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A review by dannafs
The Lies About Truth by Courtney C. Stevens
4.0
One year ago, Sadie Kingston was in a car accident that killed her best friend. It also left her severely scarred, seriously injured a third, and tore apart life-long friendships. For the last year, Sadie's been quietly recovering. The only people she talks to are her parents, a therapist, and Max, the other boy injured in the accident. And Max is easy to talk to because he's in El Salvador and can't see her scars.
Sadie's therapist asked her to write a list of seven impossible things, from wearing a tank top in public to driving again. These once easy goals seem insurmountable, but Max is determined to help Sadie check off this revised bucket list. It remains to be seen if facing these fears will cause more harm than healing.
Sadie is likable. She's self-pitying, but not egregiously so. In the year of home-schooling, she's acquainted with new friends. The relationships made me smile. For example, Pete is the owner of the salvage yard where the car she crashed in was towed. He's got a dog named Headlight, and Sadie makes daily visits to help scavenge scrap parts. Or Rosie, the lovely and warm cashier at Sadie's favorite donut shop. When we meet Sadie, she's a year into her therapeutic journey, and it's palpable how far she's come. She's a runner, but she's not running away any longer.
As Sadie works to piece her life back together, we witness the progress and setbacks of grief, for her unscarred self, for her best friend, for the life she lived before the accident. Utterly readable, sad, and inspiring. I finished the Truth About Lies in a day, and encourage you to find time to do the same.
Favorite quotes:
"Some days, everything –… Was Gina and Gray's fault. Some days, God was the fall guy. Some days, blame never entered my mind. I liked those days best. I didn't want to be an angry jerk who sat around reminiscing about old grievances and pointing fingers, but I couldn't seem to control the emotion with any accuracy."
"Trent was good with plans. I hopped down beside him rather than ask what it was. He always had breadcrumbs in his voice, and I followed them like a fairy tale."
"I have a theory on what happened.
Step one: Change happens. (The wreck.)
Step two: Pretend the change doesn't exist. (What wreck?)
Step three: Get angry the other person can't be who they used to be. (You're a wreck.)
Step four: Create change. (Wreck this.)"
"My dad's mom, Pazie, has this formal dining room, and it's so formal no one is allowed to use it. Some people have hearts like that, and I'm worried I'm becoming one of them. I feel myself shutting down, closing off, like I should tell people, 'No, we don't use this heart anymore. It's too fragile.' ... I don't want this thing in my chest to beat me to death, but I also don't want to protect it so much that I never use it again."
"'Hey, most of it's good,' I argued.
'Most?' Gray repeated. 'Most will kill a man. The gap between all and most is a canyon of suck.'"
Sadie's therapist asked her to write a list of seven impossible things, from wearing a tank top in public to driving again. These once easy goals seem insurmountable, but Max is determined to help Sadie check off this revised bucket list. It remains to be seen if facing these fears will cause more harm than healing.
Sadie is likable. She's self-pitying, but not egregiously so. In the year of home-schooling, she's acquainted with new friends. The relationships made me smile. For example, Pete is the owner of the salvage yard where the car she crashed in was towed. He's got a dog named Headlight, and Sadie makes daily visits to help scavenge scrap parts. Or Rosie, the lovely and warm cashier at Sadie's favorite donut shop. When we meet Sadie, she's a year into her therapeutic journey, and it's palpable how far she's come. She's a runner, but she's not running away any longer.
As Sadie works to piece her life back together, we witness the progress and setbacks of grief, for her unscarred self, for her best friend, for the life she lived before the accident. Utterly readable, sad, and inspiring. I finished the Truth About Lies in a day, and encourage you to find time to do the same.
Favorite quotes:
"Some days, everything –… Was Gina and Gray's fault. Some days, God was the fall guy. Some days, blame never entered my mind. I liked those days best. I didn't want to be an angry jerk who sat around reminiscing about old grievances and pointing fingers, but I couldn't seem to control the emotion with any accuracy."
"Trent was good with plans. I hopped down beside him rather than ask what it was. He always had breadcrumbs in his voice, and I followed them like a fairy tale."
"I have a theory on what happened.
Step one: Change happens. (The wreck.)
Step two: Pretend the change doesn't exist. (What wreck?)
Step three: Get angry the other person can't be who they used to be. (You're a wreck.)
Step four: Create change. (Wreck this.)"
"My dad's mom, Pazie, has this formal dining room, and it's so formal no one is allowed to use it. Some people have hearts like that, and I'm worried I'm becoming one of them. I feel myself shutting down, closing off, like I should tell people, 'No, we don't use this heart anymore. It's too fragile.' ... I don't want this thing in my chest to beat me to death, but I also don't want to protect it so much that I never use it again."
"'Hey, most of it's good,' I argued.
'Most?' Gray repeated. 'Most will kill a man. The gap between all and most is a canyon of suck.'"