A review by ericacovey
Tell Me a Secret by Holly Cupala
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