be published, but every work will teach you something, and it will make you a better writer. Find the joy in writing, and you won’t go wrong.

What was your favorite book as a young adult? Ooo, I’ve answered about my favorite book now and my favorite book as a child, but not my favorite book as a young adult. I’d have to say A Time to Kill by John Grisham. I was in a weird reading phase when I was in high school, because I planned to go into international diplomacy. I don’t read this genre anymore, but that doesn’t mean A Time to Kill isn’t great! 

What three books would you bring with you to a deserted island? Another blogger asked me what three literary characters I’d take with me on an island. The question was so fun and also gives insight into my reading preferences, so I’d like to share my answer to this slightly different question. First up, I’d obviously take Robinson Crusoe with me on a deserted island. He knows what he’s doing, and he can be the provider. I’ll also take Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games—if we get in any kind of danger, she’d be a great protector. Lastly, I’d take Ron Weasley. Ron and I can live the good life, while the other two make sure we all stay safe and well-fed. I know I would never get bored with Ron around—he’s just 24/7 entertainment.