diaryofabookahloic's review against another edition
5.0
okay when i pick up this book i wasn't sure that i would really like this book but i did like it a lot. you follow a girl deal with being pregnant teenage and learning who to trust and being able to say i'm sorry while learn to admit you mess up.
jonireads's review against another edition
5.0
I read this novel back when it was new and didn't review it so here is a long awaited review of a fantastic novel.
The death of Miranda's sister has haunted her for five years. There is so much mystery surrounding what happened to her. Xanda's name is never spoken in the house and Miranda desperately wants to be able to talk about her sister.
In Kamran she finds love and a person to finally talk about Xanda with.
In Delaney Pratt. new girl and new best friend, Miranda finds confidence and popularity.
But then everything changes when Miranda's period is two months late and two lines show up on a pregnancy test.
Suddenly Miranda's world just got a whole lot more complicated. Her mother will barely look at her, Kamran runs off with Delaney and Miranda is alone, aside from the friends she makes on Babycenter.com where she is posing as a 21 year old college student, married and thrilled about her bun in the oven. Online she can be happy about the pregnancy when in real life she is scared and lost.
The end of the novel is where things really pick up. Its heartbreaking and a novel that has haunted me for years and that's why I picked it up again. I admire Miranda as she is faced with choices and experiences far more difficult than she ever imagined she would face. She has courage and heart and she is so strong.
This novel really in haunting. I read it in less than a day, could not put it down. If you haven't heard of it, or you have but you never thought to pick it up, do it now. You won't regret it.
The death of Miranda's sister has haunted her for five years. There is so much mystery surrounding what happened to her. Xanda's name is never spoken in the house and Miranda desperately wants to be able to talk about her sister.
In Kamran she finds love and a person to finally talk about Xanda with.
In Delaney Pratt. new girl and new best friend, Miranda finds confidence and popularity.
But then everything changes when Miranda's period is two months late and two lines show up on a pregnancy test.
Suddenly Miranda's world just got a whole lot more complicated. Her mother will barely look at her, Kamran runs off with Delaney and Miranda is alone, aside from the friends she makes on Babycenter.com where she is posing as a 21 year old college student, married and thrilled about her bun in the oven. Online she can be happy about the pregnancy when in real life she is scared and lost.
The end of the novel is where things really pick up. Its heartbreaking and a novel that has haunted me for years and that's why I picked it up again. I admire Miranda as she is faced with choices and experiences far more difficult than she ever imagined she would face. She has courage and heart and she is so strong.
This novel really in haunting. I read it in less than a day, could not put it down. If you haven't heard of it, or you have but you never thought to pick it up, do it now. You won't regret it.
ericacovey's review
5.0
I don’t think it’s a secret that I read A LOT. If it’s a particularly good book I’m reading, I am absolutely swept into it and time passes too quickly. But then I finish the book, sigh and think about how much I liked the book, then move on. There is no moving on from Tell Me a Secret, though. This is, without question in my mind, the most emotionally powerful book I’ve ever read. EVER. I honestly can’t even write a review that will adequately convey how intense this book was for me.
Tell Me a Secret is a beautiful, perfectly crafted story filled with heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, soul-splintering secrets. Miranda is forced to find her way through the secrets that everyone around her is keeping. As her own secret is revealed, she slowly begins to discover those of her boyfriend, best friend, sister, and parents. My heart ached for her as she had to confront her fears. I wanted so much for her to catch a break, to have someone reach out to her and give her a hug and comfort her, but she was forced to move through a lot of the story on her own.
Cupala uses the imagery of labyrinths in the book, and there is no image more fitting of Miranda’s journey. A labyrinth is used as a place of reflection, but it can also be a place to get lost. Miranda’s journey in this book forces her to twist and turn, sometimes coming close to where she was mere moments before, but her situation forces her to keep moving forward. As with any labyrinth, she eventually found her way through it, and she was a changed person because of that experience.
This book made me cry. It made me want to pull hair out (my own, from the stress, but mostly that of some of the characters). I was disgusted and sympathetic and hopeful. And that – hope –is what I was left with. Yes, reading this book was a little like having someone chip away at my heart until it shattered into a million pieces and crumbled to the floor, but it also gathered up all those pieces and glued them back together.
Normally this is part of the review when I’d mention the characters or the pacing. Yes, the characters are amazingly complex and wonderful and the pacing was perfect (I started reading it at 11pm with the intention of reading one, maybe two chapters; almost three hours later I had to force myself to put the book down). But this book is greater than the sum of its parts.
Clearly I’m a fan of this book. There is so much I could say about it, and if I wasn’t paranoid of giving away anything that will ruin anyone’s experience of the story when they read it, there are certain aspects of the story (read: people) I could expound upon for pages. But I won’t.
Read the book, okay people? Seriously. It’s that good
Tell Me a Secret is a beautiful, perfectly crafted story filled with heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, soul-splintering secrets. Miranda is forced to find her way through the secrets that everyone around her is keeping. As her own secret is revealed, she slowly begins to discover those of her boyfriend, best friend, sister, and parents. My heart ached for her as she had to confront her fears. I wanted so much for her to catch a break, to have someone reach out to her and give her a hug and comfort her, but she was forced to move through a lot of the story on her own.
Cupala uses the imagery of labyrinths in the book, and there is no image more fitting of Miranda’s journey. A labyrinth is used as a place of reflection, but it can also be a place to get lost. Miranda’s journey in this book forces her to twist and turn, sometimes coming close to where she was mere moments before, but her situation forces her to keep moving forward. As with any labyrinth, she eventually found her way through it, and she was a changed person because of that experience.
This book made me cry. It made me want to pull hair out (my own, from the stress, but mostly that of some of the characters). I was disgusted and sympathetic and hopeful. And that – hope –is what I was left with. Yes, reading this book was a little like having someone chip away at my heart until it shattered into a million pieces and crumbled to the floor, but it also gathered up all those pieces and glued them back together.
Normally this is part of the review when I’d mention the characters or the pacing. Yes, the characters are amazingly complex and wonderful and the pacing was perfect (I started reading it at 11pm with the intention of reading one, maybe two chapters; almost three hours later I had to force myself to put the book down). But this book is greater than the sum of its parts.
Clearly I’m a fan of this book. There is so much I could say about it, and if I wasn’t paranoid of giving away anything that will ruin anyone’s experience of the story when they read it, there are certain aspects of the story (read: people) I could expound upon for pages. But I won’t.
Read the book, okay people? Seriously. It’s that good
lorny's review
4.0
I am not a fan of books about pregnancy. This is mostly because they make me cringe and never want to have children. Ever. Luckily, Tell Me a Secret focuses not so much on pregnancy, but more on its consequences and how it changed the main character’s life (and also, how the main character confronts her past).
Miranda’s struggle was not only believable; it was powerful. Her emotions were so easy to feel as a reader, and the last hundred pages, especially, were gripping. I could not believe all the obstacles that popped up in Miranda’s path, and although she was realistically flawed, she managed to somehow overcome each of them in her own way. I felt so relieved and happy when something finally went right in her life. (Seriously, I couldn’t believe that Miranda’s life was so stinking awful! I felt so bad for her!)
The storytelling in Tell Me a Secret was really nice, too. The readers are left in the dark about certain things, which makes it easier to get inside Miranda’s head. There are all kinds of secrets being kept, and the way they were revealed was very smooth. The subplots all worked themselves out beautifully, and the main issues did as well.
Tell Me a Secret managed to be an issue book without becoming preachy. It didn’t tell the reader to never, ever have sex, but through the story encouraged being oneself and having faith in the face of adversity (Miranda is my freaking hero. She got through so much! Let’s all follow her example! Except maybe not the pregnancy bit.).
So! If you’re looking for a contemporary novel with excellent themes and a heroine who has to deal with not only a pregnancy but family (and friendship) issues, Tell Me a Secret is your book. Don’t let the pregnancy aspect of the story scare you away. It’s worth the read.
Miranda’s struggle was not only believable; it was powerful. Her emotions were so easy to feel as a reader, and the last hundred pages, especially, were gripping. I could not believe all the obstacles that popped up in Miranda’s path, and although she was realistically flawed, she managed to somehow overcome each of them in her own way. I felt so relieved and happy when something finally went right in her life. (Seriously, I couldn’t believe that Miranda’s life was so stinking awful! I felt so bad for her!)
The storytelling in Tell Me a Secret was really nice, too. The readers are left in the dark about certain things, which makes it easier to get inside Miranda’s head. There are all kinds of secrets being kept, and the way they were revealed was very smooth. The subplots all worked themselves out beautifully, and the main issues did as well.
Tell Me a Secret managed to be an issue book without becoming preachy. It didn’t tell the reader to never, ever have sex, but through the story encouraged being oneself and having faith in the face of adversity (Miranda is my freaking hero. She got through so much! Let’s all follow her example! Except maybe not the pregnancy bit.).
So! If you’re looking for a contemporary novel with excellent themes and a heroine who has to deal with not only a pregnancy but family (and friendship) issues, Tell Me a Secret is your book. Don’t let the pregnancy aspect of the story scare you away. It’s worth the read.
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