The Secret Year
Jennifer Hubbard
Publisher: Viking
Release Date: January 7, 2010
Pages: 208

Rating: 4 stars

Seventeen-year-old Colt has been sneaking out at night to meet Julia, a girl from an upper-class neighborhood unlike his own. They’ve never told anyone else about their relationship: not their family or friends, and especially not Julia’s boyfriend.When Julia dies suddenly, Colt tries to cope with her death while pretending that he never even knew her. He discovers a journal she left behind. But he is not prepared for the truths he discovers about their intense relationship, nor to pay the price for the secrets he’s kept.

The Secret Year is a story that is fresh, new, and original. It’s filled to the brim with emotion, and makes you think.

Jennifer Hubbard’s writing really enhanced the emotion that is so present in the story and gets readers lost in Colt’s life. The writing flowed very well, and got even better as the book progressed. Jennifer Hubbard did a wonderful job with all the characters. All the characters had some problem and flaw, and you could see that. It made all the characters seem more real.

The use of a journal for Colt to see what was happening in Julia’s head was a really neat idea! As a reader, you were alongside Colt discovering things about Julia every step of the way. You say his every reaction about what Julia didn’t tell him in life.

I loved Julia and Colt’s relationship. It wasn’t a relationship anyone would suspect, and both Julia and Colt in a way didn’t expect it either, and it showed through a bit in their relationship. Their relationship wasn’t the perfect perfect relationship that is portrayed in some stories, and because of that it seemed much more realistic.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Secret Year. It wasn’t a book I absolutely loved, but still I really liked it. I would definately recommend reading it if you get the chance!