Book Review: The Secret Year

The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard

Released: January 7, 2010

Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Pages: 192
Rating: 4 stars

Seventeen-year-old Colt has been sneaking out at night to meet Julia, a girl from an upper-class neighborhood unlike his own. They’ve never told anyone else about their relationship: not their family or friends, and especially not Julia’s boyfriend.When Julia dies suddenly, Colt tries to cope with her death while pretending that he never even knew her. He discovers a journal she left behind. But he is not prepared for the truths he discovers about their intense relationship, nor to pay the price for the secrets he’s kept.

This was a great debut. It was especially nice to read a story from a male's perspective. I loved the idea of Colt learning about how Julia truly felt from reading her diary, which was basically a bunch of letters written to him. And they way Hubbard portrayed Colt and Julia's "relationship" throughout the novel, made it that much more believable for me.

Throughout the book, Colt struggles to make sense of the "relationship" he had with Julia, and whether or not to tell someone about it. But the question was: would anyone even believe him? I think Colt was a strong person - being able to keep such a secret for a year and then even after her death. If it were me in his shoes, I would have thrown it in Austin's, Julia's boyfriend, face just to shut him up!

I definitely recommend reading The Secret Year if you ever get a chance to. It was such a great story.