Customer Reviews

Keeper of Secrets

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...But you can bet that they read "Keeper of Secrets" chapter by chapter. Why? Well, the credit goes to the author, Mark Roeder, one of the pioneers of a relatively new, but long overdue,genre of literature."Keeper of Secrets"is about three adolescent boys:Sean, a gay youth and his boyfriend Nick, and Avery, a gay basher, whose hatred of gays is intense. There is plenty of action starting in chapter one in this mystery. The entire story is told from the point of view of the major characters, Sean and Avery.I truly enjoyed this technique. The reader gets to know those characters so much better because the reader is made aware of what Sean and Avery are thinking. The chapters belong to them; for the titles of the thirty-nine short chapters are "Avery" and "Sean" alternately. I promise you that this is one book you won't want to put down until you have read those wonderful last chapters. Buy it. Read it. You will enjoy it. And you will want to read another Roeder novel.

This sequal to Someone is Killing the Gay Boys of Verona is a must read. You will meet Avery, Sean's cousin, who is homophobic at best. Get to know Sean and his boyfriend Nick and their relationship grows and matures, but also get to know a mysterious figure from the past who just might teach them all something about what love is really about.

This is another one of Mark's awesome books. I like it because it dealt with the prejudice of gay youth in todays society and how hate can be a very regetting quality in people. I like how Mark added the journal of Will to the storyline. Again Mark has outdone himself in writing this book.

If you know a gay teen, have a gay teen, or are concerned about a gay teen, get this book! Also recommend for gay fiction: Leaves of Red and Gold.

Right upfront let me admit to a love/hate relationship with the works of Mark Roeder. Maybe it's because I have not read them in order and don't follow the progression. Nah, that has nothing to do with it. It is because I like a small dose of realism in what I read and some of Mark's premises are wildly improbable, none moreso than "Keeper of Secrets". There is, to be sure, a place in fiction for ghosts, apparitions and the like but the best authors surround them with something to build up their credibility. Not here. (How can you possibly explain the fact that the boys find the pages of a 120+-year-old-journal, scattered individually all over the house, IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER?!?) Beyond many other examples like this is the fact that, unlike the people in Roeder's other stories, there is very little to like about the two main characters, Sean and Avery, and the Nick character is hardly developed at all. Happily, Roeder's more recent work, notably "The Soccer Field is Empty", is much better developed. Keep "Keeper of Secrets" a secret.

I have read several books written by Mark Roeder and I would have to say this is one of his best. I found the story gripping from the first page until the last page.

The story is not always easy to read due to some violent acts, but I would highly reccomend it.

This book just didn't do it for me. I did not care about the characters or the plot.

I have more affinity for this one than the preceding work Someone Is Killing The Gay Boys Of Verona, although I really dislike the way Mark Roeder is less and less content to write from a single character's point of view. The jaw-dropping supernatural events are still here, but I suppose at this point I'm just rolling my eyes and going with the flow.

Mr. Roeder, as ever, is admirable in his chutzpah, though I confess I don't hold his talents as a writer in very high esteem.