Darren Groth

Whatever the opposite of a reading slump is, I’m in the middle of it.

And I’m the opposite of complaining.

I don’t want it to end, but I’m sure that ridiculous book is just over the horizon.

But before I get to the inevitable, I happened upon this beautiful treasure. I haven’t read anything since I finished it 2 days ago, and I don’t know if anything will compete to Are You Seeing Me?. I sat, squished in the backseat of my dad’s truck on the 16 hour ride home from vacation, and show more read this book in 2 hours. No, wait, I devoured this book.

2 very well spent hours lost in the amazingly wonderfully world of Justine and Perry.

I don’t know what to say; how to break down everything I’m feeling for this book. I do, however, know that I’d absolutely love to have someone like these twins in my life. They’re simply extraordinary people for separate reasons.

I laughed. (If you’re a Beiber fan, you may not).
I cried. (Often. Constantly).

I sighed and grinned and was so proud of this book! I was so proud of how it all turned out. Okay, maybe “proud” isn’t the right word.

I was humbled. I was ecstatic.

I’m not surprised this book was awesome. It is, after all, written by an Australian. And we all know there’s an overabundance of awesome creative writing over there. Seriously, I haven’t met an Australian author I didn’t love. No lie.

Are You Seeing Me? is, at the center, a story about family. But it is so much more than that and I’m a better person for knowing it. Beautifully written and extraordinary complex, this isn't a book to forget. show less

I received this through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

I approached this book with eagerness as well as trepidation. The concept was compelling: two Australians, an autistic young man and his neurotypical sister, take a trip to Canada to explore the boy's obsessions with Ogopogo and earthquakes before he begins a new life at an assisted living facility. My son is autistic. I really hoped for a good portrayal of autism--and was also worried that the story may fall prey to the show more "autism is akin to magic" trope that is both overdone and aggravating.

The book is pure literary fiction. Groth does bring up the trope, and then squashes it flat. That pleased me. The back cover copy mentions that Groth's son is on the spectrum, and I think he's put that experience of living with an autist to good use here. It's a nuanced portrayal, showing the positive and the negative of autism, and both through a lens of optimism. Ultimately, it's a story about love between siblings and a father and his children, and finding love beyond that sphere, too. I've read some grimdark fantasy recently and it was refreshing to read something that regards most people as fundamentally good.

I enjoyed the road trip aspect, too, since I used to live near Seattle and had traveled many of the places the characters visited from Vancouver into Seattle. I did hope for more from the Ogopogo plot but that's more of a selfish desire on my part, not a flaw within the story.

I loved Perry. I saw a lot of my son in him. Perry fixates on earthquakes, sea monsters, and Jackie Chan. His twin sister Justine is a good sort. She's Perry's fierce advocate, and in many ways, his substitute mother since their own abandoned them when they were young. Groth alternates between Justine and Perry in perspective to tell the story, and it works well. I was concerned that Perry's POV might be heavy-handed, but the voice strikes just the right balance.

It's a good book. Predictable in the end, yes, but sometimes that's not a bad thing. show less

Nineteen-year-old Justine and Perry are Australian twins. Perry has what Justine calls ‘a brain condition’ which makes it hard for him to deal with normal social conventions. He keeps a seismometer with him at all times which helps him measure earthquakes whether physical or emotional. He loves Jackie Chan, Ogopogo Canada’s answer to the Loch Ness monster, and his book about earthquakes but most of all he loves Justine or as he calls her Just Jeans. And she loves him too. Their mother show more had left them when they were four and their father raised them but now he has died. Before he did, he arranged for Perry to go to Fair Go, a home for the disabled. Now Justine is taking Perry on a trip to Vancouver so that they can have one last time together, where he can hunt for Ogopogo and where she has arranged to meet her pen pal.

Are You Seeing Me by author Darren Groth is a sweet tale about two extremely likeable people who love each other and depend on each other more than either realizes. The narration is divided between the two along with entries from a journal that their dad has kept all of their lives and which he has left for Justine. The story is an insightful, sensitive, and compassionate portrayal of autism - Perry is high-functioning, intelligent and caring but his condition also clearly makes him at times very difficult. And Justine isn’t perfect – she gets frustrated with others and often overreacts in her efforts to protect Perry but it is clear that she needs Perry just as much as he needs her. This story could so easily have devolved into schmaltz and over-the-top melodrama but somehow by showing the problems involved with dealing with an autistic child, the story remains believable.

This is a heartwarming and well-written story about family, disability, compassion, forgiveness, loss and the love between siblings and the sacrifices each is willing to make for the other. This is a quick read but an engrossing one with a nice touch of humour as well as pathos and gets a high recommendation from me. show less

Reviewed for Netgalley. Oh this struck a huge chord with me due to personal circumstances similar to the main character. Munro's 13 year old sister who had Down's Syndrome has suddenly died in front of him at school and 12 months later he is still grieving and in shock (Probably suffering from PTSD).
In Munroe's head is the voice of the Coyote - a typical manifestation of depression - Munro's own thoughts that tell him he is worthless and it is all his fault that she is dead.
The book sees him show more sign up for a student exchange program to Queensland to escape this troubles, but Munro is given social service placement at a housing community for the disabled and so must face his grief head on as the residents remind him of the sister he loved and lost. Well written with beautiful realistic depictions of the disabled adults that Munro must befriend (who actually look after him when they decide to take him on a tour of Brisbane's attractions). There are heart-breaking moments but also laugh out loud times too. Nevertheless, I bawled for 30 mins after I finished it; so accurate was Groth's depiction of adult disability and of grief. (I took half a star off because I thought he could have fleshed out the exchange family a little better...he touched on the Dad's problems but only briefly which I think could have been an opportunity for further explanation of how to overcome grief, trauma and depression.) show less