Porter’s narrative shines in its portrayal of quiet bravery.
“After relocating from Tennessee to Langdon, Vermont with her sister and alcoholic father, 16-year-old Sadie becomes the cruel focus of relentless bullying at Langdon High, her tormentors chanting, “Wanna get laid? Call Sadie Wade.” When one of them abandons her on an icy roadside, Sadie finds refuge in the chaotic kitchen of Shay’s Fine Dining, where her role as a dishwasher offers a rare sense of safety and belonging. Yet beneath her quiet resolve lies the weight of a haunting memory: witnessing a brutal assault seven years earlier. Her attempts to share this weight are met with silence, as her sister Kate, desperate to protect her son from their predatory past, remains closed off—unaware of the heaviness Sadie bears alone.
Yet the past is inescapable. When a Tennessee detective reopens a cold case involving a missing girl—their father a potential witness—Sadie feels compelled to confide, even at the risk of widening the rift with Kate. Through their shared trauma, Porter (Redeemed) examines loss, resilience, and the fragility of basic human rights, particularly for people of color and LGBTQIA+ individuals. The prose is compassionate and immersive, capturing the systemic failures that perpetuate cycles of bullying, societal rejection, familial neglect, and violence. While some chapters—particularly those detailing Sadie’s work at Shay’s—overextend themselves, they nonetheless honor the dignity of manual labor and render the characters’ emotional landscapes with clarity, even if occasionally diminishing the story’s momentum.
Porter’s narrative shines in its portrayal of quiet bravery. “Sometimes, kids who are thinking of running just need more support,” the detective remarks, encapsulating the novel’s wake-up call for accountability and action in the name of justice. With Sadie’s unwavering empathy and faith, and Kate’s fierce love for family, Relinquished leaves readers with a powerful message: healing begins not in escape, but in confronting the past—one truth, one choice, and one courageous step at a time.”
Takeaway: Cozy, moving story of two sisters who uncover the mystery of their past.
Comparable Titles: Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Meghan MacLean Weir’s The Book of Essie.
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