Review: The Secret Year - Jennifer R. Hubbard

Where I got it: ARC from the publisher
Rating: 3.5 stars
Cover Rating: 4 stars (It's sexy)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: January 7, 2010
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Page Count: 192 p.

Everyone has their secrets, but can two people keep each other a secret. She's from Black Mountain he's from the flats. Almost your classic Romeo and Juliet except no one is trying to keep them apart because no one knows about them. But after Julia dies Colten is forced to deal with the grief by himself because he can't tell their secret now, even if she was going to break up with Austin, her boyfriend. When Julia's brother gives him her notebook, which is filled with letters to C.M., Julia's brother guesses about the relationship that was. Will her notebook hold the answers to Colten's letting go? or will it make it even worse for him to move on? Colten has to find out what happened that night, because he thinks it's all his fault.

This was an interesting and enjoyable story, though I wish it ended on a more intense, revealing note. The ending was just so-so, it made sense but I wanted something more shocking. The setting screamed typical rich kid/poor kid situation but Hubbard managed to pull a few fun tricks out of her hat. I wish we had gotten to hear more from Julia's diary/notebook. All the relationship dynamics were authentic and intense. They truly made you feel the tension between the characters. It was a quick read about moving on when "the one" isn't necessarily "the one". It was refreshing to read about how hard it was to get over Julia. I never really got to like her, but if you spend enough time with someone it will affect you when they die. I recommend picking this one up. Good realistic fiction that has just the right amount of, violence, romance, sex and laughter.

First Line:
"Julia was killed on Labor Day on her way home from a party."

Favorite Line:
"At the end, we'd both been pushing at the walls of our secret world, pushing at each other."