The Lies about Truth

by Courtney C. Stevens

Sadie Kingston is living in the aftermath. A year after surviving a car accident that killed her friend Trent and left her body and face scarred, she can’t move forward. The only person who seems to understand her is Trent’s brother, Max.

As Sadie begins to fall for Max, she’s unsure if she is truly healed enough to be with him. But Max looks at her scars and doesn’t shy away. And Max knows about the list she writes in the sand at the beach every night, the list of things that Sadie knows she must accomplish before she can move on from the accident. And while he can help her with number six (kiss someone without flinching), she knows she’s on her own with number three (forgive Gina and Gray) and the rest of the seemingly impossible tasks that must be made possible before she can live in the now again.

In the same vein as Jandy Nelson and Gayle Forman comes a novel from the gifted author of Faking Normal, Courtney C. Stevens, about hope and courage and the struggle to overcome the pain of loss.

• ISBN10: 0062245430
• ISBN13: 9780062245434
• Publish Date: 3 November 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[shannonmiz]

This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight
This book. Where do I even begin. I have been going back and forth between 4.5 and 5 stars. I really, really liked this one, as you can tell. Can I give it 4.75 stars? Because that is really what it is. Almost perfect. I just don't know if I can make the five star leap, though I will give it 5 on Goodreads and Amazon and such.  Anyway, I digress. Sadie and her entire close circle of friends and family have been in mourning over the car accident that killed Trent, and injured Sadie and Trent's brother Max. The emotions are palpable, of course, because this group has been friends quite literally forever. Their parents are friends with each other, and there's just a very deep connection among them all.

And Sadie has scars. Lots of them, both external and internal, and she isn't dealing with any of them very well. She's shut out her friend Gina and e-boyfriend Gray. Really, the only relationships she has been bothering with at all are Max, Metal Pete at the scrapyard, and her parents. And yes, her therapist Fletcher, but that is kind of not of her own desire.

I am going to try to break this into two parts: Inside Sadie and Outside Sadie. 

Inside Sadie

This is the turmoil, despair, and self consciousness lurking within Sadie. This is her trying to somehow come to terms with Trent's death, with her own newly scarred appearance, her fears, and her new obstacles. It's such a gorgeous and heartbreaking journey, tears are welling just thinking about it. I think that no matter what, everyone will find some aspect of Sadie to relate to. We've all suffered loss, and fears, and self doubt. We've all had roadblocks and challenges and gut wrenching sadness. So even when Sadie does things that may be selfish, or immature, or even self deprecating, it's so plain to see the pain she's in. The thing is, she never gives up. She may take a step back, but she always tries to regain her ground, eventually. Sadie was both broken and brave, and so incredibly, imperfectly human.

Outside Sadie

Ah, the relationships of Sadie. There are many, and they are all incredibly dynamic in nature.

• Sadie's family. Sadie's mom... just wow. She was such a lovely, lovely character, and even though they are kind of all fictional, I was so glad that they had each other. Sadie's dad was a good guy too, but I fell in love with her mom. Also, notice we're talking about parents? Yeah, that is because they are a huge part of Sadie's live and her progress, which is how it should be!


• Sadie's friends. Clearly there has been some disconnect between Sadie, Gina, and Gray. I won't spoil anything, because it is a complicated situation. But they are hurting too. Gina is Trent's ex-girlfriend, so she is in her own world of hurt, and Gray was his best friend, so again, hurting. But they try to get Sadie out of her own head even though they're having a rough time too.


• Max. Ohh Max, where do I start with thee? I adored Max. He was just a good guy, plain and simple. A broken guy, after losing his brother, of course. His whole family, understably, was a mess, and took a year away. But they're back now, and have to learn how to live again with their loved ones as a family of three. I can't even imagine Max's pain, but he tries so hard to be there for Sadie, even though he is torn apart inside and out. We also get to see some of their feelings through a series of emails from Sadie to Max while he was away.


• The others. You'll meet Metal Pete (so much love!) and Sadie's therapist, who she has a very realistically portrayed relationship with. I find this to be a huge win.


• Trent. Yes, we get to know Trent quite a bit throughout this story, which I loved. It's rare that the deceased character has such personality in a story, but Trent does indeed. Through flashbacks, talks between the friends and families, and even Sadie's thoughts, we see so much of who Trent was. He wasn't perfect. He was wonderful, but not some canonized version of himself. They remembered his good qualities; they remembered his flaws.

Bottom Line: Sometimes a book can really, really touch your heart, and this book touched mine. The characters seemed to jump off the page with their struggles, heartache, and ultimately their desire to live again. The Lies About Truth was a journey through and through: a journey of grief, of friendship, of love, but mostly of self. And it was far more beautiful than I could have expected.