Courtney C. StevensReviews

Wasn't sure how I felt about this at points, but I teared up at the end. These are some emotionally mature teenagers.

I really like when high schoolers don't all couple off at the end of YA books. Many points. Yay!! I am also really really thankful that the author didn't go with "nyeh nyeh they are all straight or heteroflexible, serves you right for assuming GNC teens are queer!"

DNF

I feel like this is going to be one of those novels that really resonates with it's readers. A lot of YA books that have sexual assault as it's main premise don't show the growth of the character, or really get into how the character is dealing with the assault but Faking Normal definitely does. It was hard, heart wrenching and dealt with extremely tough issues in a realistic way. I especially loved Alexi's relationship with her sister, not because they were particularly close or anything but because it was so incredibly realistic. It rings true to how siblings really are, they fight but when you are in pain and you need them they'll be there to defend you in a heart beat. Faking Normal was by no means an 'easy' read it was incredibly hard to digest and get through but it was worth it, Alexi's story can help many young women find their voice and understand that they are not alone.

Oh my goodness. The feels for this book. Review to come soon when I can coherently express my thoughts!

I'm torn on how to rate it. 4.5

This is true and powerful and hopeful. This is human and very very good. A little motivational and a bit inspiring. I love this book for being exactly what I needed.

This is a good story, well told. True in every way that counts.
And I'm all in.

Life and truth are both very powerful, aren't they?

This is a story about loss, letting go, and letting people in. About how we hold onto the physical memories of the past that don't always let us move forward until we learn to detach from them, who we were and who we thought we were meant to be.

In short: honey, I cried.

I feel like if I hadn't been reading this at work I would have been sobbing by the end of it. I don't know if it's just the right book at the right time or the writing itself but it hit me in all the feels.

On the more objective side, the writing was really great, easy to read, broken up with text messages and emails which gave insight and background into the inner workings of Sadie's relationships and why she was struggling to move forward.

I think this is an excellent read for people of any age, who have seen some sh*t.

On a personal note, I was in a car accident when I was 18. It was head-on. Earlier that same day while we were coming home, my seat-belt had unlatched itself. Thankfully, when the cars collided, it held steady. Or I wouldn't be here.

The other woman's car ended up on fire slightly down from ours. We glided through oncoming traffic onto the wrong side of the road, with no brakes or steering. I have no recollection of the impact aside from looking down to get a CD, hearing the impact, and feeling shattered glass slice across my cheek. I had the slight impression that my then-boyfriend had looked over at me, and he said that he had and that my face was just blank. I guess that's because my brain went into survival mode and didn't record the events.

It's been 12 years and I still struggle. I can't drive because sitting behind the wheel of a car is such a strong trigger that I'll black out and my body will go limp. I have nightmares every night about it. I can't hear loud metallic noises without going into shock. But I fought for the people around me to accept that this is a part of me now, and I found a way to accept that this is just my lot.

The one thing that I remember strongly was sitting on the steps of the ambulance and the paramedic telling me: Don't think about what if, only deal with what is.

We don't have time machines. We can't imagine better futures. We just have what is. And this novel captures coming to terms with that perfectly.

Well done.

teen fiction (queer/questioning minister's daughter in a small Kentucky town). This is more of a questioning novel than an LGBTQ one, but most of the teens are open or friendly towards those who might identify as such. There are so many layers to Billie and her friends; I really enjoyed spending time with them.

I'm speechless.

I have no words to say what I'm feeling right now.

This book was amazing. Just amazing. It made me laugh, and cry, and just want to hug Alexi and protect her from the world.

I have no words.

I really enjoyed this! I loved all the characters and their relationships to each other so much, they felt incredibly realistic.

Billie is a tomboy and preacher's daughter, a combination that definitely isn't made easy by her tendency to get into trouble. Together with her friends, she has a burning passion for adventures and challenges - even if the one that ends up setting the church microwave on fire.

But when the local autumn festival is threatened due to money problems as well as her father's job by her constant troubles, Billie is placed in a situation where she has to decide wether to force herself to fit the norm for once, or to be herself to the point of no return.

I quite liked a lot of the story; especially the setting. While feeling a bit YA cliché-y, the characters was given enough life of their own to all feel somewhat unique and alive. Also interesting was the conflict between her best male friend and her best female friend, as Billie has a feeling she feels sincere love for the both of them. It was nice to see that her struggle lay mostly in that, not in right vs wrong - especially since this book decided to go for the 'please hide yourself for me' aspect in the dynamic between Billie and her father.

To some point, I could relate because I remember my father having concerns about me - but it was also hard to sincerely like Billie's father when his wishes quite obviously weren't for concerns for her, but concerns for him. I'm not certain if the author assumed one would still sympathise with the guy, but I certainly didn't.

But in general, the characters felt trly alive (from Billie to some of the minor characters) and felt like an actual small town - a lot more than those who tend to write small towns as completely homophobic and so on. This book was a nice mix, but bad and good, and it felt very real in that way.

2.75 Predictable at all of the plot turns, but still a well written story. Great for “feel good novel” fans. Sexuality and gender representation made this one stand out, but it just wasn’t enough to save it from coming juuuust under a 3 star rating for me.

"Four Three Two One" had a great premise, but I could not get into it at all. I found the plot very slow and by the halfway mark I had started to skim read. I was not emotionally invested in any of the characters, and the only one I really liked was Charlotte's grandmother who made me smile on more than one occasion. A disappointing read.

This brought back memories from being in youth group. I loved the friendship dynamic and the questions this explored. People can't be put into a tiny box. We are so much more than that and love can't be defined by 4 small walls.

Faking Normal tore me up inside. I couldn't help thinking towards the end that would if this was my child and she/he told me that they were raped how I would feel like the world just ended. How my baby was hurt and I didn't notice. Books like this scare me and makes me more aware of signs of rape. I loved this book to pieces and the characters. Alexi - I love you girl. Bodee - You are my hero.

Seventeen-year-old Billie McCaffrey and her group, the Hexagon, are what every teenager wants: a tight-knit clan held together by history, laughter, tears, and fun. The four boys and two girls in the Hexagon all belong to the same church, and Billie’s father is that church’s youth minister. He and Billie are often at odds thanks to her unconventional way of living life: she’s a tomboy, an artist, and she is unflinching when presented with challenges of any size. Her dad, Scott, would prefer Billie look and act like his definition of a girl.

When Billie and the Hexagon burn up the youth room while under Scott’s watch, everything in little Otters Holt, Kentucky starts to go topsy-turvy. The youth room fiasco is just the start as the town also loses one of its most beloved citizens, some of the teens in the Hexagon start to look at each other as potential love interests, and the existence of the town’s claim to fame--the Harvest Festival and the annual awarding of the coveted Corn Dolly to Otters Holt’s most worthy female—is threatened.

DRESS CODES FOR SMALL TOWNS by Courtney Stevens proves that a book can be both lyrical and action-packed. Readers spend most of their time inside the head of Billie McCaffrey, and it’s a wonderful place to be. Billie’s thoughts are full of poetry, and her observations on life, love, religion, small towns, and big cities are spot-on. The other teens in the Hexagon are equally wonderful, and I appreciate that not one of them is a stereotype. Stevens examines the difficulties teens face in life and love in an unflinching manner, and the book also looks at small town life and church communities with sometimes critical but always loving eyes. Outside of the Hexagon, Stevens gives depth to the most tertiary characters, and she also focuses on the challenges of teen/family relationships.

Brilliant character development is just a part of the wonder of DRESS CODES FOR SMALL TOWNS. The plot keeps moving at a perfect pace, and you never know where it’s going to take you.

I’m mourning the fact that I’ve finished DRESS CODES FOR SMALL TOWNS. I loved hanging out with Billie and the Hexagon, and Otters Holt and its inhabitants were beginning to feel like my own hometown with all of their charm and flaws. The temptation to turn back to page one and start all over again is strong with this one, but I think I’ll loan my copy out to every teen I know instead. Billie McCaffrey is a character that will stay with me without the need to read about her.

My thanks to the publisher and YA Books Central for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Different but not my thing. Stopped after page 60.

This book was not as good as Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens, but it does live up to her amazing writing style. Her writing is just so immersing, and that makes me so happy.

Both of her stand alones have a common theme to them. They both deal with very important and touchy subjects, and they both have a sense of mystery to them. Her book just make up my heart. They are so easy to read. The characters are always fleshed out and realistic. You can't ask for more. Actually, by the end of the book you want more and more and more.

When I was reading this book, I kept notes, and one of the notes said, " I love how she words, words." I seriously do. Every sentence in that book I imagine to be written with passion and love because that'show they feel.
The story was so amazing too. It was so adventurous and nostalgic and emotional and even inspiring It was written to almost perfection.

The only thing against it is that I felt that the characters needed more to them. Some characters who were there the entire time had barely any substance to them.

I'm okay with that actually. I just wanted more.
It's an amazing book, and I don't regret reading it. It was so inspiring and encouraging, and I took so many quote out of it because I connected so much to them. This book has become a piece of my soul that I will never forget.

Me encantó. Total y completamente.

He leído muchos libros que tratan de violaciones, y este es el primero que de verdad me toca. El tema es tratado de una manera sutil pero desgarradora. Esta es la muestra que no hace falta ser gráfico para causar impacto.

La identidad del violador es revelada casi al final. Y me gustó mucho como la autora maneja el suspenso. Tuve mis sospechas desde un inicio, que resultaron ser ciertas, pero, al igual que para Alexi, para mí también era más fácil imaginar que era otro el culpable. Así que aún así me causó un poco de shock.

Y de Bodee lo único que puedo decir es que tanto el mundo literario, como como el real, necesita más personas como él. Con todo y su cabello color Kool-aid.


PD: la nota final de la autora me partió el corazón. Saber que la historia de Faking Normal es de cierta forma su historia le da incluso más valor. Una muestra increíble de valentía la de Courtney Stevens.

2015 Rating System: 4

A year after her best friend, Trent, dies in a car crash that left Sadie scarred both physically and emotionally, she is still trying to deal with the fallout. This story is about trying to forgive, trying to heal, and the power of friendships, family and love. Well written, and I think it will be popular with my "The Fault in Our Stars" readers, even though the books are completely different.

This book is about a group of friends who are trying to pick up the pieces after a tragic car accident. The story is told from the pov of Sadie who almost died in the accident and was left scarred physically and emotionally. It's a beautifully written novel about family, friendships, loss, forgiveness and healing. I love the fact that the adults in this story are very encouraging and responsible. I really like the writing style of the author, I found so many great quotes to add to my collection. There's a quiet introspectiveness in the way she weaves her words that you can't help but connect with the protagonist. I hope to also read her debut novel - Faking Normal, I've read great reviews about it.

"Faking Normal" is a beautifully written book about two broken characters, Alexi and Bodee. As their friendship develops they discover each other's secrets, pain and regrets. I really liked how they saw in each other what others didn't and I loved how they helped each other begin to heal. This isn't a light, fluffy read but deals with some tough issues. Although I didn't always like how the characters behaved, I did enjoy this story and the feeling of hope that the book ended on. A worthwhile read.

3.5 stars

It took a while to get into this book but as the story unravelled it drew me in with the emails, flashbacks, envelopes and the list. Overall, I liked Sadie who was scarred and insecure, although she was trapped in the past and I wanted her to be courageous and move forward. I loved Max who was always kind, supportive and there for Sadie. I also enjoyed the secondary characters Gray, Gina and Trent, and the presence of Sadie's parents. Often the parents in YA novels are dysfunctional or not around, but both parents, especially Sadie's mother, played an important, loving role in her life. "The Lies About Truth" was a heart-warming story about grief, friendship, the truth and forgiveness. A nice read.

Sadie Kingston is a high school student who has survived the car accident that killed one of her best friends. She has physical and mental scars from the crash, and she has removed herself from almost everything and everyone she found important before the accident.

Let me start by saying that it's pretty rare for me to give a book a five star rating. It's even more rare for me to give two books by the same author five stars. Therefore, it's pretty astonishing to find myself saying that I rank THE LIES ABOUT TRUTH by Courtney Stevens as one of the top five contemporary YA books I've ever read--with her first book, FAKING NORMAL, being another of those 5.

As in the first book by Stevens, THE LIES ABOUT TRUTH is about teens who are broken by some of life's greatest challenges. Stevens's characters confront a dark and heavy issue with strength and wisdom. That said, they aren't freakishly strong nor unnaturally wise. They're just teenagers who are making mistakes and then trying to undo those mistakes as best they can. As I read, I embraced their weaknesses as much as their strength.

Stevens has some beautiful sentences enmeshed in the difficult subject matter and she shows amazing talent for writing. She also proves to be an apt teacher because THE LIES ABOUT TRUTH gives the reader lessons on grieving, loving, friendship, and forgiveness--and she does so without relying on stereotypes and formulas. For that, I am incredibly grateful.

With this book, Courtney Stevens has taken a place on my short list of authors whose books I will buy the instant they hit the shelves.

Sometimes people that we meet are only supposed to be in our lives for a short time but in that short time we learn from them. Sometimes these chance encounters have a big pact on our lives as in the case of Bodee and the green haired girl who meet at a bus station and escape from their lives for only little while.
This is a quick little enjoyable novella leading up to Courtney Stevens novel "faking normal"