The Lies About Truth

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. (Nov.)