Trent Turner Sr./Stevie Character Analysis in Before We Were Yours

One of the children kidnapped by Georgia Tann and a close friend of Rill Foss. Trent was renamed Stevie by Tann after being kidnapped with his sister (whom Tann called Sherry) on the same day that Rill and her siblings are taken from their family’s shanty boat. When Sherry abruptly disappears, Rill takes care of Stevie. Rill is adopted before Stevie, but eventually Stevie is adopted by a Memphis police officer. Trent and his adoptive parents are never close, and Stevie decides to cut ties with them after learning that he was adopted. Fortunately, he reconnects with his biological family and reclaims his birth name, Trent, after being called Stevie for most of his life. Later, he reconnects with Rill (who is renamed May) and tries to help her discover the fates of her siblings. Sadly, Trent never discovers what happened to Sherry. Instead, he dedicates his life to helping Tann’s other victims discover their biological families, in some cases reconnecting siblings that were forcibly separated. When Trent dies, he leaves his grandson Trent Turner III in charge of his files about the victims, with strict instructions to only give them to people whose names are on the folder.

Trent Turner Sr./Stevie Character Timeline in Before We Were Yours

The timeline below shows where the character Trent Turner Sr./Stevie appears in Before We Were Yours. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Injustice and Class Divisions Theme Icon

Child Trafficking, Heritage, and Rewriting History Theme Icon

...mentions their papers will be “issued” soon and that the kids are called Sherry and Stevie. Tann also says that Rill and her siblings will go by May, Iris, Bonnie, Beth,... (full context)

...go near the fence. Rill leads her sisters and brothers through the yard. She spots Stevie, but not his sister Sherry. Rill tells Stevie he can stay with her and he... (full context)

...who will come for her. One day Rill hears Murphy and Mrs. Pulnik talk about Stevie, who’s been wetting the bed. Murphy says he must be tied to his bed until... (full context)

Once she’s back with her siblings, Rill holds Stevie, who has a painful goose egg under his hair from a nurse hitting him. Camellia... (full context)

...so late and asks again how their grandparents are connected. Trent tells her that his grandfather might have been doing a job for Judy. Avery asks him what that means, and... (full context)

...he changes his mind but decides to thank him again first. Trent explains that his grandfather helped other people find lost family members after he found out he was adopted and... (full context)

Avery asks Trent if there are other packets. Trent looks guilty but admits that his grandfather kept a few with the names of people they should be given to written on... (full context)

Rill runs around the yard until she hears Fern and Stevie screaming. She rescues them from an older boy who’s twisting Stevie’s arm and starts walking... (full context)

...the bed. Rill realizes she must delay her escape until she can bring Fern and Stevie, too. (full context)

Trent leads Avery up the path to his grandfather’s former office. Trent becomes somber as they get closer to the office and says he... (full context)

...anything to do with Tann’s crimes. Specifically, Avery worries that Judy was working with Trent’s grandfather to “right the family wrongs.” (full context)

...the truth is ahead of time. Trent shares his fear that he’ll find out his grandfather was one of the kids from the TCHS, especially because his adoptive father was on... (full context)

...coming—their escape will have to wait a night or two. She also wants to bring Stevie with them. Silas argues with her but agrees to come back the next night for... (full context)

...exactly as she’s asked without crying or saying no; if she doesn’t follow these rules, Stevie will be punished. They get out of the car at a hotel. Rill wants to... (full context)

...at her. Trent gently takes May’s hand and tells her what he knows about his grandfather’s past and the files he left behind after his death. At this, May’s eyes water... (full context)

Trent asks May if his grandfather was adopted from the TCHS and she tells him he was; furthermore, she says she... (full context)

...on an absolute yes or no.” May looks to Trent and tells him that his grandfather helped reunite her and Fern with their sister Lark. Lark and Fern, however, have since... (full context)

...90 years old, she has no need for muscle tone. Trent chuckles and says his grandfather wanted to just be put in a boat to drift down the Edisto River. At... (full context)

Trent tells Avery that the revelations May made about his grandfather make him wonder what his grandfather’s life would have been like if he hadn’t been... (full context)