Rayna York has an uncanny ability for getting inside the heads of adolescents and young adults. Her characters are believable, their emotions young and raw, their choices not always considered but always honest.
In Every Scar Tells a Story, Serena thinks she has everything figured out: she’s going to college on an academic scholarship; the old people at the care home where she works are hilarious; she can ignore her boyfriend’s red flags because he’s so handsome and popular; her dad is a major disappointment she has no time for. Yet when she catches sight of a new boy at school, she senses a connection that sends her on a journey of discovery, one that teaches her that maybe she doesn’t have things quite as under control as she thought.
Knox wants to remain invisible. Keep his head down and do his job for Rhett, the man who found him hiding in his garage after Knox’s life went to hell. Instead of calling the police, Rhett offers Knox a job and a place to stay on the condition he not get into any fights and he finish high school. Knox works construction during the day and completes online classes at night, only coming into the high school to take tests, which is where Serena sees him. After she follows him home one day, everything shifts when they figure out their shared history.
Knox is on the run from a crime he was forced to commit. All he wants is to stay hidden, stay clean, and not cause trouble for the people he cares about. Yet Serena can’t seem to leave him alone, and in his heart, he doesn’t want her to. When his past comes calling, putting her in danger, they both have some big decisions to make.
Every Scar Tells a Story is a fast-paced book I read in one sitting. I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen with these two characters as they navigated some pretty serious situations. While there are moments of hilarity, especially with the ladies Serena cares for at her part-time job in the old folks’ home, York gives these kids some heavy struggles. Serena and Knox each must deal with the fallout from drug and alcohol abuse, neglect, abandonment, and violent crime. They find their strength in each other and in their growing relationship, leaving the reader with a sense of awe at the resilience of adolescence and hope for the future. Great read. Highly recommend.