Keeping You a Secret by Julie Anne Peters Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Keeping You a Secret
Book Review: Courtesy of Teens Read Too
Summary: 5 Stars
The second book I've read by Julie Anne Peters, KEEPING YOU A SECRET is another sure-fire winner about the highs and lows of first love, the terror and joy of "coming out", and the good and the bad that is the thing called family.
Holland Jaeger is the "It" girl everyone envies--she has great friends, she's President of the Student Body, she's the girlfriend of Seth, she's the popular girl who can be counted on to always get along with everyone. That is, until Cece Goddard transfers in, and Holland's once-perfect life no longer seems so great.
The first time she sees Cece, Holland feels something that she's never felt before. Although sexually active with her boyfriend, Seth, having sex is more like a chore--she'd much rather sit around talking, the way they used to do when they were friends rather than lovers. As Cece flaunts her homosexuality, wearing shirts proclaiming herself out and proud, Holland wonders what it means when her attraction to Cece becomes almost an obsession.
College looms on the horizon and no one, especially her mother, will quit asking her where she's going. They have big plans for her, you see, both her mother, who became a single parent way too young, Seth, and the career counselor at her school. Forced into a role she doesn't want, Holland escapes into her art class, drawing away from her former friends as feelings and emotions she can't control rush to the surface.
As Holland realizes that she is, in fact, a lesbian, her perfect life is suddenly out of control. She's shunned by her former friends at school, her mother kicks her out of the house, she's forced to live in a run-down motel that's now a shelter, and she's not sure she'll be able to attend college at all.
Holland must learn what's really important in life, that it's not about being popular but about being true to yourself. As she loses old friends she gains new ones in the gay and lesbian community, and forms a bond with Cece that is beyond her wildest expectations.
KEEPING YOU A SECRET is a great, emotional read, pefect for anyone questioning their sexuality or their place in the world. A truly recommended read.
Book Review: Enticing
Summary: 4 Stars
For two days after I read this book I was repeating phrases from it in my mind; so much so that I just reread it this morning (and last night around 11:30/12). While it's thrilling and exhilarating, certainly, it does have its weak points.
From Cece and Holland's first kiss till the end of the book, the dialogue deteriorates from short, tantalising snippets of conversation (tending toward the seductive, mischievous, witty, insightful, flirtatious, etc.) and double entendres to melodramatic (though touching) gushing and confessing I've read a million times over elsewhere. However, the witty dialogue continues in the comical exchanges between Cece and her mother, who feels Cece should keep her sexuality to herself and adamantly insists Cece follow "house rules": ie. no sex with her girlfriends, at least in places where her parents can control it. Earlier on in the novel, as well, this sort of playful banter can be found between Holland and her mother (the final confrontation between the two displays some powerful, direct language which serves as a great model on how to deal with head-ons with others about one's sexuality: it would have been great to have had this earlier. Along the same lines, anyone who hasn't come out already can find some basic tips from Cece toward the end of the novel).
One of the strongest points of Keeping You a Secret is the characterisation - of everyone. Even Kirsten, the vicious and malicious, backstabbing and manipulative "friend" of Holland's is three-dimensional. This realism does take on a melodramatic "twist" at the end, though, where Cece reveals some of her own secrets & history. The author has also certain favourite words (among them being "cricked", "deflated", and variations on "electric") which she relies too heavily on throughout the novel. After a point, they get annoying and seem to stick out.
It deals with Holland's revelation that she's gay very matter-of-factly, and shows satisfying defiance against stereotypes and labels in general (such as the word "lesbian" and what coming to terms with a new identity really means, including what happens to old friends, etc.) This novel deals not only with Holland's sexuality, but step-families, general harassment and discrimination (including the Goth philosophy/lifestyle), and, passingly, the dilemma of lesbians having children.
All-in-all, this book hooks you. It does indeed have the "electric" current Holland constantly describes/mentions, and I finished it in less than three hours during the first read - it was riveting and compelled me to put off sleep until after 1 am. Its short sentence structure as Holland finds herself falling for Cece traps us in, so our blood starts to boil along with hers, Cece invades us, and our heart beats start keeping time with Holland's as she crashes into her mad love-affair delirium. Truly powerful and unforgettable, it could still stand some more major revisions, though it's a fun read. Not exactly up to, say, Jeffrey Eugenides' standards (I read Middlesex before this, but it's a hard comparison: I would recommend that novel practically over Jane Austen, if you can imagine it), but definitely matches J.K. Rowling, just to give you some idea. Julie Anne Peters has a very sparse writing style which doesn't exactly top Judy Blume, but it's nothing to scoff at. I'm still waiting for a Eugenides-like "lesbian writer", or even a Nell Lee Harper, but I suppose I'll take what I can get for now. Not exactly a classic in the grand scheme of things, but as juvenile fiction goes, not bad at all, though I'd recommend anyone interested in reading this book to pick up How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship, and Musical Theater by Marc Acito afterward just to see the difference (although How I Paid for College centres around a male bisexual high school senior rather than a lesbian high school senior, the same basic feelings and problems with coming out are covered there, too - and it's written INCREDIBLY well). The saving grace of this novel is its emotionality, because substance seems to dissolve as it comes to a close, and if I were rating the entire book based on writing alone it'd get 3 or 2 stars, not the 4 I've given it. It's more fun while reading it than reflecting on it later, that's for sure. By the end of the novel, no, half-way through, you're in love with Cece and going, "hey, where's this dream girl in my life?"
The book also includes some "questions for discussion" at the end, so, if anyone's considering this for some sort of group read, that might be helpful.
One question: why are all the protagonists in these novels visual artists?
Book Review: Good if a tad bit unrealistic...
Summary: 3 Stars
Keeping You a Secret is the first book I've read where being gay was the main topic. I've read books where this was more of a minor topic or something in the background, but nothing that had you focusing solely on the subject of LGBT (heh. Never mind. I just remembered that I read Fingersmith about two years ago. Amazing novel!) or rather coming out. While I did like it, I felt that it was just okay.
My main issue with this was that all of the characters seemed very one-dimensional and more than a little stereotypical. First of all there was CeCe, the "out and proud" lesbian. I found her character a bit unrealistic. Going from my own high school, I have a very hard time believing that a high school aged lesbian will wear "out and proud" shirts every day of the week. Most of the gay guys in my school were all out and proud (think Jack in Will and Grace), but I know that there were a lot more females who were in the closet or barely advertised their sexuality unless they were under extreme duress(for example, one of my friends came into the U.S. History class so annoyed at some guy that she proclaimed "I can't stand any of these male a-holes! I swear, that's why I'm gay!" much to the astonishment of my teacher...she said this a bit on the loud side....). While I think it would be great if everyone felt comfortable enough to be "out and proud", I just found CeCe's portrayal a bit unbelievable.
You can't, of course, discount the goth stepsister (why is it that in YA novels, all of the so-called "normal" girls have either a goth sister or a goth best friend?), the antagonistic mom (my God, did I hate her!), and the best friend with the heart of gold. Keeping You a Secret was just a bit too Lifetime-movie-of-the-week (in fact, I think I've seen a Lifetime movie that was a lot like this). And, again, the characters were all a bit depthless.
Now that I got that out of the way, onto what I liked. Besides her unrealistic portrayal, I really did like CeCe. She was just very funny, flirty, and totally cool. Holland was also extremely likeable as well (except for that whole blowing-off-your-friends-for-your-significant-other thing she was rocking for a while. Tres annoying). I thought that the romance between Holland and CeCe was incredibly sweet and incredibly cute. Very passionate and intense. Lucky them. I also felt really bad for the both of them with having to deal with the ignorance of other people and it saddens me that there are actually close-minded, antagonistic people in this world like there were in the book. Sigh.
So, I actually did like Keeping You a Secret. It wasn't perfect, but it was good. I am, however, hoping that my next LGBT book is a tad bit better than this one. Feel free to recommend any.
Book Review: Good plot and characters but the relationship didn't click
Summary: 3 Stars
The plot and characters were both good but the relationships between Holland and her mom and Holland and CeCe didn't click. The love story between Cece and Holland seemed sorta of like an obsession.
Holland is a person who makes herself perfect for other people until she meets Cece. Cece wakes something up inside her and makes her feel things she's never felt before. Could Holland be in love with Cece? If she is how does she tell everyone espically her mother who tries to control everything in her life. When Holland does come out the reader can expect a major fallout with Holland's mother and one of her so called "friends."
The character were all well rounded. I could see where Holland's mother was coming from but she just didn't make me feel for her. Kirsten was a character you could love to hate. Leah is the friend everyone needs. Faith the step-sister from hades who has a heart. Seth the good boyfriend who turns mean after dumping him and then Holland and Cece two girls whose love borders obsession.
Somehow I wish Julie would do a sequel even though she said she wouldn't just so we could see where Holland and Cece are now and if Holland's mother has came around.
Penny Lane
Book Review: Great Book
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this book, I read it back in high school. I think it's a great book for teens to read. I recommend it.