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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tension-filled and wonderfully written, January 7, 2010
This review is from: The Secret Year (Hardcover)
For a year, Colt met Julia Vernon every week by the bridge near his house. Their relationship was kept secret; Julia was the most popular girl in school, and one of the richest, and Colt is no one to the rest of the rich, popular crowd on Black Mountain. But right before Colt's junior year begins, Julia is killed in a car accident, and Colt is left alone with the knowledge of what he and Julia shared. Then her brother gives Colt a journal of letters Julia wrote to him, and by working his way through Julia's documentation of the previous year, Colt struggles to confront his feelings for the girl who was never really his and attempt to keep living his life.
Colt is a very personable and convincing character. His memories and narration are very vivid, yet never appear out of character. The pain and emotion he feels are palpable, but not overwhelming, and The Secret Year strikes just the right balance between the grief, thought, and memories Colt experiences and the mundane aspects of everyday life. Colt's ever-evolving and confusing feelings are very well played out, and they are almost suspenseful in that it is hard to predict what Colt will do next, or what exactly he is feeling, until he experiences the moment for himself.
Colt isn't the only well-written character--the entire cast of supporting characters, from Colt's circle of friends and his good friend Syd to his family (his brother Tom is especially interesting and entertaining) to Julia, who is always alive through memories and her journal, are all multi faceted and intriguing. They all help the reader understand the world that is Black Mountain and the flats and the vast differences between the two. The war between social classes played out in a high school setting is certainly not a unique premise, but Hubbard does an excellent job at keeping it fresh in her novel by drawing the reader into the drama and showing how it relates to Colt's past, present, and even future.
Overall, The Secret Year is a beautifully written and authentic read. Readers will be hypnotized by Colt's story; it's not hard to feel sympathetic toward him as he struggles to deal with his grief and isolation, and you won't be able to help but be proud of him when he learns and grows. This is one tension-filled, romantic (but not overly sappy) novel. I've got my eye on Hubbard!
Cover Comments: As a girl, I like the black background and the couple kissing. I think it fits the story quite well. However, as a more objective reader, I can't help but think that the swirly font and kissing couple will turn off certain male readers. It'll be hard to sell such a romantic cover to a guy, despite the excellent male narrative. Nonetheless, this is a very nice cover.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Emotional, Well Written, Beautiful, January 7, 2010
This review is from: The Secret Year (Hardcover)
Taken From [...]
My Thoughts: Wow. This is my kind of book, right up my alley. I have been wanting to read this one since it was titled Black Mountain Road (I believe that was it). The first time I read the summary I knew I had to read it! We meet Colt who is lower class than Julia. Julia is from Black Mountain Road aka rich people territory. Colt and Julia start to have a secret relationship, meeting every week for talking,making out, etc. Than all of a sudden Julia dies and Colt is left in the aftershock of her death and he can't tell anyone he even knew her since they had the secret relationship. How does one even cope when they can't share their grief with anyone? We meet all their side friends and each one has his/her own story and way they relate to this book. I also loved the journal entries/letters to Colt that Julia had wrote in her diary. This book is intense. At times, I really felt for Colt and other times I hated Julia because she couldn't dump her boyfriend and be seen with Colt out in public.I've heard good and bad reviews on this one, so your either going to love it like me or hate it like others.
Overall: I loved it. I will be reading anything else Jennifer writes. I adored Colt from the beginning. I just felt like I was inside his head from the very first page. Adored this book.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful writing, appropriate for OLDER teens, May 8, 2011
This is one of those books that is so achingly beautiful that you can't stop thinking about it. I was maybe 10 pages into the story, and I was already emotionally invested in Colt's life. And that just goes to show you how amazing Jennifer Hubbard captures a male voice. I've dabbled at writing a male first person narrative, and let me tell you, it's difficult! But Hubbard does it flawlessly. I kept forgetting that the author hadn't lived as a guy teen at some point in her life.
Though a short read, The Secret Year is full of character development. Sometimes, short books can seem rushed, but I never got that feeling. The pacing was perfect.
I also liked how Colt told the story of how he and Julia spent their time from after Julia's death. The story even skims over the first few months after the accident she died in so we don't actually dig into Colt's narration until much later. That being said, you don't miss out on any raw emotion. Colt is still reeling, even six months later.
But this story isn't about grief. It's about recovery. Just like the summary suggests, Colt has to deal with the reality that he can't mourn someone publically when no one knows that he even knew her. And that definitely takes its toll on him emotionally. It messes up a lot of his relationships. And I think there was a really great message here: how grief can totally screw up your life.
There were some less positive messages, as well, which kept me from giving the book 5 stars. I would definitely only recommend this for older teens. The book is heavy on language and sex. I also felt like the sex was handled *slightly* poorly on the author's part. I had a hard time accepting that Colt had been having sex since he was 14. I also had a hard time accepting that every girl he ever had a relationship with was ready to do it with him after one or two dates. I could believe that one girl would do that, but four?
I know there's been a lot of talk recently on the blogosphere about sex in YA. I'm not going to go there. I just felt like maybe the author could have portrayed some balance within this particular story. I would have liked to see at least one or two of Colt's girlfriends to wait to have sex. There are certainly girls willing to give up their virginity; but there are those who aren't, as well. I just would have liked to see both sides, especially in a book that so revolves around the theme of sex.
However, I do think that she made a good point about how it's pretty much impossible to have a "no strings attached" relationship with someone - even if you don't want to admit it; you're going to get emotionally attached. And that does something to you emotionally.
Overall, a great book! It almost feels like literary fiction in a way. The prose is beautiful, and I became so attached to Colt that I hurt for him - the mark of a great read.
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