The Fix

By Natasha Sinel

One conversation is all it takes to break a world wide open.

Seventeen-year-old Macy Lyons has been through something no one should ever have to experience. And she’s dealt with it entirely alone.

On the outside, she’s got it pretty good. Her family’s well-off, she’s dating the cute boy next door, she has plenty of friends, and although she long ago wrote her mother off as a superficial gym rat, she’s thankful to have allies in her loving, laid-back dad and her younger brother.

But a conversation with a boy at a party one night shakes Macy out of the carefully maintained complacency that has defined her life so far. The boy is Sebastian Ruiz, a recovering addict who recognizes that Macy is hardened by dark secrets. And as Macy falls for Sebastian, she realizes that, while revealing her secret could ruin her seemingly perfect family, keeping silent might just destroy her.

The Fix follows two good-hearted teenagers coming to terms with the cards they were dealt. It’s also about the fixes we rely on to cope with our most shameful secrets and the hope and fear that comes with meeting someone who challenges us to come clean.

Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readerspicture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft; stories told with LEGO bricks; books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sky Pony Press
• Release date: Sep 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781510700284

Reviews for The Fix

[kbranfield-837433 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4.5 stars.

The Fix by Natasha Sinel is an emotional story of healing for main protagonist Macy Lyons. After a serious discussion one night with one of her classmates, Sebastian Ruiz, Macy can no longer hold her memories from a series of traumatic childhood events at bay. When she discovers Sebastian has been hospitalized for a drug problem, they strike up an unlikely friendship that is just the beginning of a series of changes for Macy.

On the surface, Macy seems to have it all. She is from a well to do family, she has a marvelous boyfriend and although her relationship with her mom is tense, she is close to her dad and younger brother. However, after her conversation with Sebastian, cracks begin to appear in her facade. Her life is thrown into further turmoil when their annual family vacation has been postponed and she begins working as a counselor with preschool age children. Macy's anxiety increases after learning her cousin Scott is returning for a visit and vague but somewhat disturbing flashbacks begin to hint at a dark secret from her not too distant childhood.

Macy is a strong young woman who appears to have it all together. She is planning for life after high school and working towards her goal of going to college on the west coast. She and her boyfriend, Chris, are childhood friends and she loves spending time with him and his family. Although her best friend, Rebecca, sometimes drives her crazy, she would do anything for her. But soon Macy is spending more time with Sebastian than Chris or Rebecca and her unexpected feelings for him become an added complication to her life.

While Macy and Sebastian initially concentrate on his recovery, he eventually turns the focus of their conversations to her. A delicate dance ensues as she deflects his questions, ignores his observations and redirects the discussion back to his problems. But when she is away from Sebastian, Macy's memories haunt her and she is very confused about her feelings regarding what happened to her when she was younger. As more information is revealed about her past, it becomes clear that Macy has been using unhealthy and risky behavior to cope with her unresolved feelings.

The Fix is a perfect blend of heartbreak and hope as Macy comes to terms with the trauma from her past. Natasha Sinel deftly handles very difficult subject matter with a great deal of sensitivity. Macy's flashbacks are never overly graphic but as the story progresses, her vague memories become more concrete and there is little doubt about what happened to her. I highly recommend this well-written, captivating young adult novel to teen and adult readers.