How is a scar like a river? Just like a river hides things in the bottom, Fallon’s scar on her face hides secrets from her life. I didn’t want to like A Scar Like a River by Lisa Graff (published 2026) because I knew it was about a girl overcoming trauma. But the writing and characterization is fantastic and although Fallon Little is learning to come to terms with her childhood secrets, her story is one of healing and recognition. Her scar may have begun to heal when she was five, but it has taken until age 13 to recognize her own need for internal, emotional healing.
We know her third biggest secret from the first chapter, that is, that Fallon’s uncle sliced her face open with a knife when she was five. She has kept the fact that it was her uncle a secret from everyone except her friend Trent. It is only now that her uncle has died that she feels conflicted about telling others. She has spent her whole life since then healing and receiving surgeries to have a normal childhood, albeit with a scar across her face. It is all the more difficult to deal with the fact that her uncle did this since he is called “goof ball” or “G.B.” or “Geebie” by everyone else. Fallon has questioned how her “goof ball” uncle could be the one who hurt her so badly. Yet, with the encouragement of her friend Trent, she is beginning to see how she can maybe tell this big secret.
With Uncle Geebie’s funeral comes a series of other events that unfolds as Fallon comes to terms with her past. She wants to focus on hanging out with her friends Trent and Kaia and staring in the school musical, but she now finds herself unwittingly in the midst of her own healing process. Finally, Fallon finds common ground with someone else who understand what she’s been going through.
Her year hasn’t progressed as she expected, but it ends up being one with healing and understanding. Maybe now her scar is willing to reveal its secrets, just as with a little digging the bed of the river reveals its secrets. A Scar Like a River is a positive and real look at healing after trauma.
