KEEPING YOU A SECRET by Julie Anne Peters
Category: Contemporary
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 5/4/05
Publisher: Megan Tingley
Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"
Rating: 5 Stars
The second book I've read by Julie Anne Peters, KEEPING YOU A SECRET is another sure-fire winner about the highs
and lows of first love, the terror and joy of "coming out", and the good and the bad that is the thing called family.
Holland Jaeger is the "It" girl everyone envies--she has great friends, she's President of the Student Body, she's the girlfriend
of Seth, she's the popular girl who can be counted on to always get along with everyone. That is, until Cece Goddard
transfers in, and Holland's once-perfect life no longer seems so great.
The first time she sees Cece, Holland feels something that she's never felt before. Although sexually active with her
boyfriend, Seth, having sex is more like a chore--she'd much rather sit around talking, the way they used to do when they
were friends rather than lovers. As Cece flaunts her homosexuality, wearing shirts proclaiming herself out and proud,
Holland wonders what it means when her attraction to Cece becomes almost an obsession.
College looms on the horizon and no one, especially her mother, will quit asking her where she's going. They have big plans
for her, you see, both her mother, who became a single parent way too young, Seth, and the career counselor at her school.
Forced into a role she doesn't want, Holland escapes into her art class, drawing away from her former friends as feelings
and emotions she can't control rush to the surface.
As Holland realizes that she is, in fact, a lesbian, her perfect life is suddenly out of control. She's shunned by her former
friends at school, her mother kicks her out of the house, she's forced to live in a run-down motel that's now a shelter, and
she's not sure she'll be able to attend college at all.
Holland must learn what's really important in life, that it's not about being popular but about being true to yourself. As she
loses old friends she gains new ones in the gay and lesbian community, and forms a bond with Cece that is beyond her
wildest expectations.
KEEPING YOU A SECRET is a great, emotional read, perfect for anyone questioning their sexuality or their place in the
world. A truly recommended read.
Category: Contemporary
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 5/4/05
Publisher: Megan Tingley
Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"
Rating: 5 Stars
The second book I've read by Julie Anne Peters, KEEPING YOU A SECRET is another sure-fire winner about the highs
and lows of first love, the terror and joy of "coming out", and the good and the bad that is the thing called family.
Holland Jaeger is the "It" girl everyone envies--she has great friends, she's President of the Student Body, she's the girlfriend
of Seth, she's the popular girl who can be counted on to always get along with everyone. That is, until Cece Goddard
transfers in, and Holland's once-perfect life no longer seems so great.
The first time she sees Cece, Holland feels something that she's never felt before. Although sexually active with her
boyfriend, Seth, having sex is more like a chore--she'd much rather sit around talking, the way they used to do when they
were friends rather than lovers. As Cece flaunts her homosexuality, wearing shirts proclaiming herself out and proud,
Holland wonders what it means when her attraction to Cece becomes almost an obsession.
College looms on the horizon and no one, especially her mother, will quit asking her where she's going. They have big plans
for her, you see, both her mother, who became a single parent way too young, Seth, and the career counselor at her school.
Forced into a role she doesn't want, Holland escapes into her art class, drawing away from her former friends as feelings
and emotions she can't control rush to the surface.
As Holland realizes that she is, in fact, a lesbian, her perfect life is suddenly out of control. She's shunned by her former
friends at school, her mother kicks her out of the house, she's forced to live in a run-down motel that's now a shelter, and
she's not sure she'll be able to attend college at all.
Holland must learn what's really important in life, that it's not about being popular but about being true to yourself. As she
loses old friends she gains new ones in the gay and lesbian community, and forms a bond with Cece that is beyond her
wildest expectations.
KEEPING YOU A SECRET is a great, emotional read, perfect for anyone questioning their sexuality or their place in the
world. A truly recommended read.
Keeping You a Secret
by Julie Anne Peters
by Julie Anne Peters