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A review by bisexualwentworth
The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
2024 reread of this book that I loved as a tween and somehow I might like it better than I did then?
The Year of Secret Assignments (originally published in Australia as Finding Cassie Crazy) is a contemporary YA novel that centers on a pen pal program between an English class at a fancy private school called Ashbury and an English class at the neighboring public high school Brookfield. The entire book unfolds through the letters and through other pieces of in-universe writing from the characters, from emails to journal entries to the titular secret assignments. This is my favorite part of the book. Jaclyn Moriarty captures each character's voice so vividly and uses the epistolary format so creatively in this and in all of the Ashbury/Brookfield books. I love how the transcript introduces us to Bindy Mackenzie's quirks and POV (and sets up her dynamic with Emily in the next book). I love Lydia's sassy exchanges with her NotebookTM. And I love how Emily's father conducts his life the same way as his work through the endless legal memos and emails. Excellent touch.
The characters feel so accurate to the high school experience, and their arcs are so well-executed.
Emily's silly misuse of words, the realization that she usually does know what she's saying and is making intentional choices that just read as wrong, and then her victory in the mock court scene is such a satisfying progression. Her relationship with Charlie is real and vulnerable and I really was rooting for them. Also on the Emily front, I really liked how this book handled fatphobia? It's subtle, but there's this moment where it becomes clear that Emily's fatphobia is internalized. And Charlie drops the issue when that comes up. It's definitely something that Emily should work on, but it was also nice to have that highlighted as wrong, to be shown where it was coming from for the character, and then to drop it. Other readers might disagree, but it worked for me.
Lydia was my favorite when I first read this, and I still have a soft spot for her. Her tough girl exterior hiding a plethora of insecurities. Her mysterious sexy persona, under which she just wants to be known and loved for who she is. Her unending sassiness. Love her.
Cassie is the central character of this book plot-wise, gas leak call notwithstanding, and she has the subtlest characterization out of everyone. Her seeming naivete, her hidden self-destructiveness, and her very real hurt and vulnerability, coupled with her more out there talents, make for a complex character who only truly reveals herself near the end of the book. And I have rarely seen such a realistic portrayal of how someone in her situation would react to the death of a parent. Wow.
Seb you will always be famous. Sebastian is in some ways the least complex character. His and Lydia's plot is pretty straightforward, despite the thing he keeps from her and the generally convoluted nature of their relationship. I was OBSESSED with them as a kid, mind you. This is exactly the sort of relationship I went feral for. Nowadays I'm more in the Emily/Charlie camp, but these two are still SO FUN and it's impossible for me not to root for them. And for Seb generally.
Charlie is a sweetheart who is also very much a teenage boy who likes to be right and has reductive ideas about girls. He grows on both counts. Love him.
"Matthew" is such a convincing YA contemporary villain. I genuinely feared for Cassie at times. Screamed at her not to give him so much information. No one dies. Nothing truly unfixable happens. But the stakes are real and they are high.
Anyway, it's a great time, and I absolutely hope to learn lessons from this book about epistolary writing techniques. It is so rich with them.
The Year of Secret Assignments (originally published in Australia as Finding Cassie Crazy) is a contemporary YA novel that centers on a pen pal program between an English class at a fancy private school called Ashbury and an English class at the neighboring public high school Brookfield. The entire book unfolds through the letters and through other pieces of in-universe writing from the characters, from emails to journal entries to the titular secret assignments. This is my favorite part of the book. Jaclyn Moriarty captures each character's voice so vividly and uses the epistolary format so creatively in this and in all of the Ashbury/Brookfield books. I love how the transcript introduces us to Bindy Mackenzie's quirks and POV (and sets up her dynamic with Emily in the next book). I love Lydia's sassy exchanges with her NotebookTM. And I love how Emily's father conducts his life the same way as his work through the endless legal memos and emails. Excellent touch.
The characters feel so accurate to the high school experience, and their arcs are so well-executed.
Emily's silly misuse of words, the realization that she usually does know what she's saying and is making intentional choices that just read as wrong, and then her victory in the mock court scene is such a satisfying progression. Her relationship with Charlie is real and vulnerable and I really was rooting for them. Also on the Emily front, I really liked how this book handled fatphobia? It's subtle, but there's this moment where it becomes clear that Emily's fatphobia is internalized. And Charlie drops the issue when that comes up. It's definitely something that Emily should work on, but it was also nice to have that highlighted as wrong, to be shown where it was coming from for the character, and then to drop it. Other readers might disagree, but it worked for me.
Lydia was my favorite when I first read this, and I still have a soft spot for her. Her tough girl exterior hiding a plethora of insecurities. Her mysterious sexy persona, under which she just wants to be known and loved for who she is. Her unending sassiness. Love her.
Cassie is the central character of this book plot-wise, gas leak call notwithstanding, and she has the subtlest characterization out of everyone. Her seeming naivete, her hidden self-destructiveness, and her very real hurt and vulnerability, coupled with her more out there talents, make for a complex character who only truly reveals herself near the end of the book. And I have rarely seen such a realistic portrayal of how someone in her situation would react to the death of a parent. Wow.
Seb you will always be famous. Sebastian is in some ways the least complex character. His and Lydia's plot is pretty straightforward, despite the thing he keeps from her and the generally convoluted nature of their relationship. I was OBSESSED with them as a kid, mind you. This is exactly the sort of relationship I went feral for. Nowadays I'm more in the Emily/Charlie camp, but these two are still SO FUN and it's impossible for me not to root for them. And for Seb generally.
Charlie is a sweetheart who is also very much a teenage boy who likes to be right and has reductive ideas about girls. He grows on both counts. Love him.
"Matthew" is such a convincing YA contemporary villain. I genuinely feared for Cassie at times. Screamed at her not to give him so much information. No one dies. Nothing truly unfixable happens. But the stakes are real and they are high.
Anyway, it's a great time, and I absolutely hope to learn lessons from this book about epistolary writing techniques. It is so rich with them.