buttercup9617's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
abookishplantlover's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
voya_k's review
5.0
Speaking of disability novels, this book about a teenage girl who loses her sight was MY JAM in 8th grade. The author actually lost her sight in high school, so take that, haters! I own the sequel Gift Of Gold, in which Cathy the blind girl pursues a career in speech pathology. Maybe it's time to actually read it.
pplydm's review
5.0
Reading this book has been really motivating. I have read this a long time ago and that was year 2009. Looking back, I realized I made the right choice on taking the time to read this book.
pennyriley's review
4.0
This is novelised non-fiction, I suppose. The story of Cathy Wheeler who goes blind at the age of fourteen tells of the first two years after this happens. At first at home for a few months, and then b her choice to an school for the blind, that she quickly realises was a mistake. Although not common in those days (early sixties by my guess) she transfers at the end of the year to her local high school. Slowed by an over-eager, over-helpful 'friend', (read it and you'll understand the inverted commas) she nonetheless fits in well with the help of her guide dog, Trudy, and soon they are both an integral part of high school life. Her choices showed courage and determination, both of which she had plenty of.
readerin's review
5.0
One of my all-time favorite books from my young teenage years, and the reason I am now raising a guide dog for Guide Dogs of America. Probably deserves four stars, but I have to add one in for sentimentality!
books_take_me_away's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
readerpants's review
4.0
This is an old favorite of 70's YA that I found for a quarter and decided to re-read. It stands up surprisingly well; dated in its environment, but not enormously in its attitude. I love when she goes to the guide dog training and meets the housewife and the college professor who are also blind and clearly independent even without having guide dogs yet.
It's also where I learned about the LOC services for the blind, which are happily still in existence, although also happily no longer provided solely on records.
It's also where I learned about the LOC services for the blind, which are happily still in existence, although also happily no longer provided solely on records.
ineffablebob's review
4.0
Light a Single Candle tells the story of teenager Cathy Wheeler as she loses her sight and starts high school, all in the short period of less than two years.
It's hard enough being a teenager in the best of circumstances, with changing social relationships and school adjustments and physical changes. Adding a loss of eyesight certainly doesn't simplify matters any. Cathy is a hopeful character, though, and mostly focuses on what she can do rather than what is denied to her. Like anyone, she has her periods of anger and depression, but on the whole her positive attitude serves her well in adjusting to life without sight.
This book reminded me a lot of the early books in the Little House on the Prairie series. It's set later, in the 1960s, but the writing style is similar, capturing life's challenges both large and small in a way that is suitable for young readers. Doesn't harm the comparison any that there's a girl who loses her sight at an early age in both stories.
I recently read And There Was Light: The Extraordinary Memoir of a Blind Hero of the French Resistance in World War II, another novel of a young person that loses their sight. The parallels here are many, most notably the way that the main characters refuse to let their lack of sight hold them back from living life. They require more assistance, certainly, but they don't let their limitations force them to hide away from society. In Cathy's case, she gets a taste of that life when she goes to a boarding school for the blind. She very quickly decides that being treated as if she has little intelligence, ambition, and hope for the future is not for her, and leaves as soon as she can to rejoin her peers at home.
I enjoyed Light a Single Candle, and I think anyone who enjoys coming-of-age stories and the triumph of perseverance over adversity will too.
It's hard enough being a teenager in the best of circumstances, with changing social relationships and school adjustments and physical changes. Adding a loss of eyesight certainly doesn't simplify matters any. Cathy is a hopeful character, though, and mostly focuses on what she can do rather than what is denied to her. Like anyone, she has her periods of anger and depression, but on the whole her positive attitude serves her well in adjusting to life without sight.
This book reminded me a lot of the early books in the Little House on the Prairie series. It's set later, in the 1960s, but the writing style is similar, capturing life's challenges both large and small in a way that is suitable for young readers. Doesn't harm the comparison any that there's a girl who loses her sight at an early age in both stories.
I recently read And There Was Light: The Extraordinary Memoir of a Blind Hero of the French Resistance in World War II, another novel of a young person that loses their sight. The parallels here are many, most notably the way that the main characters refuse to let their lack of sight hold them back from living life. They require more assistance, certainly, but they don't let their limitations force them to hide away from society. In Cathy's case, she gets a taste of that life when she goes to a boarding school for the blind. She very quickly decides that being treated as if she has little intelligence, ambition, and hope for the future is not for her, and leaves as soon as she can to rejoin her peers at home.
I enjoyed Light a Single Candle, and I think anyone who enjoys coming-of-age stories and the triumph of perseverance over adversity will too.
nce14210's review
4.0
What a refreshing change from Follow My Leader, which I finished a few days ago. This is a much fuller very real character. Good story, real issues and real solutions. This author lost her sight and I think her insights really helped make this book real. I liked it a lot.
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