The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard

Publication Date: January 7, 2010

Summary:

Colt and Julia were secretly together for an entire year, and no one—not even Julia’s boyfriend— knew. They had nothing in common, with Julia in her country club world on Black Mountain and Colt from down on the flats, but it never mattered. Until Julia dies in a car accident, and Colt learns the price of secrecy. He can’t mourn Julia openly, and he’s tormented that he might have played a part in her death. When Julia’s journal ends up in his hands, Colt relives their year together at the same time that he’s desperately trying to forget her. But how do you get over someone who was never yours in the first place?

My Two Cents:

This book is about main character Colt, who sees the very popular and rich Julia by chance one night, they hit it off and become secret lovers for a year. They go to the same school, yet that's the only thing they have in common. Julia has her own life, her own friends, a boyfriend and she lives in the richest neighborhood called Black Mountain while Colt lives in the Flats which is the most poor. They travel in different circles so they secretly meet up every Friday night. After a tragic accident, Julia dies and the only trace of their secret affairs is a journal she left behind with letters written to Colt that she'd never given him. In this journal we get more of an insight to their relationship by seeing things from her perspective.


I had high hopes for this one but it really just didn't do it for me. I needed this author to take this synopsis and run with it. I felt like it stayed on the whole issue of their secret relationship for the whole book. At one point (I won't give spoilers) I thought we were moving on to the next issue. However, by the end of the book we were back to square one. Yes, they had a secret relationship. Yes, he loved her. Yes, she died and he can't grieve the way he needs to because no one even thought he knew her. Okay now that all of that has been established now what? I felt it was missing that extra thing that makes readers continue to read.





Rating: