Blink & Caution

I think it’s safe to say that everyone cracks the cover of a new book with some sort of expectation. I, personally, try not to, but it’s a hard thing. I walked into Blink & Caution with my hopes raised to Kilimanjaro levels. You see, I’d happened to peek at the first chapter, and saw that it was narrated in second person. Second person is something of an obsession of mine, and, up ‘til now, I hadn’t found anything longer than a short story that’s written in second person.

My expectations for Tim Wynne-Jones and his storytelling were set astronomically high before I’d read a paragraph.

But let me say up front: Blink & Caution is one of the most well-written YA novels I’ve ever read. It’s completely different from anything I’ve experienced—in the best way possible. The stories and lives of Blink (Brent) and Caution (Kitty), which start out separate but converge at the halfway mark, are real and raw and honest. Sitting here, writing this review, I feel an urge to run around until I’ve found a book that’s similar to Blink & Caution (except I’m pretty sure there isn’t one).

Tim Wynne-Jones’s prose was wonderful in a way that I seldom come across. It was jaunty and had a discernable pulse, with unique turns of phrase—a messy room described as “a terrorist slumber party”. Blink’s chapters are narrated in second person, and it was truly an amazing (and almost unsettling) experience to have an external narrator constantly addressing the protagonist as “you”. Caution’s chapters, which were narrated in third person, were perhaps a little less strong stylistically speaking, but I found that, since her story itself was far more compelling than Blink’s, it all evened out in the end.

At the same time, I was slightly annoyed by the fact that half this book was narrated in second person and half in third—it was kind of a jostling transition every time Wynne-Jones switched perspectives. I think the book would have been better if he’d picked one or the other (preferably second person).

I was also extremely impressed by the main characters themselves, especially Caution. Both of them are teens who’ve been living on the streets of Toronto for about six months. Blink because his stepfather is an abusive drunk, and Caution because she committed manslaughter and can’t face her guilt. Their stories join up when both board the same train. Blink accidentally witnessed a crime being committed, and Caution ran away from her drug-dealing thirty-something boyfriend when she found out he’d posted a sex tape of them on the internet. Together, they avoid the police and struggle for their lives, and at the end of the day they forge a friendship that goes beyond anything they feel either of them “deserve”.

For my own part, I did identify more with Caution’s backstory and her own struggles—I feel like she carried most of the emotional weight of this novel, while Blink provided the action. (Intentional stereotyping of gender roles, I wonder?) While Blink’s story was sad and touching in its own way, it didn’t have the same impact.

Actually, because Blink and Caution don’t even meet until halfway through the book, I was getting to the point where I just wanted Caution all the time, because I thought she was so much more interesting (except she wasn’t narrated in second person).

But, when everything is considered, both of the protagonists are wonderful, well-rounded characters, whose journeys are touching and engaging. I enjoyed the crime thriller aspect (it’s a hard thing to find in YA), and I thought Tim Wynne-Jones did an excellent job with this book as a whole.

Especially, Blink & Caution gets huge applause for the truly magnificent end scene. Without spoiling anything, I’ll just say that I’m a total sucker for a man snuggling with a baby.

I think it’s safe to say that everyone cracks the cover of a new book with some sort of expectation. I, personally, try not to, but it’s a hard thing. I walked into Blink & Caution with my hopes raised to Kilimanjaro levels. You see, I’d happened to peek at the first chapter, and saw that it was narrated in second person. Second person is something of an obsession of mine, and, up ‘til now, I hadn’t found anything longer than a short story that’s written in second person.

My expectations for Tim Wynne-Jones and his storytelling were set astronomically high before I’d read a paragraph.
But let me say up front: Blink & Caution is one of the most well-written YA novels I’ve ever read. It’s completely different from anything I’ve experienced—in the best way possible. The stories and lives of Blink (Brent) and Caution (Kitty), which start out separate but converge at the halfway mark, are real and raw and honest. Sitting here, writing this review, I feel an urge to run around until I’ve found a book that’s similar to Blink & Caution (except I’m pretty sure there isn’t one).

Tim Wynne-Jones’s prose was wonderful in a way that I seldom come across. It was jaunty and had a discernable pulse, with unique turns of phrase—a messy room described as “a terrorist slumber party”. Blink’s chapters are narrated in second person, and it was truly an amazing (and almost unsettling) experience to have an external narrator constantly addressing the protagonist as “you”. Caution’s chapters, which were narrated in third person, were perhaps a little less strong stylistically speaking, but I found that, since her story itself was far more compelling than Blink’s, it all evened out in the end.

At the same time, I was slightly annoyed by the fact that half this book was narrated in second person and half in third—it was kind of a jostling transition every time Wynne-Jones switched perspectives. I think the book would have been better if he’d picked one or the other (preferably second person).

I was also extremely impressed by the main characters themselves, especially Caution. Both of them are teens who’ve been living on the streets of Toronto for about six months. Blink because his stepfather is an abusive drunk, and Caution because she committed manslaughter and can’t face her guilt. Their stories join up when both board the same train. Blink accidentally witnessed a crime being committed, and Caution ran away from her drug-dealing thirty-something boyfriend when she found out he’d posted a sex tape of them on the internet. Together, they avoid the police and struggle for their lives, and at the end of the day they forge a friendship that goes beyond anything they feel either of them “deserve”.

For my own part, I did identify more with Caution’s backstory and her own struggles—I feel like she carried most of the emotional weight of this novel, while Blink provided the action. (Intentional stereotyping of gender roles, I wonder?) While Blink’s story was sad and touching in its own way, it didn’t have the same impact.

Actually, because Blink and Caution don’t even meet until halfway through the book, I was getting to the point where I just wanted Caution all the time, because I thought she was so much more interesting (except she wasn’t narrated in second person).

But, when everything is considered, both of the protagonists are wonderful, well-rounded characters, whose journeys are touching and engaging. I enjoyed the crime thriller aspect (it’s a hard thing to find in YA), and I thought Tim Wynne-Jones did an excellent job with this book as a whole.

Especially, Blink & Caution gets huge applause for the truly magnificent end scene. Without spoiling anything, I’ll just say that I’m a total sucker for a man snuggling with a baby.