Title: See What I See
Author: Gloria Whelan [website]
Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: Harper Teen
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher (via giveaway at Goodreads)
Parental Advisory: alcohol
Teachable Moments: parental relationships, care taking of the ill, divorce, abandonment, death

“Then that whisper in the back of my head starts up again.  Who is it that sics that little voice on you that insists you do the opposite of what you want?  The one that makes you miserable until you do it?He’s your father, the voice says.  He’s an old man and he’s dying.  Just take care of him.  My father has led this perfectly disgusting life, and the little voice is going to make me be the one to pay for it.  I guess I have to remember that part of my coming down was to get to know this man, for better or worse.  Just because it was harder than I ever though tit would be doesn’t mean I should give up.  Especially when he needs me.”

Summary:
Kate Tapert sees the world around her in the paintings she adores.  Yet one place she never sees her life is in the work of the famous and reclusive artists Dalton Quinn — her father, whom she hasn’t seen or heard from in ten years.

Kate’s own dreams of becoming an artist look like they’re on the verge of coming true when she’s offered a scholarship to art school in detroit.  Kate is ready to leave home and fully immerse herself in art — heaven! — and the only thing she needs is a place to stay.  Her father’s house would be the perfect place, but when Kate shows up on his doorstep out of the blue she has no idea what a life altering decision that will turn out to be.

Opinion:
See What I See is an understated and simple look at how children deal with divorce, abandonment and death.  Told through the eyes of Kate after having been left by her father as a small child the story focuses on her desire to create a relationship with him.  Raised by a bitter and scorned mother Kate decides that as part of her college art school experience she wants to live with her father.  Part financial necessity and part desire to connect with him she shows up on his doorstep one day after he fails to return any of her attempts at contact.

The bulk of the story focuses on Kate’s relationship with her father.  Strained at best, I liked seeing how dedicated she was to her cause when she takes on the role of caretaker.  She immediately dropped everything to stand by a man who unceremoniously dumped her, continued to ignore her attempts at contact and then does little to make her feel welcomed in his life when they finally share space. I felt a satisfaction for her, in fact, that she stood by him until the end.  Even putting aside her own desires in order to fulfill his final wishes.

Kate was an introvert by nature.  She held her close relationship with her mother in high regard, had few relationships but those she had were strong and loyal, and wanted nothing more than to be heard through her art.  She was strong when needed but unafraid to be emotional when she could no longer bear it which made me respect her all the more.  She got flustered and angry and, at times, childish when in the company of her father but despite that reasonable behavior she continued to stand by him.

As it relates to Kate’s relationships I’m glad that Whelan made the choice not to go down the road of a strong romance.  Kate had an ex-boyfriend who she parted ways with amicably and maintained a healthy relationship.  This I found interesting given how it outlined the exact opposite of what her parents experienced upon their breakup.  Though not expressly mentioned I drew the conclusion that Kate chose to maintain their relationship in a more positive way because of her experiences with her parents.  She saw first hand the bitterness that befell them and made the choice not to allow herself to succumb to the same trap.

Kate also struck up a friendship with a local boy named Thomas when she arrived to live with her father.  Though there were some thoughts on her part that perhaps it could go somewhere further the relationship ultimately remained platonic.  For me, the most interesting aspect of Thomas’ inclusion wasn’t the potential for romance but rather that he served the purpose of showing how a strong family dynamic works.  How family can be so intertwined in each others lives.  There were obligations to be had and expectations that were so completely different than what she had experienced in her life.  It was a nice opposition to what we saw with Kate and her parents.

When looking at her parents I was mostly focused on her father.  Her mother was straight-forward and there was little interaction with her.  Dalton, on the other hand, seemed a bit cliched for me.  An alcoholic artist who abandons his family to concentrate on his career, he finds fame, ruins his life, falls into obscurity, and then reconnects with his long lost daughter as he fights death.  He was horribly behaved, pushed Kate away for most of the time (until he had moments of guilt and pulled her back in), and then ultimately provided for her after death.  I didn’t find him endearing or root-worthy or really someone I wanted to connect with.  However, I don’t think that is what he was meant to be.  I believe Whelan wanted me to dislike him because the story wasn’t really about him and the journey he was taking it was about Kate.  In that way she was successful.  Kate was dynamic and a pleasure to follow through the story.  I certainly felt for her and wanted to see her succeed at happiness no matter how she chose to do so.

The use of art as a way to create a common bond between father and daughter was an interesting addition to the story.  Made more so by the fact that Kate wasn’t looking to be an imitation of her father.  Her independence in the art world is important to her, she wants to become known for her own style as opposed to being an imitation of father.  She felt art in a much different way and Whelan did a great job of expressing that on the page.

The story wasn’t entirely without predictability. I could see exactly what the outcome was going to be early on.  Having said that, this story is built more on the how it gets there and the who it is that works through it all rather than what the tangible outcome is.  It’s in the intangibles — the emotional growth — that the strength of the story is at its highest.  A strong and quick read See What I See will leave you filled with both sadness and hope.