I was really excited about reading this book. Although in the description it says that Maggie is able to see, even though it is only one person I thought the overall tone sounded really positive. And on beginning it I wasn't disappointed. 
 "Actually, I can't seem to grasp the correlation between your nutsack and our eyesight," I informed him, swooping my arm around the classroom to include all the other poor, sightless bastards who had been stuck listening to him day after stinking day." 
 I love this girl! She is pretty bitchy and clearly very opinionated and that's what makes me love her so much. Nobody tells her who to be, and even if they did she wouldn't listen. So often I'm used to reading blind characters whose disability makes them saint like. Finally here I have found the kind of girl I'd have loved to read about as a teenager. 
 "I'd like to say that I fell with the dignity and grace of a selfrespecting blind girl--the sort of girl who understands and accepts that, yes, there are hidden dangers out there, and yes, she will probably get a little banged up every now and then. But I didn't. And the four-letter word that came out of my mouth as I hit the floor was extremely loud and so thick that it could've been heated up and drizzled over pancakes." 
 This...this so much. Because yes we have cane training, and yes we know that using our canes is important...but ultimately we are human and sometimes think we know better than everything our training has taught us. So if I was to say I'd never done that...I would be telling a big lie! 
 Oh, and if you think Maggie is pretty great there...wait until you meet drunk Maggie. She will blow your mind. 
 This book hits you like a bombshell. There's no gradual introduction, you are thrown right into Maggie's hectic world. You know she's blind, and still clearly has all the snark she needs. But then almost immediately she is able to see one kid, a kid who I might add really knows how to talk. Is it a result of her hitting her head...what is going on? 
 In contrast to other books where the blind person gets their sight back in order to make their life perfect again I could tell that the One Thing wasn't going to go down this path. The author had the tone of Maggie exactly as it should be. I found myself trusting her to do the right thing with this character, to not fall into that trap. 
 Maggie is a pretty typical teenager. She doesn't want to use her cane; I think this is even more believable because she's only just gone blind. She doesn't really want everyone to know that she can't see, but she uses it anyway because as she finds out, if she doesn't then sometimes accidents happen. She also takes a while to use her computer and gets frustrated about it. Again I think this is a really natural reaction for someone in her position. She's only been blind 6 months, so although she's had the training she won't yet be at the level of someone who has been using a screen reader for a long time. 
 I suppose this book could be considered a little problematic. When Maggie is around Ben she can effectively see, so the author doesn't need to describe the world as a blind person would interpret it. However, Maggie isn't around Ben all the time, and when she isn't she is completely blind. In those instances the author does a really great job of getting Maggie's point of view across, focussing on her other senses instead. Also, I never felt like she was using Maggie's ability to see around Ben as a way of getting out of writing an authentic blind person. She'd clearly done a lot of research, making reference to the technology Maggie uses and the fact that she has orientation and mobility classes to enable her to get around with a cane. I really felt like Maggie being able to see with Ben was a genuine plot as opposed to something negative. In this respect I'd compare the book to Jeanette Ingolds the Window, another realistic portrayal of a blind teenage girl who can see under certain circumstances. Because of this I think people should give it a chance. 
 And can I just talk about Ben for a second. Ben, who also has a disability but this is just a tiny part of who he is...as it should be. He is far better adjusted to it than Maggie is; he's had his whole life to get used to it after all. I loved how much he talked about pretty much anything that came into his head, his ability to make decisions without much thought and the way he encouraged Maggie to consider things she hadn't wanted to before. He is so matter of fact about everything, the perfect friend really. 
 ""When I met Teddy, he was ass-up in a hospital bed," Ben informed me after introducing the two of us, "getting skin harvested from his butt cheek to graft to the burn spot on his face."" 
 In many ways he is your typical kid, but then he says some things that just surprise you and hit you really hard. And I loved Ben so much, like a little brother because people underestimate kids all the time and they shouldn't. 
 "Truth is, sometimes you do shitty things. Sometimes you say shitty things. 
 Sometimes you're not a good friend. I'm not going to try to make you feel better about that." 
 Throughout the book Maggie does a lot of self-discovery. She's not the nicest person in the world, though somehow extremely likeable. On her quest to hate every aspect of her new life she completely dismisses people instead of making an attempt to be friendly. I identified with her so much. I'm not naturally the friendliest of people, so I would have probably pushed away someone like Clarissa too. And yet when Maggie has to spend some time with her she begins to realise that she never bothered to give her a chance, instead making up her mind about someone she didn't even know. 
 I wasn't sure about what I thought of the twist type thing towards the end. I honestly think the book could have been perfect without Maggie being able to see when Ben was around, because all the things I loved about the book weren't related to that. But on the other hand apart from the twist to do with Ben I did like how it was delivered. I feel really conflicted regarding that bit I guess. Normally I can say with certainty whether I like or dislike something in a book, but right now I'm not sure. 
 So I can safely say that I love Maggie as a narrator. All her talk and the battles she is fighting. I think Marci Lyn Curtis did a really, really great job of writing a blind character. I guess I just wish I'd had a little more of that, a little more of just Maggie instead of Maggie with slightly out there abilities. Because she didn't need them, she was great as she was. And so were ben and his family, and Clarissa with her constant chatter. I don't think the characters needed Maggie's powers or whatever they are; they could have had a story without that. But I do respect the author for sticking to a realistic portrayal of a blind character, even though she has extra abilities. Often when you have a character with a disability that also has other powers any semblance of realism goes out the window. That certainly wasn't the case in the One Thing and I am so, so grateful for that. 
 I would definitely recommend this book to blind teenagers...and adults...and pretty much anyone really. Although there were a few aspects I wasn't sure I loved, I still think Maggie is the best blind main character I have ever come across. Her voice is strong and her struggles are real. 
 Was this book perfect? No, it wasn't. But I enjoyed it and I wanted to be Maggie's friend which is more than I can say for any other blind character I've read about. 
 Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an Arc in exchange for an honest review. 
 You can read more reviews like this on my blog.