The Secret Between Us (Random House Large Print (Cloth/Paper)) [LARGE PRINT] (Paperback)

by Barbara Delinsky (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Relationships are brought to the limit in Delinsky's splendid latest exploration of family dynamics. On a rainy night, Deborah Monroe and her teenage daughter, Grace, are driving home when their car hits a man. The victim, who turns out to be Grace's history teacher, is unconscious but alive. Although Grace was driving, Deborah sends her home and takes responsibility for the accident when the cops show up. Deborah is juggling a lot: as a family doctor, she is in private practice with her über-demanding widower father, who is trying to hide a drinking problem; her son, Dylan, is vision impaired; her mother's death continues to affect the family; Deborah is still dealing with her ex-husband's new, separate life; and her unmarried sister, Jill, has just announced she's pregnant. Grace's guilt about not taking responsibility for the accident makes her withdraw from friends and family, and the accident victim turns out to have a more complex private life than anyone imagined. The author seamlessly resolves relationship issues without sentiment, throws in a promising romance for Deborah and offers a redemptive scene between Grace and her grandfather. Delinsky combines her understanding of human nature with absorbing, unpredictable storytelling—a winning combination. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
People Magazine has called the work of bestselling author Barbara Delinsky “Engrossing reading!”

“Delinsky delves deeper into the human heart and spirit with each new novel.”
—CincinnatiEnquirer
--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Random House Large Print (January 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 073932652X
• ISBN-13: 978-0739326527
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #864,549 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Secrets are good or bad, January 22, 2008

By	Theresa M. Studer "Terra57" (Hopedale, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret Between Us (Hardcover)

The Secret Between Us by Barbara Delinksy is truthfully painful. A good novel but with so much guilt that you really start to feel like it's you in the story. It's a can't put down book til the end so that you can see if things come out for better or worse.

Deborah Monroe is mom, daughter, sister, ex-wife, and prominent town doctor to a quiet little town in New England. Highly respected and loved, independent, honest to a fault has her life upturned by one little incident. Oh, is it little or bigger than she thinks.

Grace Monroe is a loving, athletic, brilliant, devoted teen who knows right from wrong but the one little unfortunate incident throws her into such an emotional turmoil that you sit and wonder how your own child would react to the same thing happening to her. The entire town knows this teen as truthfully honest and reliable almost to perfection which sets Grace up for emotional pain that is unimaginable.

The story brings into question what lengths we would go to as a parent in order to protect our children. It also questions our ability to handle one crisis following another as an adult especially in a small town where everyone knows everything about everyone. Can secrets truly be hidden in such a small community. Will one little deception tear a family apart not only from themselves but from all prying eyes. Can one selfish person willing cause so much emotional pain and break the trust that has been here for generations. So many questions with too few answers.

The author is brilliant with the actual storyline. With living in Massachusetts myself I can actually visualize all the areas that the author takes us to. Even though this is fiction it could also be someone's real life story. It's something we say can't possibly happen to us but in all reality, "It only takes one time", and it could very well come to pass.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Many lessons learned and much healing done, February 13, 2008

By	Ann M. Macpherson "passionate reader" (Newcastle, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Secret Between Us (Hardcover)

I'm a huge fan of Delinsky and buy her books without reading any reviews. This one didn't disappointment me---but I'm quite surprised by some of the other reviews. To me, this book had so much impact and depth. I loved it.

There are the issues of teens drinking and driving, the overwhelming issue of a parent trying to protect or perhaps over-protect her child, the trauma of divorce on the entire family, the guilt over your life's decisions, the keeping of secrets, the telling of lies that affect everyone you love,painful loss of a loved one, expectations that aren't fulfilled. The list goes on and on. There is so much in this story that it's at times painful to digest.

Deborah regrets her divorce and what it did to her family. But she lies by omission causing more pain and trauma to her children. There's also the piece that shows a softening of the relationship with everyone she loves--including the ex-husband. And then there's the promise of a new love in the future----perhaps she learned from her past mistakes.

How can you not love the story? Perhaps the writing isn't done in the depth of other writers but the story has a huge impact on life and all its issues of living. I couldn't put it down, lost some sleep and pushed work aside to finish this book. To me, that's the kind of book that gets a "5 star" rating.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, January 22, 2008

By	Linda D. (Nashua, NH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret Between Us (Hardcover)

I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of this book through the BZZAgent program which allows you to try new products and let other people know what you think. That being said, they want you to be honest so if I didn't like this book I'd say so. The opposite is true. I really enjoyed this book. The relationship between the mother and the daughter was really interesting and as the story progresses it gets more complicated. I didn't want this book to end. It is very well written and you come to care about the characters. I have read other Barbara Delinsky novels in the past and have always enjoyed them. I highly recommend this novel!