The Lies About Truth

August 31, 2015
Stevens (Faking Normal) shows how a car accident affecting five teenagers is as damaging to their relationships as it is to their bodies. Sadie Kingston is trying to get back to a normal life after the accident left her with large scars on her arms, legs, and face (she names them things like Pink Floyd and Idaho, based on their shapes) and killed her close friend Trent. She also lost her boyfriend, Gray, and best friend, Gina, after they hooked up with each other. The only good to emerge from the tragedy has been a budding romance between Sadie and Trent’s younger brother, Max, which is endangered by Sadie’s shame about her scars, a secret she kept about Trent, and Gray’s inability to let Sadie go. Stevens uses the oft-seen plot device of a list Sadie works through in order to heal by the one-year anniversary of the accident, and the complications among the four living teens are tied up predictably. Still, many readers will enjoy watching a satisfying relationship develop between Max and Sadie. Ages 14–up. Agent: Kelly Sonnack, Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

September 15, 2015
A girl survives a crash that killed her dear friend but must live with the emotional and physical scars. Four lifelong friends: Trent and Sadie were in one car; Gray and Gina were in the other. The collision killed Trent but sent Sadie flying through the windshield, leaving her with permanent scars on her face, arms, and legs. She names some of her scars (the one on her face is Idaho), and she hides inside and wears long-sleeve shirts and long pants even in the Florida heat. Someone is sending her envelopes with sentences that Sadie has privately kept for years in a stuffed animal. Who is doing something so intrusive? She has established an email friendship-possibly even a romance-with Trent's younger brother, Max, who's been away in El Salvador, but now he's coming home. And Gray, Sadie's former boyfriend, and Gina, who was cheating with Gray, want to re-enter Sadie's life. When Max returns and the other teens come together again, their complex relationships begin to resolve. Stevens keeps the focus on Sadie's turbulent emotions in this heartfelt examination of the consequences of disfigurement. Sadie just doesn't believe anyone can truly love her again, even though she has the support of her parents, a good psychologist, and her friends. If anything, the author portrays Sadie's friends and family as almost too good to be true. A good emotional wallow. (Fiction. 12-18)

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August 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-A year ago, Sadie had four close friends and a boyfriend. Then, the accident happened and one of them didn't survive. Shortly after the tragedy, Sadie caught her now ex-boyfriend, Gray, kissing her former best friend, Gina. Now, Sadie is covered in scars she likes to name and Max, the only friend she still speaks with lives in El Salvador. They are all keeping secrets. Can they come together to learn the truth of the accident? The event changed everyone, but will they learn to love their current selves and each other or forever be stuck in the past? Sadie must learn to overcome her scars, physical and emotional, to find how to move forward, with or without her friends. Stevens weaves a tale not only of survival but also of learning to thrive. This realistic YA novel explores the weight of the past, the value of the truth, and the meaning and process of forgiveness, which teen readers will identify with. The narrative is told with a mix of flashbacks and past emails that bring perspective and a much needed history of the characters, giving them depth and authenticity. VERDICT A great addition to any YA collection.-Cyndi Hamann, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

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