The Girl Who Could See by Kara Swanson // Blog Tour

You're not going to want to miss this! Because this book is awesome. You may have seen it appear in my newsletter and in my last post Books That ... Made Me Cry. Obviously that means this book stood out to me!

All her life Fern has been told she is blind to reality—but, what if she is the only one who can truly see? 

Fern Johnson is crazy. At least, that's what the doctors have claimed since her childhood. Now nineteen, and one step away from a psych ward, Fern struggles to survive in bustling Los Angeles. Desperate to appear normal, she represses the young man flickering at the edge of her awareness—a blond warrior only she can see.

Tristan was Fern's childhood imaginary hero, saving her from monsters under her bed and outside her walls. As she grew up and his secret world continued to bleed into hers, however, it only caused catastrophe. But, when the city is rocked by the unexplainable, Fern is forced to consider the possibility that this young man is not a hallucination after all—and that the creature who decimated his world may be coming for hers.

Is that cover not glorious?! The description is pretty awesome, too. Just a glimpse of how cool the novella actually is.

Since I signed up to do a themed post, I'll focus on one of my favorite aspects of the book: friendship. First, there's the friendship between Fern and Tristan. He’s her childhood hero and imaginary friend. Second, there’s the friendship between Fern and her niece Elinore.

Fern, Tristan, and Elinore are the cutest trio ever. Fern’s a grown up now so she doesn't talk about Tristan, even though he still haunts her. Elinore is being raised by Fern, but their relationship retains that awesome niece/aunt bond. Plus, Elinore is the only one who’s totally chill with Tristan’s supposed presence.
Because Fern used to talk about Tristan and still sees things, everyone thinks she's crazy. Since Fern now questions her own sanity, she quits trusting Tristan. He’s taken it too far and she’s done with him ruining her life, so she dumps her imaginary friend for a shot at real life.

Fern’s struggle with knowing whom to trust I found very realistic. She's desperate to be normal so she can hold down a job and be allowed to raise her niece. Thanks to her imaginary friend, she has no real friends, only shrinks and the FBI. As the stakes climb and Tristan finally captures her attention, she has to decide all over again who she can trust.
Will the FBI agent believe her? Do the doctors actually want to help? Is Tristan even real? Can she keep Elinore safe?
Friendships always hang in a balance and Fern struggles with how far she’s willing to go for the people who have always been there, if only in her head. It’s really quite beautiful and you should all read about it and love the quirky bonds she has :D

Basically, the whole story is amazing, okay?! You can read my full 5 star Goodreads review here.

As the daughter of missionaries, Kara Swanson spent sixteen years of her young life in the jungles of Papua New Guinea. Able to relate with characters dropped suddenly into a unique new world, she quickly fell in love with the speculative genre. At seventeen, she released a fantasy novel, Pearl of Merlydia. Her short story is included in Kathy Ide’s 21 Days of Joy: Stories that Celebrate Mom. She has published many articles, including one in the Encounter magazine, and she received the Mount Hermon Most Promising Teen Writer award in 2015.

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Also, because Kara is super neat, the blog tour is not any ordinary blog tour. It's a scavenger hunt! The clue from my post is this:

You'll have to visit each post in the schedule below to find all the clues, then submit them here.

And finally, stalk the book and purchase a copy. (E-book is great and all, but you'll want a paperback just for the cover.)

PURCHASE // GOODREADS

Have I convinced you to buy a copy and enjoy this for yourselves? Such a nifty book. Think a mix between a Marvel + FBI TV show ... but a book ;)