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book review blogs
@Barrie Summy
So, it's been a while since I've participated in The Book Review Club. Part of that has been because even though I've read some books I really liked, there was always something that made me feel not quite able to highly recommend the book. I could recommend it but I felt I'd want to announce a disclaimer like "I really loved the book, well, except the part where . . . " and that's not the kind of recommendation I want to give at our monthly get togethers.
That said, I will be reviewing Jennifer R Hubbard's The Secret Year. Now, before I get into the review, I want to share how I came to be reading the book first because I think that story is also worth sharing.
The company I work for likes to have a presence in the community, supporting charities, etc. To that end, every year there's a Relay for Life campaign where we have events to raise money for the American Cancer Society. And every year we have an online auction. A few years back I asked a couple of authors if they'd be willing to donate books for the auction and they did. It went over big with bidders. The next year I asked a few more authors to participate with success. Several years went by where I meant to solicit authors but never got around to it. Then one Friday night in late January, early February of this year, I just started sending emails to any author I could think of that I knew I could recommend their books to anyone bidding in the auction. Something like 30 authors responded that they'd be happy to donate books. Eileen Cook not only responded that she'd be happy to donate a book, she offered to hit up her author friends for books as well. And if you're wondering how that plays into my review, well, Jennifer R Hubbard is one of Eileen's author friends that responded they'd be happy to donate a book as well. See, I had never heard of Ms. Hubbard before then.
Ms. Hubbard sent me an email offering one of two books and she provided a synopsis of both and asked which one I'd prefer. I told her we'd be happy with whatever she chose to send and that I'd leave the choice to her. What I didn't say is that my interest was piqued on her synopsis of The Secret Year. She sent the other book (Try Not To Breathe) and I went online and purchased The Secret Year.
So that's how I came to be reviewing this book. And one last thing before I get to the review, I thought I'd mention that our gracious host, Barrie Summy, donated her entire backlist to the auction - in hardcover no less. The auction ended Wednesday and the books were a huge success.
Now to the review.
Colt Morrissey of the flats had been having a secret relationship with Julia Vernon of Black Mountain for a year when he got the news she'd been killed in a car accident. No one knew of their relationship, not even his closest friends, so he was silently grieving his loss. Until Julia's brother gave him a journal Julia had been keeping, writing letters to Colt about their relationship and her public boyfriend, Austin Chadwick.
You see Colt and Julia were from different sides of the track, so to speak. Black Mountain was for the rich and the flats were for the poor. In public they didn't acknowledge each other's existence but in private, they shared their thoughts and dreams. But they didn't talk about their future so Colt never really knew what Julia thought about him. Not for sure anyway. So Colt was a bit hesitant to read the journal and read parts of it when he needed to feel close to Julia or felt ready to deal with whatever she may have said.
Over the course of the next few months, Colt came to terms with his relationship with Julia and its sudden end. I felt comfortable with the characters and realized it was because I felt like I was reading a modern day version of The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Cherry had liked Ponyboy and Julia's journal was a unique way to get inside her head.
I read this book in one sitting and really liked it. So my recommendation is this: I could recommend it because Ms. Hubbard was so generous as to donate a book to someone she didn't know, trusting that it would be used to raise money for a good cause. But the fact that it was a well written, good story is the reason I'm recommending this book I don't think you'll be disappointed.
