ARC, 274 pagesRelease Date: June 26, 2018Published by: Random House/ Wendy Lamb Books
Read from: June 24-28, 2018Stand-aloneSource: Publisher (I received a copy of this book from the Publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)TW: Self-harm
For fans of: Romance, YA, Mental Health
Secrets are con artists: they trick you into letting them out.
Sadie loves her rocker boyfriend Henry and her running partner and best friend Lucie, but no one can measure up to her truest love and hero, the dazzling and passionate George. George, her secret.
When something goes wrong and Sadie is taken to the hospital calling out for George, her hidden life may be exposed. Now she must confront the truth of the past, and protect a world she is terrified to lose.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I have to admit, I
had no idea about this book at first. And then I was approached
about doing a blog tour about this one because it features neurodiversity.
And I’m so glad I did not miss out.
"Your mind is the only vault you can trust."pg. 11
Sadie’s life is complete. Her rocker
boyfriend and best friend are amazing, but so is her secret, George. After an
accident, Sadie is taken to the hospital calling for George… George whom no one
else can see. Now she has to protect the truth at all cost….
"After all this time, how are you still surprised by the magic of us?"pg. 29
Let me start with saying, the portrayal of
Sadie’s neurodiversity is about as close as I believe it can get to something that it's not, but sounds a lot like. I won’t say
what the book was about because of spoilers, but I have a sister who suffers
from something close to it and she even read a couple parts and said that’s what she experiences
sometimes. (She takes meds to help.) But, what the book displays is a bit different, but my sister still saw a bit of herself in the book. I found it interesting how all types of mental illnesses resemble each other or have some of the same characteristics. It shows like Sadie, people with this disesase don't have to feel alone.
"...The trick, Sadie, is not minding that it hurts. Things will be lost. People will leave you. You have to keep going. That's life."pg. 93
As for the writing style, I found myself
falling into this one while the world around me fell away. However, I DID feel
it could have used a bit more emotion. I don’t want to sound mean or anything,
because there are some that may find themselves crying at the end, but I just
wasn’t one of them. And I found that strange because normally if the smallest
things happen, I find myself bawling. I just didn’t connect with this one on
that level.
"And in the grand scheme of things, embracing the truth of your plight is likely to do more good than harm. You can't fight an enemy you don't understand."pg. 99
As for the characters, I have to say I LOVED them all. Especially Lucie and Sadie. I loved the scene where Henry told Sadie how alike they were. I loved how it helped to ground her and show her how special she was.
Redd is an debut author whom I can definitely say I will be keeping my eye on. The amount of emotion and love in her characters and writing style made for such a great story. I am certain that readers of all ages will love this one."The right story can be more true than the truth. Why is that?"pg. 241
Overall, I give this
Real rating 3.5 but I rounded up!