Lessons from a Junkyard

Sadie Kingston is a teenaged girl who visits a wrecked car in a junkyard several times a week. Why in the world would anyone do that?     

THE LIES ABOUT TRUTH by Courtney C. Stevens, Harper Teen, 2015.

The car is a total wreck. How could anyone come out of that wreck alive? Sadie did. Her best friend, Trent, the driver, did not. The driver’s brother, Max, a passenger in the back seat, also lived.

Two other teens, Sadie’s boyfriend, Gray, and her best girlfriend, Gina, were riding in the car in front of Sadie, Trent, and Max at the time of the accident.  They were not injured physically. Sadie, however, is badly scarred, both physically and emotionally.

The secrets of all five teens snarl and tangle as the author teases them out. Sadie could confront these secrets, but she walls herself off as she struggles to heal. Why did she live? What direction is her life taking? Is this what she is pondering when she visits the car in the junkyard?

Sadie’s family and the boys’ family have been next door neighbors in Florida since before the kids were born. Both families are solid and their friendships are healthy.  They are good people, kind, caring, trying hard to overcome the great loss to both families.

Max and his parents leave for another country for his dad’s job shortly after the accident, but he and Sadie become close through daily emails. When the family returns, Max and Sadie make it clear that they are “together” even though it’s hard for Gray and Gina to accept.

Author Courtney C. Stevens is an adjunct professor and former youth minister. Her debut novel is Faking Normal.

Although not your typical beach read, this would be an excellent book for youth groups to discuss at a summer retreat. Our church group goes to the beach. The members are independent thinkers with deep convictions. I can imagine them discussing this one around a campfire.