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6th out of 373 books
—
1,075 voters
Keeping You a Secret
With a steady boyfriend, the position of Student Council President, and a chance to go to an Ivy League college, high school life is just fine for Holland Jaeger. At least it seems to be. But when Cece Goddard comes to school, everything changes. Cece and Holland have undeniable feelings for each other, but how will others react to their developing relationship? This movin...more
Paperback, 250 pages
Published
May 4th 2005
by Megan Tingley Books - Little, Brown and Company
(first published May 1st 2003)
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Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com
The second book I've read by Julie Anne Peters, KEEPING YOU A SECRET is another sure-fire winner about the highs and lows of first love, the terror and joy of "coming out", and the good and the bad that is the thing called family.
Holland Jaeger is the "It" girl everyone envies--she has great friends, she's President of the Student Body, she's the girlfriend of Seth, she's the popular girl who can be counted on to always get along with everyone. That is, until...more
The second book I've read by Julie Anne Peters, KEEPING YOU A SECRET is another sure-fire winner about the highs and lows of first love, the terror and joy of "coming out", and the good and the bad that is the thing called family.
Holland Jaeger is the "It" girl everyone envies--she has great friends, she's President of the Student Body, she's the girlfriend of Seth, she's the popular girl who can be counted on to always get along with everyone. That is, until...more
i know all of you are off writing your damn novels this month, but don't forget to support me in my own writing project: NaReWriMo, where i write reviews for teen fiction and you all applaud my brave attempts to keep up despite finding it harder and harder to be charming as every book underwhelms me and i am forced to resort to gimmickry like adding soundtracks; a different song to each paragraph.
this is my last gay teen novel for class, so i wish i could be all flamboyant and anthemic and proud...more
this is my last gay teen novel for class, so i wish i could be all flamboyant and anthemic and proud...more
When I saw it on Amazon.com when I was looking for books one or two years ago, I had no idea it was a GLBT novel. Although, I read GLBT fan fictions, reading a novel about sexuality is just refreshing.
This book gave me some sort of connection to Holland. I can identify myself with her in terms of just being who I want to be. It's hard to live on people's expectations that once you've got the freedom of doing what you want, you don't know what you would do with it.
Julie Anne Peters showed in this...more
This book gave me some sort of connection to Holland. I can identify myself with her in terms of just being who I want to be. It's hard to live on people's expectations that once you've got the freedom of doing what you want, you don't know what you would do with it.
Julie Anne Peters showed in this...more
Let’s start with some positives.
I loved the writing. It was simple, yet so captivating. I read this book in only two hours. Peters also really gets you to care about the characters. In most books, sure I like a certain character, but I wouldn’t be sad if they suddenly vanished. But I very much would have cared if any of the characters in Keeping You a Secret had vanished. (Actually, there was one character I didn’t like—but we’ll get to her later.) Holland especially had a very real personality....more
I loved the writing. It was simple, yet so captivating. I read this book in only two hours. Peters also really gets you to care about the characters. In most books, sure I like a certain character, but I wouldn’t be sad if they suddenly vanished. But I very much would have cared if any of the characters in Keeping You a Secret had vanished. (Actually, there was one character I didn’t like—but we’ll get to her later.) Holland especially had a very real personality....more
i'm on a semi-professional kick of reading books with young protagonists dealing with sexual awakening. it's semi-professional because, while i'm slated to teach a class about teens' sexuality, teaching is never far from the soft nub of my life, and i tend to teach what my mind is working at figuring out at the time. managing to do this requires a constant whirlwind of reading-list changes and in-between-semesters reading -- my mind re-adjusts its focus constantly, and even a tiny little adjustm...more
Holland is, by all appearances, the perfect high school student. She is student council president, she's taking extra and advanced classes in pursuit of a college scholarship, she's on the swim team, and she has a popular and devoted boyfriend. Despite all this, she feels pressured by her mother, friends, and guidance counselor to pursue a particular kind of life that she's not sure she wants. Everything changes for her one day when CeCe transfers from another school. CeCe is confident, beautifu...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Reading through the YA fiction available for GLBTQ readers has been a somewhat disappointing experience. I would really give book this book 2.5 stars because there are some things the book does right, but really I can only classify it as "okay."
While the topic in this book is really important, I would love to see it handled by a truly skilled writer such as Laurie Halse Anderson. The writing in Keeping You a Secret is just not that great and I'm sorry that GLBTQ YA lit often seems to fall into t...more
While the topic in this book is really important, I would love to see it handled by a truly skilled writer such as Laurie Halse Anderson. The writing in Keeping You a Secret is just not that great and I'm sorry that GLBTQ YA lit often seems to fall into t...more
My overall rating about Julie Peters book Keeping You a Secret is 4 stars out of 5.
This book is about a girl in highschool who is dealing with her boyfriend and a new found discovery about herself. It shows how her mom reacts and how the rest of her school reacts. It also shows how she deals with the issues that come up through her senior year.
The strength of this book is that it is the perfect length. The book isn't too long but it isn't too short. I feel like it says everything it needs to s...more
This book is about a girl in highschool who is dealing with her boyfriend and a new found discovery about herself. It shows how her mom reacts and how the rest of her school reacts. It also shows how she deals with the issues that come up through her senior year.
The strength of this book is that it is the perfect length. The book isn't too long but it isn't too short. I feel like it says everything it needs to s...more
Honestly, I didn't know what I was getting into when I plucked this book from the Kobo Store. I was bored last night, waiting for my sister so we can fire up our little New Year's Eve party, and decided to flip through a short book on my phone. I was feeling like a contemporary so looked up the genre and got a bunch of hits. There was no synopsis' on the kobo site, so I picked this book because the cover reminded me of My Sister's Keeper and the name sounded mysterious. I like mysterious.
I have...more
I have...more
Fairly good YA novel about coming out.
It's divided almost exactly in half, with the first--and longer--portion about getting the girl and the second about being a lesbian in the current climate.
I felt like the book spent too much time on the flirtation and will they/wont they when you know from the outset that they will. I was far more interested in the "what life is like through the eyes of an Out teenage girl" part of the story and felt disappointed greatly in how rushed that was and, ultima...more
It's divided almost exactly in half, with the first--and longer--portion about getting the girl and the second about being a lesbian in the current climate.
I felt like the book spent too much time on the flirtation and will they/wont they when you know from the outset that they will. I was far more interested in the "what life is like through the eyes of an Out teenage girl" part of the story and felt disappointed greatly in how rushed that was and, ultima...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Nov 14, 2011
Kathryn
added it
The main character, Holland, is just about to give in to societal norms for girls: meet a guy, fall in love. This is, until she meets CeCe, who is an “out” lesbian. CeCe introduces her to a life she never imagined was in store for her. Holland is awakened in more ways than just sexually.
I would recommend this novel for every reader. This is a piece of literature that can touch every single person – that’s right, even heterosexuals. Keeping You a Secret allows us to recall our first love and wha...more
I would recommend this novel for every reader. This is a piece of literature that can touch every single person – that’s right, even heterosexuals. Keeping You a Secret allows us to recall our first love and wha...more
Another pick from Goodread's GLBT list and another solid hit!
We meet Holland - a senior who has her life in order: heavy class load, school council president, a doting boyfriend and a boatload of colleges to apply to. Enter Cecelia (or CeCe) - a new girl who transfers in. Holland becomes intrigued with CeCe - to the point that she is always thinking about her. CeCe is an out-and-proud lesbian. This makes Holland take a hard look at herself and realize that her feelings for CeCe run deep.
Throug...more
We meet Holland - a senior who has her life in order: heavy class load, school council president, a doting boyfriend and a boatload of colleges to apply to. Enter Cecelia (or CeCe) - a new girl who transfers in. Holland becomes intrigued with CeCe - to the point that she is always thinking about her. CeCe is an out-and-proud lesbian. This makes Holland take a hard look at herself and realize that her feelings for CeCe run deep.
Throug...more
I love the Auckland central library, I rarely have to venture past the recently returned shelf to find something that peaks my interest, but their selection of YA fiction is seriously lacking. I have a few pages on my list of YA books and hardly any of them are stocked. And it costs money to have books moved within the system, so I am SOL in reading them while I am here. And something you just need a mindless quick read! This was defiantly one of them. A pretty heavy subject, but a super easy qu...more
Keeping You a Secret is the first book I've read where being gay was the main topic. I've read books where this was more of a minor topic or something in the background, but nothing that had you focusing solely on the subject of LGBT (heh. Never mind. I just remembered that I read Fingersmith about two years ago. Amazing novel!) or rather coming out. While I did like it, I felt that it was just okay.
My main issue with this was that all of the characters seemed very one-dimensional and more than...more
My main issue with this was that all of the characters seemed very one-dimensional and more than...more
when i first bought this book from the store i didnt read the back cover or the first page. I just thought the title was interesting and decided to give it a chance. To be honest, looking at it during first glance i thought the cover was of a boy and a girl and didn't even realize it was a gay couple. Reading the first few pages i was alittle skeptic on weither i'd like it or not because id never read anything like it before. It turned out to be one of the most beautiful and amazing stories i ha...more
Holland has it made: she’s pretty, popular, and she’s got Seth – the most popular boy in school – all to herself. Sounds perfect, huh? Well, we all know what happens to perfect stories: they don’t stay perfect for long.
Perfection, though, depends on your perspective.
Enter Cece Goddard. She’s new at school and Holland can’t help but notice her. Actually, Cece makes it her business to ensure that she’s definitely on Holland’s radar. Cece is beautiful, confident, and much to Cece’s delight, Holland...more
Perfection, though, depends on your perspective.
Enter Cece Goddard. She’s new at school and Holland can’t help but notice her. Actually, Cece makes it her business to ensure that she’s definitely on Holland’s radar. Cece is beautiful, confident, and much to Cece’s delight, Holland...more
What i learned from this book called "Keeping you a secret" is that its hard comeing out to your parents. some perents take it easy, some kick you out of the house, and others accept you for who you are but don't completely accept you. This book is about 2 lesbian girls that fall inlove with eachother. One of themm came out to her parents and her friends the other didnt and does'nt know if she is a lesbian or bi. The girl that came out already lives with her mom,dad,and her brother . The girl th...more
An absolutely phenomenal coming-of-age story that deals with a rather controversial topic--homosexuality. I, personally, see nothing wrong with sexual orientations that may be seen as "different" or "weird" in some people's eyes.
The reader will be drawn into Holland's struggles with coming out, being accepted by her friends and family, and finding her place in the world. The ending of KYAS leaves questions unanswered, but the reader has room to imagine Holland and Cece's life together.
While I am sure that writing a book here the main topic is teen sexuality can be nerve wracking, the author left too much subject material untouched or glazed over. From my point of view her target audience would be teens whom either personally identify themselves as LGBTQ or know someone who is. There was no real in depth exploration of the emotional effects of bullying, ostracized feelings from your peers, friends and family. There was no questioning to the change of feelings in her relationsh...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This book is beautiful. I cannot express enough how glad I am to have come in counter with it. I'd love to read more LGBT books. All of them, every romance novel based on a homosexual paring has such an intensity that cannot be measured the same as a heterosexual one, or at least with the same qualifications.
So what's the big deal? The main character is a normal straight girl in the beginning, well, that's what she thinks. Holland has expectations set for her, she has a boyfriend, she's presiden...more
So what's the big deal? The main character is a normal straight girl in the beginning, well, that's what she thinks. Holland has expectations set for her, she has a boyfriend, she's presiden...more
Empezemos por: NO ME GUSTÓ EL FINAL. Quise/quiero saber si Cece y Holl fueron a la graduación juntas y y cómo fue todo. Ahora, siendo objetiva, qué libro tan hermosamente bien escrito, me encantó la narrativa, la descripción de los sentimientos personales de Holland, y como ella describía cada gesto en las partes con Cece. Lo hace sentir a uno como si fuera Holland, y mientras lees te imaginas a ti mismo en la situación y siento exactamente eso que ella siente y que está tan bien descrito y expl...more
Holland's boring conformity begins to fall away when she finds her locker the first day of senior year: Cece, a new girl with a baseball cap and t-shirt flaunting her gayness on, stuns her. Subsequently, she spends some months wearing her former identity--pretending to her nagging mother she's applying to Stanford to be with her boyfriend, whom she sleeps with "get-it-over-with"-ly, wishing more and more consciously they can go back to being good pals; competing on her under-performing swim team...more
I found and bought this book not knowing what it was truly about. The end result being my tears several times during the course of reading. The style of writing was easy to follow and had a knack for bringing you in and breaking your heart. This first hand encounter of a homosexual teenager and her struggle to deal with who she really was, just heartbreaking. One of my greatest hopes being that the world will truly accept all people for who and what they are. The world is hard enough (as you'll...more
Ironically, or not perhaps, it was my girlfriend who recommended this book for me. It's the first gay teen couple book I've read, and I can honestly say it shocked me just a bit at how cruel some people, in modern day, can be to a person just because of a single characteristic about them. Peters described most of my emotions perfectly, as well. She was delicate on dropping the gay bomb, but it was a very good book with reality playing a really big role.
When I got this book I did not realise that it was about homosexual romance, about two young adults. I thought it was just another romance. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that this is about homosexual relationship; I read this book in one sitting and it was a good book.
At first I thought that this was going to be a meaningful book, but it turned out to be a romance book that touches on sensitive topic of homosexuality. Book deal with self realisation, coming out and dealing with being h...more
At first I thought that this was going to be a meaningful book, but it turned out to be a romance book that touches on sensitive topic of homosexuality. Book deal with self realisation, coming out and dealing with being h...more
This is a great LGBT/Queer book. It's got great characters, a protagonist whose heady revelry in the dawning physicality of her first really passionate relationship is romantic and wonderful, and an ending that is hopeful but not too cinderella-y.
Holland has a boyfriend, parental pressure to do well enough for a good college, is student body president, and an athlete. She's popular and a perfect life is laid out for her, hers for the taking. So why does she find it so hard to walk the path every...more
Holland has a boyfriend, parental pressure to do well enough for a good college, is student body president, and an athlete. She's popular and a perfect life is laid out for her, hers for the taking. So why does she find it so hard to walk the path every...more
I was a little uneasy when picking out a LBGTQ book to read. After learning a little more about this book, I realized the exact truth of everyday situations that kids and adults face of falling in love for the first time and dealing with "coming out". This book has opened my eyes to a whole new world of literature. I think that by reading this book, and being a future teacher, I will be more at ease of confronting students that are going through the same situations as the girls in this novel. De...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Their Love | 6 | 81 | Sep 19, 2012 08:53am | |
| YA LGBT Books: February BOM: Keeping You A Secret | 10 | 87 | Aug 19, 2012 05:30pm |
Julie Anne Peters was born in Jamestown, New York. When she was five, her family moved to the Denver suburbs in Colorado. Her parents divorced when she was in high school. She has three siblings: a brother, John, and two younger sisters, Jeanne and Susan.
Her books for young adults include Define "Normal" (2000), Keeping You a Secret (2003), Luna (2004), Far from Xanadu (2005), Between Mom and Jo (...more
More about Julie Anne Peters...
Her books for young adults include Define "Normal" (2000), Keeping You a Secret (2003), Luna (2004), Far from Xanadu (2005), Between Mom and Jo (...more
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“Cut the ending. Revise the script. The man of her dreams is a girl.”
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Nov 10, 2012 02:05pm