Jensen and Ryder were high school sweethearts. They did
everything together along with Jensen's brother Will, who
just happens to be Ryder's best friend. Until one night
when
everything changed for all three of them. Will had
always told Ryder he could have any girl, except his
sister
Jensen.
One day everything changed for all of them. Will, a high
school football player is hit pretty hard in a game and is
rushed to the hospital.
After he is cleared to leave the hospital they all head
back
to Will's house. The plan for the evening was for Jensen
and Ryder to spend some time alone together. Will
however,
wants Ryder to watch a movie with him. After Will falls
asleep, Ryder sneaks down to be with Jensen. This is
when
everything changes. Will catches the two of them
together,
and gets into a heated fight with both of them. Jensen
hits
Will, he falls and hits his head and later passes away.
The series of events that October evening changed
everything
for them. Jensen develops Night Blindness and the doctors
have no clue what is causing it. Jensen feels since she
lied to her parents about what happened, that this is her
punishment. Jensen leaves home and goes on with
her life. Jensen became a model and meets Nic and
marries
him. Ryder also leaves home and becomes a brain surgeon.
Life
went on for the two of them until Jensen's father develops
a
brain tumor Jensen returns to her home town to help take
care of her dad. Ryder is the surgeon on the case. As
much as the two of them try to keep their old feelings on
the side they just can't.
I was very impressed with Susan Streker's writing.
NIGHT BLINDNESS is her first novel, and in my opinion,
the first of a
great career. I was absorbed from the first page and
throughout the whole book. Streker writes about young
love, the trials that it takes on the two main characters
and other people in their lives. Susan Streker'sinsight
into
their lives of her characters almost made me feel like she
had something
terrible happen in her own life.
NIGHT BLINDESS is a great book and a speedy read. I am
patiently waiting for her next
book. I usually like to know what happens to the main
characters in a book, but Susan Strecker ends NIGHT
BLINDNESS in
the perfect way. No waiting for a sequel on this one.
A future as bright as the stars above the Connecticut shore lay before Jensen Reilly and her high school sweetheart, Ryder, until the terrible events of an October night left Jensen running from her family and her first love. Over the years that followed, Jensen buried her painful past, and now, married to a charismatic artist, she has created a new life far away from the unbearable secret of that night.
When Jensen's father, Sterling, is diagnosed with a brain tumor, she returns to her childhood home for the first time in thirteen years, and the memories of her old life come flooding back along with the people she's tried to escape. Torn between her life in Santa Fe with her free-spirited husband, Nic, and the realization that it is time to face her past, Jensen must make a terrifying decision that threatens to change her life again--this time forever.
An emotionally thrilling debut set during a New England summer, Susan Strecker's Night Blindness is a compelling novel about the choices we make, the sanctity of friendship, and the power of love.