The Secret Year - Jennifer HubbardPages: 192
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Release Date: 7th January 2010
Colt was with Julia for a year, but nobody else knew about it. Julia lived on Black Mountain Road in a mansion - with servants - and had a country-club boyfriend to complete the package. Colt definitely didn’t come from Black Mountain, and no one would have understood why they were together. But it never mattered to them. Until Julia dies in an accident right before her senior year, and Colt is the only one who knows their secret. He tries to pretend that his life is the same as ever, but he’s haunted by memories of Julia. Things get worse after the journal she kept about their romance falls into his hands. Colt searches every entry for answers: Did Julia really love him? Was he somehow to blame for her death? But the ultimate question - one nobody can answer - is how he’s supposed to get over someone who was never really his to begin with.
Combining the intrigue of forbidden romance with the tension of strict class divisions, Jennifer R. Hubbard creates and unforgettable debut novel about love, loss, and the freedom that comes with figuring out who you really are.
Jennifer Hubbard’s debut novel, The Secret Year, is a tale of love, loss and social divides.
I had such high expectations for this novel after all of the five-star reviews of it that I’ve been reading, but The Secret Year just didn’t do it for me. don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy it, it just wasn’t the blow-my-mind novel that I wanted and expected it to be. The love between Colt and Julia didn’t seem sincere to me or have any real foundation; it seemed purely physical.
My favourite thing about The Secret Year is Colt’s voice. It’s engaging, easy to follow and very, very likable. It was horrible how he had to grieve alone and in silence and I really felt for him. Even though his grief was evident in the beginning, I felt that he got over Julia pretty quickly. Speaking of Julia, I really didn’t like her. The Julia in Colt’s memories and her diary entries seemed very different and neither were girls that I’d like to be friends with.
Though I didn’t love The Secret Year, I’ll definitely be keeping my eye out for books by Jennifer Hubbard in the future.
Sophie
The premise of this book is fascinating and I'm really intrigued by it, so it's great to read your honest thoughts on it. Thanks for a great review!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really thoughtful and honest review - thanks for that! I know what you mean about Julia and their relationship, I really wanted them to have a connection past the physical side of things, but I just don't think they did.
ReplyDeleteIt has a lovely cover doesn't it?!
Yup, I agree very much. This is exactly how I felt about this book. Although I liked Julia, as a character. She was interesting to me.
ReplyDelete:)