Seeing America has so many connotations within this rich story of a blind boy and his friends taking a road trip at the beginning of the 20th century. This historical coming-of-age tale is deep, insightful, and really makes you think. ( )

"Seeing America" by Nancy Crocker is an excellent book. It is the telling of three 1910 high school graduates from a small town in Missouri that decide to travel from Missouri to Yellow Stone. Not that that might not be adventure enough, but one of the them is blind and is also the owner of the Model T that they plan to travel in. The three boys aren't exactly friends, but in a small town everybody knows everybody and there aren't a lot of options when it comes to buddies. So the three set of in search of themselves.

The travel methods of 1910 are much different than today. Lack of roads, hotels, money other than cash made even a few days of travel an adventure. This book is not only full of action, but it is funny! Like peeking into the brain of a teenage boy. Which is weird since the author is a woman and must be older since she sang with Loretta Lynn. This is a really good book and I highly recommend it. I received this book in a drawing from www.librarything.com. ( )

This book was a fantastic tale of three youths on a trip of a lifetime. All from different backgrounds but searching forthe same things in life. I loved the character, Paul, a blind rich kid, living in a cruel world and just wanting to be seen as normal. Definitely a book that can not be put down. ( )

I loved this book and wanted to keep reading while I was reading it, but once I set it down, I wasn't drawn to it. The book was beautifully written and did keep me interested. It was refreshing to read a story that was just about the life of the three boys travelling across America. I would definitely recommend the story to a friend. ( )

A Modern Classic

By the time I was about a quarter of the way through this book, I was actively looking for faults. The best I could come up with was that, maybe, the narrative voice slips a tiny bit in parts, maybe. I don’t trust five star, gushing reviews so I try to avoid writing them but I really cannot think of any justification for marking this one down.

Written in the first person, the convincing, colourful and highly entertaining narrative voice quickly draws the reader into the life and concerns of young John Hartmann, making it almost impossible not to feel some affection for him right from the start. In fact, all three of the main characters are well developed and easy to relate to.

Superficially, the story is about three young men who, unhappy with their lives at home in 1910 Missouri, set off on an adventure across America. It is a time of harsh realities and racial tension and Nancy Crocker tells that story well. In reality though it is about so many more things. There are many themes running through the book such as fear and how it manifests in hatred, the nature of free will, prejudice and the power of human kindness.

By the end of their journey I had grown very fond of these three young men. At times they had made be smile and at others they had made me cry, always they made me think.

I received an Advance Review Copy of this book via the Library Thing Early Reviewer programme in exchange for my honest review. I do not know the author personally and have no connection with the publisher, nor have I been offered any reward (monetary or otherwise) in exchange for a positive review. ( )