Customer Reviews

The Secret Between Us

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

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.

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.

I also got an advance copy of this book through the BzzAgent program, but unlike the other reviewers who've posted here so far, I found the book to be incredibly poorly written and truly painful to read -- not because the story moved me, but because it was so derivative and ... terrible. I can't help but wonder whether those other reviewers read the same book as I did, or if they read this one at all. Don't get me wrong: I enjoy popular fiction and family dramas as well as romance fiction, so I've read other Barbara Delinsky books and thought they were okay (not great, but fine). This one, however, felt like she jotted it off in one afternoon, turned it in to her editor, and the thing got published without ever being looked at again.

If you want to read a GOOD novel about parents who try to protect a child who may (or may not) have done something deadly wrong, and that addresses big moral/ethical issues and family relationships in a meaningful way, AND IS WELL WRITTEN (!), then I strongly urge you to look elsewhere. Personally, I much preferred, and recommend, Rosellen Brown's "Before and After."

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!

I have always enjoyed Barbara Delinsky's books, but her last two have left me questioning what's happened. She seems to be trying to emulate Jodi Picoult but isn't succeeding. "The Secret Between Us" is dull where Picoult's books are riveting. Delinsky should go back to her previous style.

I'll be short and brief. This is the third and LAST book by this author that I will read. Among the MANY annoyances I had with this book were:
The person the mother ends up with. I mean, come on...REALLY? I'll not get into that so I won't ruin the ending for anyone else.
What kind of ethics and morals is this mother teaching the daughter? Mama will always cover up her mistakes and take the blame for her wrong doings? Where is responsibility? The daughter wants to grow up, so teach her the consequences!
If this were my kid, she would NOT be still able to go hang with her friends! She would be grounded! Where's the getting in trouble for underage drinking? What about an attempt at shoplifting? Where is this kid getting in trouble for anything that she's done?
I feel bad for the poor schmuck who died, he's almost forgotton...and not much is said for the widow either.
The brother and his whole storyline is so unrealistic.
The chief of police just turns a blind eye to the whole situation because the mom's such a great person in the community....PUHLEASE!
THIS IS SO UNREALISTIC! THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN IN THE REAL WORLD.

This book was so horrible I couldn't finish. The writing, the characters, I just couldn't stand it. This had the potential to be a great story but I just couldn't get through it. I had no relatability to any of the characters. I found the mother to be incredibly stupid and the daughter to be incredibly annoying and the greandfather to be incredibily gruff and mean. I almost threw the book across the room because I couldn't stand it. I don't even care how it ended. Please save your money and don't buy this book. It'll save you some aggrevation. Id give it no stars but they won't let me.

This book was very unrealistic... I guess there is a possibility of this happening, if you were extremely stupid.

First: I couldn't feel any sort of attachment of any of the characters; they were all either too dumb, too needy, or just not friendly. Jill might be the only character who has her head on her shoulders. She's the only one who knows what she wants and goes after it regardless of what others think (even though she doesn't really disclose all information to everyone all the time).

Second: What kind of Mother would go around lying for her daughter like this? I don't know anyone who would tangle themselves in such lies that this could possibly happen. I mean, I guess it does happen because someone thought of it; but you'd have to be an awful parent (& overall awful person) to let this happen to yourself, your child and your family.

Lastly: I can almost understand the Dad situation, parents can be very judgemental; especially fathers. But to the point of being almost terrified of your own father is just sad. Maybe you shouldn't continue a relationship with a person who treats you & your family this way - if they are family - you have to draw the line somewhere.

Overall, I do not recommend this book. I was definitely misled by the current Amazon Ratings and overall Opinions on this book. I strongly suggest reading a different book, this one is not worth your time or money.

This is the first book I have read by Barbara Delinsky and I must say that I am very impressed. This is a great book that has kept my interest. I have already ordered another book by her and can't wait to start reading it. I would highly recommend this author.

I'll have to say that this is one of the best novels I've read in a long, long time. The plot to this story will touch your heart like you never imagined. Delinsky shows just how deep her talent runs in developing the characters, writing in such a way that you could feel the emotions of each one. I couldn't put this book down because it was so true to life in so many ways. When a marriage takes a turn to the point where one of the partners can feel the need to leave, then great pains should be taken to ensure the children of that union just how much they are still loved by BOTH parents, and it wasn't their (the children's) fault that the marriage ended. A newly-divorced physician that is left with the raising of a teenage daughter and young son, it took Deborah a while to get past the bitterness of being deserted for another woman. It was probably the circumstances involved (which I won't give the story plot away), but Deborah finally looked past her bitterness and realized she needed her ex-husband's help. In the end, he came through for her. Without a doubt, this story will have you reaching for the box of Kleenex. I give this novel a 5-star rating and only wish I could give it more.