Friday, April 10, 2015

ARC Review: The Secrets We Keep ♥ by Trisha Leaver

Friday, April 10, 2015






The Secrets We Keep
Trisha Leaver

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  • 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.

  • 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 
femmmefatalee@gmail.com

32 comments:

  1. Glad that you enjoyed this overall, it really does sound like an interesting read.

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    1. It does have a unique concept overall - thank you for dropping by <3

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  2. This sounds like a truly unique and addictive read^^ I like that Ella thinks Maddy's life is so perfect but then when she steps into her twin's old life, she discovers the truth about it all. I've never read anything like this before! I'm really glad you enjoyed it so much, I'll have to add it to my tbr shelf :) Lovely review Benish! ♥

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    1. Thank you Micheline for all the love with your comments, this was a good Young Adult novel that I liked - hope you enjoy it as much as I have, maybe even more? :)

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  3. Oh goodness, I don't think I could read it. Sure it sounds pretty great, but it also sounds rife with drama. Sad that she thinks she has to live as her sister, because she thinks that's what everybody would want. And can i say its rather horrible that her parents couldn't figure out her deception??

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    1. They're identical twins, so probably that's why they haven't. She completely acts like Maddy now so people don't have any suspicion. It does have an interesting concept overall.

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  4. Oh my gosh. This sounds like a really heavy read - but the synopsis made me really want to pick it up! I feel like it would be super interesting to get in to.
    the-creationofbeauty.blogspot.com

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    1. It's a very intriguing novel overall - I did like the concept of it & it's pretty fanatic.

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  5. The premise sounds really interesting..and Ella sounds like a flawed but likable character. I also like that there's a mystery going on...and what Maddy's secret is. I love coming-of-age stories and this feels like one, in a way. I'm glad you enjoyed this Benish...I think I'm going to put this on my TBR for sure :)

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    1. Thank you for dropping by Amir<3 I hope you enjoy this one as much as I have, it's worth checking out though :)

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  6. I agree with you, I really liked this one! The concept was so unique, and the characters were really well done. Glad you enjoyed this one too :)
    Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight

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    1. Thank you Shannon & yes, you liked it as well! So strange how our tastes are very similar :)♥

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  7. I think it is so cool that the author did that for you and noticed! I like the cover to this one and had seen it around but didn't know too much about it myself. It sounds like a great read, and I love the idea behind it. I wonder how it ends. This is definitely one for me to try.

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    1. Aw, yes I was so excited when the author noticed<3 Thank you for dropping by Olivia, I do hope you give this a novel a chance :)

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  8. It is always nice when a waiting on book ends up being a good ride. I am glad you enjoyed it, and like the concept.

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    1. I agree, the book does live upto the hype ♥

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  9. Oh gosh, this one sounds so tragic, but so interesting. Though I don't know if I'll be able to handle a read that sounds heavy with drama. But wonderful review, Benish! Thanks for sharing! :)

    Blessie @ Mischievous Reads

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    1. Thank you Blessie ♥ It is very dramatic but worth trying for the experience atleast once :)

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  10. I really want to read this book because the synopsis is just insane for this book and I've never seen any book like this even though there are so many books about twins out there!
    I too love this cover and that's what drew me in to see what this book was about and now I really want to read it!

    -Lily

    (awesome URL by the way:))

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    1. Aw thank you Lily ♥

      I agree, I haven't read an actual book similar to the premise before. I've seen tv shows on it before, but that's about it. I hope you enjoy this novel as much as I have!

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  11. This one sounds like such a beautiful novel, and I love the self-discovery message behind it! I haven't read many books with twins in it, so that in itself is intriguing. Wonderful review Benish!

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    1. Thank you Jeann! ♥ Twins are always a fascinating aspect in novels.

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  12. Wow. One dies, and the other survives, by pretending to be the one who died? That must be rough, because they're be living a lie, and would be lying to everyone and those are some hard shoes to fill! I'm interested to know how this would be executed and if it would evoke strong emotional feelings from me, too. Will have to check this out myself!

    Faye at The Social Potato

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    1. Yes, Ella is basically deceiving everyone around her, it does have a good message overall though - Thank you for dropping by Faye ♥

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  13. Oooh... now this sounds interesting, a twin who takes over the other's life after her death... I am curious about the secrets Maddie had. Great review!

    Naomi @ Nomi’s Paranormal Palace

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    1. Thank you Naomi, the premise is amazing - I agree ♥

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  14. We rated it the same! I didn't like most of the characters (even Ella) and I didn't like the decision she made, I mean, I understand it, but at the same time, don't. And I think that's mainly a twin thing. I thought I would care a lot more than I did, so I guess there was just something missing for me.

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    1. I agree, it was an impulsive decision that needed to be re-evaluated, although I do like the character growth of Ella towards the end.

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  15. The Secrets We Keep is one of my most anticipated April releases (this and An Ember in the Ashes!). I love the premise of it but at the same time I felt sad that the main character saw herself as not having as much worth as her twin. The blurb just kind of screams character development and I'm a sucker for character driven plots! Fab review, Benish :)

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  16. Lovely review, Benish! That actually made me so much more excited to read it myself ... I think I'd really enjoy it and hope I can get to it soon. Especially the character part - I just loooove well developed characters that make you feel something. For me, that's super important for a good book. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us! :D

    Yvonne @ A World Between Folded Pages

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