Review: Tell Me A Secret - Holly Cupala

In the five years since her bad-girl sister's death, Miranda Mathison has wondered about the secret her sister took to the grave, and what really happened the night she died. When two lines on a pregnancy test confirm her worst fears, Miranda must make a choice with tremendous consequences and finally face her sister's demons and her own.

In this powerful debut novel, stunning new talent Holly Cupala illuminates the dark struggle of a girl who must let go of her past to find a way into her future.

Visit Holly Cupala's website for more information



Review:
I have really mixed feelings about Tell Me A Secret, on the one hand I thought the teenage pregnancy aspect of the story was extremely well written.  The things that Rand goes through during the pregnancy and her labour painted a realistic picture of what women go through, especially a teenage mother.  I really enjoyed that aspect of the book although I did find the scenes after the birth where Rand spends weeks hiding out at the hospital were unrealistic and I wanted to see her grow up and take responsibility for herself and her life.

The problem I really had with the book was the fact that I found it extremely difficult to like any of the characters.  Rand has had a lot to deal with since her sister Xander died 5 years ago, she has never really dealt with her grief and her parents haven't helped by refusing to talk about Xander now she is gone.  Rand seemed to think that Xander had been perfect but the more I found out about her the less likable she became.  I absolutely hated their mother too, she was so self obsessed and only cared about what other people might think of the family.  It didn't seem like she cared for Rand at all and after the way she acted throughout the entire book I found the turn around in her attitude at the end of the book was completely unbelievable.

I found it hard to feel any sympathy for Rand when she was so cruel to the person who was supposed to have been her best friend for years.  Even knowing she was grieving and then later struggling with her pregnancy I found it hard to forgive her treatment of Essence and that meant I just didn't care about what she was going through.  It annoyed me that she couldn't see through her new so called friend Delaney, yes I could understand why she wanted to see the best in Kamran & Delaney but you've got to be pretty stupid not to put two and two together and come up with four.

I downloaded this as a free audio podcast from Holly Cupala's website and the only thing that kept me listening to the end was that I wanted to find out what happened with the baby.  The scenes where Rand gives birth and the following few chapters were heartbreaking and kept me on the edge of my seat wanting to know how things would work out.  Perhaps this book would be enjoyed more by teenagers (I'm hardly the right age to be included in the books target audience) and hopefully it contains enough information about teen pregnancy to make them think twice about getting themselves into Rand's situation.

Source: I downloaded this book as a free audio podcast from Holly Cupala's website

Other Reviews:
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