ARC Review: The Secrets We Keep ♥ by Trisha Leaver

The Secrets We Keep
Trisha Leaver

• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
•  (April 28, 2015)
• ISBN-13: 978-0374300463
• Genre: Teen, Thriller
• Pre-Order: Amazon 
• Source: e-ARC was sent free of charge via the publisher and author. Thank you Mary and Trisha.
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• Synopsis: "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."

• I'm quite excited to do the review for The Secrets We Keep, I had made a Waiting On Wednesday post and the author Trisha Leaver had noticed and personally invited me to review her latest novel! Ella and Maddy are identical twins. They're twins, but as they have approached their senior year in high school, they have grown apart. They're no longer close as sisters anymore.. In an accident Maddy passes away - and all of the loved ones believe Ella is Maddy because she had actually given her sweatshirt and socks to Maddy the day before. It was completely unintentional at first, Ella does not want to disappoint anyone especially her parents so she takes upon the identity of Maddy. As she lives Maddy's life, she finds some dirty secrets about her and Ella has to lie over and over again to preserve her identity. Now, Ella must decide if she is going to confess to her deciet or will she continue to pretend to be her sister Maddy. 

•  I personally do love the cover of The Secrets We Keep - it was the first book I had noticed on Netgalley. I actually wanted to purchase this book for the cover alone. The premise itself is quite promising, I haven't read that many books on twins, so I thought this was something unique in Young Adult. I do love how diverse YA is being nowadays, it has many different concepts which I find intriguing. I find stories with twins fascinating, the plot sold me the moment I read the blurb. I can now officially say, this is quite an interesting novel - it's a refreshing and beautiful novel with many twists and turns down the way. 

• The novel is told through Ella's perspective and not Maddy's, Maddy is the twin sister that has died. Maddy is popular, superficial, and more of a.. mean girl. Ella is a loner, she's quite and she's an artist. I have in an artist in me, so I could relate to her a lot more. She lives in Maddy's shadow, she takes Maddy's place in her exams.. It's all really about Maddy, and I don't like how Ella lets that happen. It's strange how Ella even decided to take on Maddy's life because she believes her parents and everyone loves Maddy more.. That's not true. Her parents loved them both equally, and Josh who is Ella's best friend loves Ella as well. It's understandable why Ella chose this decision, she loved her sister Maddy dearly and she cannot crush everyone's hope that easily. Ella, herself cannot let go of Maddy. She is not ready at all. There is romance in this novel, but is not as strong because it's Ella's story. It's not a romance novel, although, the male leads in the novel were appealing especially Josh.

• The concept of The Secrets We Keep is fantastic - it's a book about Ella's journey of self-discovery and self-worth. Ella pretends to be Maddy which was a fascinating twist to the plot. Ella decides to give the ultimate sacrifice by choosing to live Maddy's life. The actual secrets Ella discovered about Maddy weren't all that surprising though. I mean, yes they were wrong, but they weren't so shocking as the premise claims. This is more of a character driven than a plot driven story, that's something different and I did enjoy this novel overall. It's a thought provoking novel and an emotional ride throughout the end. The author shows consequences of impulsive decisions  which is great - The novel indulges in finding your worth in the world. It is a coming of age and self-discovery novel at it's best. Overall, I would rate The Secrets We Keep 3.5 butterflies. The author Leaver does engage the reader with her writing, and I do look forward to checking out more of her work.
  
  
  

Recommended for fans of Identical, The Ice Twins and I Know This Much is True.

Shukran for reading this! Leave your blog links in the comments & I'll be sure to check them out & follow :) Stay in tuned pretty creatures..

“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” —Nora Ephron 

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