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A review by fafabookcorner
The Lies About Truth by Courtney C. Stevens
4.0
Review posted on Fafa's Book Corner !
Beware spoilers ahead!
I had heard about this book through Twitter. There was a giveaway going on and I entered. Now I didn't win the giveaway but this book was always in the back of my mind. After reading several reviews I decided to buy it. I am happy to say that I enjoyed it!
The book begins with Sadie walking to the beach. Going to the beach in shorts is apart of Sadie's list of goals that she made with her therapist Fletcher. So far she's managed to do it until she sees whose on the beach. Gina who is her former best friend calls her over. Seeing no other choice Sadie follows suite and the two talk. Their conversation goes as it normally does. Gina tries to get Sadie to keep in touch, she apologizes profusely, and assures her that Gray (Sadie's ex boyfriend) and her aren't dating.
Gray joins the conversation and it just goes south from there. He can't look Sadie in the eye. She has a few scars from the accident and he simply cannot bear to look at her because it reminds him of their best friend dying. Sadie takes that as her cue to leave. Once her old friends are out of sight she writes in the sand her goal list. Then she jogs back home.
At home her mother gives her a letter that came for her in the mail. Noticing Sadie's expression she asks what happened. Sadie tells her that she ran into Gray and Gina and that it didn't really go well. Her mother then mentions that she was talking with Sadie's dad and they have decided to put Sadie back in school in the fall. She further explains that they found homeschooling necessary because of the therapy sessions and surgery. But now Sadie is better and should go back to school. Sadie argues but her mother points out that Sadie isn't happy at home and that she can't spend the rest of her life avoiding people.
Sadie says that she'll think about it and her mother leaves. She decides to open the letter. It has no return address just her name typed up. Once she has it open she is shocked at what she reads. It was something she wrote years ago. Sadie has this blue ostrich toy. Trent had won it for her and they named it Big. Her mother then pointed out to her that there was a hole in the bottom of the toy. Trent then suggested that Sadie put papers in Big. Much to Sadie's surprise the words on the letter are one of the papers she put in Big years ago.
Sadie thinks that her parents are behind this and confronts them. It becomes obvious that her parents aren't behind it. Her father brings up going to school again and Sadie storms off to her bedroom. She immediately checks Big for the paper and finds it. Sadie doesn't have any idea who is doing this and how the person even got the paper, but she intends to find out.
I honestly did not expect to enjoy this book! When I started reading it I thought that I rate it 3 stars. But as I continued to read on I found myself enjoying it immensely! The book is written in first person all in Sadie's point of view. There are letters, emails and flashbacks that come in this book.
A year prior to The Lies About Truth Sadie, Max, Gina, Trent, and Gray were in a car crash. Trent was killed. Sadie who had forgotten to put her seat belt on went flying out of the window. Sadie has some scars on her and she went through several surgeries to look somewhat the same. Max's vocal chords are not what they used to be. He has a hard time speaking and it usually comes out as horse. While Gina and Gray didn't have physical injuries they were scarred as well.
Max's family moved to El Salvador for a year (his family comes back in the beginning of the book). Sadie stopped keeping with Gina and Gray. After she saw Gray (her boyfriend at the time) kiss Gina. Sadie kept up with Max through emails. Sadie pretty much stopped getting out of her house. She's very conscious about her scars and she now has social anxiety. So she can't be in a crowd. Sadie's parent decide to put Sadie through a Social Experiment. To get her ready for school. At first Sadie does not want to participate but it becomes very obvious that she has no choice and decides to go along with it.
I liked how the author showed the readers the aftermath of the car crash. It's true that there isn't only injuries especially if you lose a loved one. The grief was messy and dealt with very well. I understood Sadie's need to forgive Gina and Gray but at the same time she couldn't bring herself to do it. It was realistic. The relationship between all four of them was also dealt with well. There were a lot of Before and After's which was to be expected.
I liked reading about Max and Sadie. They had a nice relationship and it was sweet to see it unfold with the emails. I also liked reading about Sadie and her parents. They were an amazing support system! I also liked reading about her therapist Fletcher and the goals she set for herself. A lot of the people Sadie met were nice and supportive. This is probably one of the most realistic contemporaries I have ever read.
I liked how there was a strong focus on forgiveness and finding the strength to move on. The flashbacks were also sweet. You saw what all the characters were like before the accident including Trent. The mystery aspect wasn't that great. But it didn't bother me and I understood why the person did not. What is nice about this book is that I got to relax and turn off my brain and just enjoyed the ride. I also liked how everything came to a full circle at the end.
I did have one problem with The Lies About Truth. I couldn't relate to the characters. I felt that they were defined by their lies, regrets, and mistakes. Sadie was defined by the relationships she had with the people around her. I didn't know any one of the characters. I honestly thought that because of this I wouldn't rate it higher than 3 stars. But much to my surprise the plot sneaked up on me. I'm not sure when this happened but it did.
Note this is a really slow contemporary. This didn't bother me but it might bother some readers. It takes a very long time for anything to really happen. Including the mystery with the letters. It also deals with a lot of grief so if you don't like that I would skip this book.
Overall this was a fun ride. I recommend it to fans of contemporary and people who like reading books dealing with grief.
Beware spoilers ahead!
I had heard about this book through Twitter. There was a giveaway going on and I entered. Now I didn't win the giveaway but this book was always in the back of my mind. After reading several reviews I decided to buy it. I am happy to say that I enjoyed it!
The book begins with Sadie walking to the beach. Going to the beach in shorts is apart of Sadie's list of goals that she made with her therapist Fletcher. So far she's managed to do it until she sees whose on the beach. Gina who is her former best friend calls her over. Seeing no other choice Sadie follows suite and the two talk. Their conversation goes as it normally does. Gina tries to get Sadie to keep in touch, she apologizes profusely, and assures her that Gray (Sadie's ex boyfriend) and her aren't dating.
Gray joins the conversation and it just goes south from there. He can't look Sadie in the eye. She has a few scars from the accident and he simply cannot bear to look at her because it reminds him of their best friend dying. Sadie takes that as her cue to leave. Once her old friends are out of sight she writes in the sand her goal list. Then she jogs back home.
At home her mother gives her a letter that came for her in the mail. Noticing Sadie's expression she asks what happened. Sadie tells her that she ran into Gray and Gina and that it didn't really go well. Her mother then mentions that she was talking with Sadie's dad and they have decided to put Sadie back in school in the fall. She further explains that they found homeschooling necessary because of the therapy sessions and surgery. But now Sadie is better and should go back to school. Sadie argues but her mother points out that Sadie isn't happy at home and that she can't spend the rest of her life avoiding people.
Sadie says that she'll think about it and her mother leaves. She decides to open the letter. It has no return address just her name typed up. Once she has it open she is shocked at what she reads. It was something she wrote years ago. Sadie has this blue ostrich toy. Trent had won it for her and they named it Big. Her mother then pointed out to her that there was a hole in the bottom of the toy. Trent then suggested that Sadie put papers in Big. Much to Sadie's surprise the words on the letter are one of the papers she put in Big years ago.
Sadie thinks that her parents are behind this and confronts them. It becomes obvious that her parents aren't behind it. Her father brings up going to school again and Sadie storms off to her bedroom. She immediately checks Big for the paper and finds it. Sadie doesn't have any idea who is doing this and how the person even got the paper, but she intends to find out.
I honestly did not expect to enjoy this book! When I started reading it I thought that I rate it 3 stars. But as I continued to read on I found myself enjoying it immensely! The book is written in first person all in Sadie's point of view. There are letters, emails and flashbacks that come in this book.
A year prior to The Lies About Truth Sadie, Max, Gina, Trent, and Gray were in a car crash. Trent was killed. Sadie who had forgotten to put her seat belt on went flying out of the window. Sadie has some scars on her and she went through several surgeries to look somewhat the same. Max's vocal chords are not what they used to be. He has a hard time speaking and it usually comes out as horse. While Gina and Gray didn't have physical injuries they were scarred as well.
Max's family moved to El Salvador for a year (his family comes back in the beginning of the book). Sadie stopped keeping with Gina and Gray. After she saw Gray (her boyfriend at the time) kiss Gina. Sadie kept up with Max through emails. Sadie pretty much stopped getting out of her house. She's very conscious about her scars and she now has social anxiety. So she can't be in a crowd. Sadie's parent decide to put Sadie through a Social Experiment. To get her ready for school. At first Sadie does not want to participate but it becomes very obvious that she has no choice and decides to go along with it.
I liked how the author showed the readers the aftermath of the car crash. It's true that there isn't only injuries especially if you lose a loved one. The grief was messy and dealt with very well. I understood Sadie's need to forgive Gina and Gray but at the same time she couldn't bring herself to do it. It was realistic. The relationship between all four of them was also dealt with well. There were a lot of Before and After's which was to be expected.
I liked reading about Max and Sadie. They had a nice relationship and it was sweet to see it unfold with the emails. I also liked reading about Sadie and her parents. They were an amazing support system! I also liked reading about her therapist Fletcher and the goals she set for herself. A lot of the people Sadie met were nice and supportive. This is probably one of the most realistic contemporaries I have ever read.
I liked how there was a strong focus on forgiveness and finding the strength to move on. The flashbacks were also sweet. You saw what all the characters were like before the accident including Trent. The mystery aspect wasn't that great. But it didn't bother me and I understood why the person did not. What is nice about this book is that I got to relax and turn off my brain and just enjoyed the ride. I also liked how everything came to a full circle at the end.
I did have one problem with The Lies About Truth. I couldn't relate to the characters. I felt that they were defined by their lies, regrets, and mistakes. Sadie was defined by the relationships she had with the people around her. I didn't know any one of the characters. I honestly thought that because of this I wouldn't rate it higher than 3 stars. But much to my surprise the plot sneaked up on me. I'm not sure when this happened but it did.
Note this is a really slow contemporary. This didn't bother me but it might bother some readers. It takes a very long time for anything to really happen. Including the mystery with the letters. It also deals with a lot of grief so if you don't like that I would skip this book.
Overall this was a fun ride. I recommend it to fans of contemporary and people who like reading books dealing with grief.