The Secret Apartment [Hardcover]

Natalie Fast (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Eleven-year-old Jillian’s life is changing and she’s not happy about it. First of all, her mother got remarried and they moved from their house in Pennsylvania to her new stepfather’s apartment in New York City. Second, her new stepfather has a daughter, which means Jillian now has a stepsister. An evil teenage stepsister who talks on the phone all the time and has a stupid dog. And finally, Jillian is being sent to camp for the summer where she has to endure Peace Circles and sack races.
But Jillian gets a break when Mrs. W in the penthouse apartment asks her to catsit for the summer. Mrs. W’s apartment is full of art and art supplies, vintage dresses and hats, and cakes and soda, and most important, it offers a great view of the windows in the building across the street. Watching the neighbors is fun–until Jillian and her new friend Emily see something that doesn’t look right. And it’s up to them to save the day.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6–Jillian, 11, is forced to adjust to major changes in her life after the death of her father and her mother's marriage to a New York publishing executive. She leaves her quiet Pennsylvania suburb for an apartment in the historic Dakota on Central Park West and inherits an unfriendly stepsister. While cat-sitting for an elderly neighbor, Jillian and Emily, a new friend, make themselves at home by going through the woman's closet and personal items. They make a game of watching people in the apartment building across the street and devising stories about them. When they see a lonely boy in an empty room, they imagine he's being held prisoner. Then they hear about the kidnapping of a local politician's son on the evening news. Readers will appreciate the humorous situations that Jillian encounters at summer art camp and in a posh grocery store. However, it's difficult to accept the irresponsibility of some of the adults: the bus driver lies for Jillian so that she can skip camp, and a doorman helps the girls sneak past building security. When the confrontation with the kidnapper becomes violent, the kids decide to handle the matter on their own and keep everything a secret from parents and the police. The book has a great premise, but the plot wraps up too quickly and a narrow focus keeps real-life issues such as trust and friendship from being developed.–Cheryl Ashton, Amherst Public Library, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-6. After her mother marries a publishing tycoon, 11-year-old Jillian suddenly finds herself in NYC, in his apartment in the Dakota. Naturally, Jillian isn't thrilled with the changes, but sharing a bedroom with her new stepsister, Mariella, is the worst. Things become more palatable, however, after she gets a job cat sitting, and meets a new friend, Emily. While ditching summer camp, the girls have a Rear Window moment when they spy a boy in the building across the street who might be a prisoner. There's virtually no backstory here, and that fosters niggling questions--among them, Would there have been a wedding before Jillian's mother meets Mariella? Moreover, the plot is coincidence heavy and so unbelievable in places that it's distracting: the boy in the apartment has been kidnapped, but Jillian won't call the police, because she's afraid her mother will find out she's been skipping camp! That's a lot to overcome, but the snappy pace and Jillian's breezy yet age-appropriate voice make up for many missteps. The clever cover art sets up the humor. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (October 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385746717
• ISBN-13: 978-0385746717
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,391,339 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What A Great Book, November 14, 2005

By 

Paula J. Jones "Paula's Books" (Kittanning, PA 16226) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Secret Apartment (Hardcover)

This book kept me turning the pages just to see what happens next. I told all of my friends about it and they bought it and loved it too. I can't wait for Natalie's next book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a delightful surprise!, November 13, 2005

By 

Riley O'Rourke "Riley" (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret Apartment (Hardcover)

My daughter and I loved this book. It had everything that kept her turning the pages...a little romance, a mystery and a great friendship. The illustrations are wonderful and add to the fun of each chapter.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable and funny mystery, November 17, 2005

By 

A Customer (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret Apartment (Hardcover)

It's the worst summer of 11-year-old Jillian's life. She and her mother have moved to a New York apartment from their house in Pennsylvania to live with Jillian's new stepfather and a mean stepsister, Mariella. Jillian misses her home and friends, and yearns for her father, who died a few years ago.

Jillian's life turns even worse when her parents enroll her in a hippie-dippy day camp where her counselor, Rainbow, forces the kids to sit in a peace circle and make their own "special sounds." Mrs. Whiteflower, a sculptor who lives in the penthouse of Jillian's apartment building, saves the day by offering Jillian an afternoon cat-sitting job. It will work out perfectly, since camp is in the morning. Not only will she earn $25 a day, but Jillian (an artist) can help herself to any of Mrs. Whiteflower's art supplies.

Jillian makes a friend, Emily. Before long, the two girls are ditching their respective lame day camps to hang out in Mrs. Whiteflower's cool apartment all day and observe the fascinating people who are living their lives in nearby apartments.

But among the people cooking, talking on phones, arguing and watching television, they spy a mystery. Who is the handsome teen boy who sits alone, day after day, staring at the wall? When the girls finally discover who the mystery guy is, they're shocked. They know they must take action, but they're impeded at every turn.

Meanwhile, Mariella continues to be a total pain except when she's crying into the phone. Is it boy problems, as Jillian first assumes? Or could there be more to Jillian's wicked stepsister than her snotty persona suggests?

This is an enjoyable mystery with a funny, likeable main character who grows and changes in a satisfying manner through the course of the story. New York is an integral player in the plot, and is described so strongly that I feel as if I've visited Jillian's new city. Recommended as a quick, light read for mystery lovers.

P.S. I will never look at cheese again in the same light!