The Truesight Trilogy, David Stahler Jr.

Truesight Trilogy, David Stahler Jr.
1) Truesight: ISBN: 0060522852
2) The Seer: ISBN: 9780060522889
3) Otherspace: ISBN: 9780060522919

Juv/YA science fiction: a boy escapes from a repressive society where sight is blamed for the ills of humanity.

I'm glad that I'm reviewing these as a whole, because I have to say that the first is the weakest of the bunch, and as a standalone, you're really just better off re-reading The Giver again.  However, because it sets up the next two, which are much more interesting, it does become worth it.

In Truesight, Jacob's friend Delaney is a rebel.  Their society is made up of blind people - most genetically altered, but some voluntarily blinding themselves to join.  Her father is the head of their isolated, communal society, but she isn't happy there.  She wants more - she wants to SEE.  Jacob doesn't care about any of that, he's just worried what the community will assign him as his career.  Until the headaches that he has been getting regularly are joined by a dull grey blur, which slowly resolves into true sight.  While he's hiding this horrific secret, Delaney finally pushes her father too far, and she's reported as a suicide.  Jacob is the last to (literally) see her beforehand, but he doesn't have time to worry about that - his secret is too hot to keep, and now his community is demanding that he go under the knife to lose his sight.  Suddenly, Jacob has to make a very hard choice between the life he always thought he knew, and the life he now knows is real, because he's seen it with his own eyes.

In The Seer, provincial community is left far behind as both Jacob and Delaney navigate the world of the seeing, trying to figure out a place where they fit in, and where they won't be exploited or returned home.  Delaney especially has a rough time of it, as her musical aptitude make her the perfect target for unscrupulous media moguls.  Jacob pledged to help her, but he's being more and more distracted by headaches, visions, and a strange choral voice in his head, pleading with him to come and find them.  Is Jacob's sight a blessing or a curse?

In Otherspace, Jacob is off on his own, finally trying to solve the mystery of the voices in his head.  He partners with a space captain, and tries to hide from an enigmatic and threatening stranger who seems to be stalking him, meeting up with witches and seers, and facing both unexpected betrayal and the promise of a new home after all hope is lost.

None of these books truly stand alone as decent reads, but together they make a nice little space-age fable about acceptance, understanding, friendship, and finding your own path in the world.

A solid "middle grade" read, this set would also be quite good for younger adept readers who have mastered The Giver or The House of Stairs, and want more mental/psychological puzzles to occupy themselves.