Keeping You a Secret - Hardcover

Peters, Julie Anne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316702757 ISBN 13: 9780316702751

Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers, 2003

Synopsis

As she begins a very tough last semester of high school, Holland finds herself puzzled about her future and intrigued by a transfer student who wants to start a Lesbigay club at school.

About this title

About the Author:

Julie Anne Peters is the author of How Do You Spell G-E-E-K?, Romance of the Snob Squad, Revenge of the Snob Squad and Define "Normal."

From Booklist:

Reviewed with Tea Benduhn's Gravel Queen.

Gr. 9-12. In these novels about first love, a high-school girl falls hard for another girl and faces the complicated pain of coming out to family, friends, and to one's self. In Gravel Queen, the author's debut novel, Aurin explores her first gay relationship, and finds that her best friend, a glamorous, possessive drama queen, is jealous. Benduhn focus on Aurin's self-discovery and friendships, closing the novel before Aurin tells her family what's going on. In Keeping You a Secret, model high-school senior Holland, who has a boyfriend, develops an overwhelming crush on Cece. The girls fall passionately in love and a tragic coming-out story ensues. Holland finds herself homeless and alone, except for Cece and a new gay support system.

Both novels, written in first-person, are filled with believable inner monologues and finely tuned contemporary dialogue. Benduhn includes some interesting cinematic references related to Aurin's filmmaking aspirations, but some of her descriptions are over-the-top. Peters' story and characters are more developed. Both books are romantic and layered, and many teens, particularly those with fluid sexual identities, will recognize the questions: Do you have to kiss someone to be gay? What do fantasies mean? Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0316702757
• ISBN 13: 9780316702751
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256