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A review by ablotial
Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella
3.0
This book was chosen by the IRL bookclub I am a part of for our July read. The thought was that it would be a fun, "summery" read. At the meeting we all agreed it fulfilled this, though none of us could really explain what exactly that meant.
The story is cute and even maybe a little thought provoking, which is surprising for a book of this type if you ask me. But many of her "secrets" were the sort of "secrets" that just about everyone has. The kind of "secrets" you keep, or white lies you tell, when you go on a first date (oh, yes, I love jazz, too!) or first meet potential new friends at a party (oh, you crocheted that shawl yourself! It's TOO cute, I'd love one of those!), or to keep your parents from prying too much into your life (our relationship is wonderful!), or to get and keep a decent job (my coworker is the funniest person!). Why can't we all just be honest with each other?
I did enjoy the book, though. I felt so bad for her original boyfriend, Connor -- How awful were his insecurities after they broke up?! She completely ruined him for any woman in the future, I guess. And at first I thought Jack was a complete ass. What a jerk to keep using the things he knew against her and making her feel uncomfortable in her own workplace! Which I suppose was HIS workplace, but still. He was teasing her and dropping hints and I just wanted to smack him. Especially since he asked her point blank to keep HIS secret and didn't offer up anything about himself.
I think the ending was a bit unbelievable, when his secret is finally revealed.
But overall, it was cute. I enjoyed it, and recommend it if you want a light read.
The story is cute and even maybe a little thought provoking, which is surprising for a book of this type if you ask me. But many of her "secrets" were the sort of "secrets" that just about everyone has. The kind of "secrets" you keep, or white lies you tell, when you go on a first date (oh, yes, I love jazz, too!) or first meet potential new friends at a party (oh, you crocheted that shawl yourself! It's TOO cute, I'd love one of those!), or to keep your parents from prying too much into your life (our relationship is wonderful!), or to get and keep a decent job (my coworker is the funniest person!). Why can't we all just be honest with each other?
I did enjoy the book, though. I felt so bad for her original boyfriend, Connor -- How awful were his insecurities after they broke up?! She completely ruined him for any woman in the future, I guess. And at first I thought Jack was a complete ass. What a jerk to keep using the things he knew against her and making her feel uncomfortable in her own workplace! Which I suppose was HIS workplace, but still. He was teasing her and dropping hints and I just wanted to smack him. Especially since he asked her point blank to keep HIS secret and didn't offer up anything about himself.
I think the ending was a bit unbelievable, when his secret is finally revealed.
Spoiler
I don't go for it. He could have told her that SO much sooner without a problem, and I have difficulty believing, no matter how close he and Pete were before, that this would have been such a big deal to him. First of all, he said he knew nothing about the relationship with the mother or the child at ALL until after Pete's death, so if I were him I would have been suspicious of her coming forward in the first place. And for him to treat them as he does? No. Maybe if it had been HIS child he wanted to keep a secret...But overall, it was cute. I enjoyed it, and recommend it if you want a light read.