Review: Tell Me a Secret

Tell Me a Secret by Holly Cupula 

Release Date: June 22, 2010
Published by: Harper Collins
Pages: Hardcover, 256 pages

Young Adult

Overall:

In the five years since her bad-girl sister Xanda’s death, Miranda Mathison has wondered about the secret her sister took to the grave, and what really happened the night she died. Now, just as Miranda is on the cusp of her dreams—a best friend to unlock her sister’s world, a ticket to art school, and a boyfriend to fly her away from it all—Miranda has a secret all her own.

Then two lines on a pregnancy test confirm her worst fears. Stripped of her former life, Miranda must make a choice with tremendous consequences and finally face her sister’s demons and her own.

In this powerful debut novel, stunning new talent Holly Cupala illuminates the dark struggle of a girl who must let go of her past to find a way into her own future.

Synopsis via Goodreads

My thoughts:


Holly Cupula really pushed the limits with Tell Me a Secret but it was in a realistic, tasteful way.  This is one more of my reviews I will be keeping short and sweet, anything more could ruin it.

Living in her dead sister's shadow isn't something anyone would want to do, least of all Rand.  Not only did Xanda leave her little sister behind but she left behind two parents who were broken and unable, perhaps a little unwilling, to be the parents Rand needed.  Despite the dysfunctional family dynamic, ultimately caused by Xanda's behavior and Rand's mother's judgmental ways, Rand lived in the past making moving on with her future, in any capacity difficult.

There are many characters introduced to us in this book, each with their own personality and roll in Rand's downfall and comeback.  A book where faith is not blind to all and the truth is found in many forms, Tell Me a Secret was eerily realistic in its execution, beautifully written, and a story which isn't sugar coated and no happily-ever-after is guaranteed. 

I didn't ever feel like I was simply reading Tell Me a Secret, I felt like I was living it.  Everyone one of Rand's crazy-overwhelming emotions, the betrayals against her, the uncertainty and the fear. 


Holly Cupula wielded a hauntingly, heart wrenching story that was meant to touch your heart in a way to make you be appreciative for what you have or have had and take everything else head on.

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