The Secrets We Keep

by Trisha Leaver

Overview

Ella and Maddy Lawton are identical twins. Ella has spent her high school years living in popular Maddy's shadows, but she has never been envious of Maddy. In fact, she's chosen the quiet, safe confines of her sketchbook over the constant battle for attention that has defined Maddy's world.

When—after a heated argument—Maddy and Ella get into a tragic accident that leaves her sister dead, Ella wakes up in the hospital surrounded by loved ones who believe she is Maddy. Feeling responsible for Maddy's death and everyone's grief, Ella makes a split-second decision to pretend to be Maddy. Soon, Ella realizes that Maddy's life was full of secrets. Caught in a web of lies, Ella is faced with two options—confess her deception or live her sister's life.

The Secrets We Keep by Trisha Leaver is a fast-paced, powerful story about identity, sibling love, and accepting yourself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250073624
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	04/26/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)
Lexile:	780L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Trisha Leaver is the co-author of Creed and lives on Cape Cod with her husband and children.

Editorial Reviews

Leaver's brilliant novel is the high school version of What Happened to Janie? The compelling premise will attract readers and the strong characterization will keep them enthralled.” —VOYA, starred review

“A fatal accident leaves one twin sister dead and the other trying to figure out her identity . . . For lovers of melodrama.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Watching Ella grapple with questions about life, death, and love makes for rewarding reading.” —Publishers Weekly

“The love and loss of a twin sister leads to a powerfully complex and heart-wrenching journey of self-discovery. The depth and complexity of Ella grows on each page, and I soon found myself immersed in her personal struggle. She is so fully developed that her seemingly unbelievable choice is not only believable, but completely understandable.” —Scott Blagden, author of Dear Life, You Suck

“Trisha Leaver crafts a powerful and unputdownable novel that will keep you up long after you read the last page. Full of twists and turns and FEELS, this book questions how far a person will go for her family . . . even if it means losing herself.” —Lynne Matson, author of Nil

“Haunting and beautiful, The Secrets We Keep, is a gripping, evocative examination of siblings' complex relationships. It compels us to question what we know, or think we know, about our loved ones and—most of all—ourselves.” —Karen Rock, author of the Camp Boyfriend series

From the Publisher

2015-02-03
A fatal accident leaves one twin sister dead and the other trying to figure out her identity.Ella has always been smart, quiet and artistic, while her identical twin sister, Maddy, became part of the social elite once they reached high school. Ella has also become accustomed to bailing Maddy out, so it's no surprise when Maddy needs Ella to pick her up from a party. As the two argue over their growing separation, Ella crashes the car, killing Maddy instantly. In an implausible story straight out of Hollywood, Ella, not certain who she is when she wakes up after the accident, assumes she is Maddy, especially when Maddy's boyfriend, Alex, is at her side. Although she quickly realizes the truth about Maddy, Ella pretends to be her twin sister in an effort to trade her own life for the life Maddy should have had. She seems to fool her family and friends, but can she convince herself to be Maddy? The effort, described in hyperbolic prose that seems determined to tell instead of show, becomes more difficult when Alex begins pressuring her to resume Maddy's physical relationship, and Ella's best friend, Josh, proclaims his love for the Ella he presumes dead. The discovery of Maddy's secret involvement in a school scandal weaves a mild thriller plot into the building romance. For lovers of melodrama only. (Fiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews