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Queen of Secrets

3.41 of 5 stars 3.41 · rating details · 75 ratings · 26 reviews

This year,Essie Green’s life is going to be different. She’s made the cheerleading squad andcaught the eye of the captain of the football team.However, she didn't expecther estrangedcousin to join the footballteam.Micah is instantly branded a freak for praying during games, and Essie doesn’t want anything to do with him. As the football team’s teasing of Micah shifts into...more

Hardcover, 240 pages

Published June 22nd 2010 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

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Jun 12, 2012 Liviania rated it 4 of 5 stars

When I got a request for QUEEN OF SECRETS, I almost passed on it. It didn't look bad, but it looked typical. Then I came to the end of the blurb, which revealed that the story is based on the Book of Esther. I couldn't resist then, as Esther is my favorite book of the Bible.

Essie Green's estranged Uncle, Aunt, and cousin just moved back to town. They left due to a family disagreement (as mentioned in Jenny Meyerhoff's guest blog) and now seem like strangers instead of a second set of parents and...more When I got a request for QUEEN OF SECRETS, I almost passed on it. It didn't look bad, but it looked typical. Then I came to the end of the blurb, which revealed that the story is based on the Book of Esther. I couldn't resist then, as Esther is my favorite book of the Bible.

Essie Green's estranged Uncle, Aunt, and cousin just moved back to town. They left due to a family disagreement (as mentioned in Jenny Meyerhoff's guest blog) and now seem like strangers instead of a second set of parents and a brother. Essie's uncle embraced religion and her grandfather rejected it in the wake of her parents' deaths. Essie grew up atheist and is uncomfortable with her family's religious expression.

The family storyline parallels the high school storyline. Micah, her cousin, joins the football team. The football team has problems with Micah's open Jewishness. They might get over it, but one senior - Harrison - keeps stirring them back up. His father raised him to play football professionally, but he's not good enough to attract the decision of Division I schools. He's ready to take his misfortune out on someone. Obviously different Micah is convenient.

Essie might stand up for her cousin earlier, but she doesn't want to ruin her chances with quarterback Austin King. I might find her an unlikeable character, but she does do quiet things to help Micah out. I do wish she noticed that Austin is constantly proves himself to be a nice guy. (And not a "Nice Guy".)

QUEEN OF SECRETS is predictable, like I expected, but it has two major strengths. 1) Austin is a guy worth pursuing and Essie's good taste allows the reader to forgive her for some of her bigger lapses in judgment. 2) The exploration of religion is nuanced, interesting, and unlike what most other YA novels offer. Meyerhoff never suggests that being Jewish is better or worse than anything else. But she does explore what religion offers people, particularly the connection to a community and history.

QUEEN OF SECRETS is quick and cute, but doesn't ask for you to totally disengage your brain. In my book that makes it good summer reading. (less)

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Dec 21, 2011 Kelly Hager rated it 3 of 5 stars

Essie's got a great core group of friends, but this year she's a cheerleader and the football player she's had a crush on for, like, EVER is finally paying attention to her. She just wants to fit in, but unfortunately her cousin has just moved to town. Micah's a football player too, but his family is Jewish. Technically, Essie is too but she wasn't raised in the faith. But Micah wears a kippah and prays during games before kicking field goals. The other players make fun of him, to the point wher...more Essie's got a great core group of friends, but this year she's a cheerleader and the football player she's had a crush on for, like, EVER is finally paying attention to her. She just wants to fit in, but unfortunately her cousin has just moved to town. Micah's a football player too, but his family is Jewish. Technically, Essie is too but she wasn't raised in the faith. But Micah wears a kippah and prays during games before kicking field goals. The other players make fun of him, to the point where Essie won't even admit they're related. She starts dating Austin (football crush) but is uncomfortable with how they treat Micah. So...what do you do when you're torn between doing the right thing and having the life you want?

I'm becoming a fan of the "religious YA" genre. There aren't many books but I love the ones I've read (this, Faking Faith, OyMG, Evolution, Me and Other Freaks of Nature and Pure). This one reminded me a lot of OyMG, although the main character in that was Jewish, as opposed to Essie who's really nothing at all. I also like the fact that this book is very up front about the fact that it's incredibly hard to do the right thing when you know that you're going to be judged harshly for it.

Reading this as a grownup, Essie's a hard character to like. It's easy for me now to say that of course she should acknowledge Micah and that if she loses her friends for that, they weren't really her friends. But that's the wisdom that comes from being 31, and that's wisdom you don't have in high school. You especially don't have it when you see what happens to outsiders in high school and you see several times in the book how easy it would be for her new friends to turn on her.

I think I would've preferred this book if it had been longer (it wasn't even 250 pages long) and I could've gotten to know Austin and Micah (and Essie's original friends) better. It was hard to get a feel for her life or a sense of why the in crowd was so appealing (besides the fact that it's generally better to not be part of the group that's getting picked on). Even so, this was a very interesting book and I will definitely read more by Meyerhoff.
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Jul 23, 2010 Sarah BT rated it 3 of 5 stars

About the Book: Shy sophomore Essie Green believes this will be the year her life changes. She's made varsity cheerleading and maybe popular football quarterback Austin King will finally notice her.

Essie starts to make friends and Austin asks her out, but Essie is hiding a secret-the new boy Micah is her cousin. Micah and his family are observant Jew and everyone at school makes fun of Micah. But if Essie admits that they're related, won't everyone make fun of her too? When the teasing turns to...more

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Dec 22, 2009 Princess Bookie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Reviewed by Princess Bookie

My Thoughts: We meet Essie who just wants to be a normal girl. She makes the cheer-leading team finally and is enjoying her new fame. Her cousin Micah joins her school and everything thinks he's weird since he wears a kippah.
He joins the football team so he tends to be around a lot but Essie keeps its a secret that he's her cousin. She starts dating the football captain who she's had a crush on for a while. She thinks its amazing he finally likes her back. The Team pic...more

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Feb 20, 2010 Shanyn (Chick Loves Lit) rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really loved this book. Each of the characters developed personalities that I loved. I really pulled for the main character, Essie, and wasn't even sure which of the guys I wanted to side with for most of the story.

Oddly enough, while they are talking about football recruiting, one of the characters talks about being recruited to the university that I attended in Michigan! I was so shocked because it's not a huge school... it's a good size but I have definitely never read about it in a book.

I...more

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Apr 25, 2011 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Queen of Secrets

“Queen of Secrets” (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2010), by Illinois author Jenny Meyerhoff, tells the story of fifteen year-old Essie Green, an orphan raised by her pointedly non-observant Jewish grandparents in a Michigan suburb. Essie has determined that her sophomore year in high school will be different. She’s managed to make the varsity cheerleading squad—her only hope of catching the eye of Austin King, the captain of the football team. And, miraculously, she does. She’s do...more Queen of Secrets

“Queen of Secrets” (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2010), by Illinois author Jenny Meyerhoff, tells the story of fifteen year-old Essie Green, an orphan raised by her pointedly non-observant Jewish grandparents in a Michigan suburb. Essie has determined that her sophomore year in high school will be different. She’s managed to make the varsity cheerleading squad—her only hope of catching the eye of Austin King, the captain of the football team. And, miraculously, she does. She’s doing her best to fit in with the jock/cheerleader crowd, when her cousin Micah joins the football team. Essie hasn’t seen Micah and his parents since she was a little girl, shortly following her parents’ death in a car crash. Now they’ve moved back to town, hoping to reconcile their differences with Essie’s grandparents.
The only problem, as far as Essie is concerned, is that Micah and his parents are very observant Jews. Essie’s friends brand Micah a freak for his insistence on wearing a kippah, calling him Beanie Boy. Worse, he insists on walking home after Friday night football games rather than driving or accepting a ride. Much as Essie is interested in getting to know her long-lost cousin, she finds him a little weird. Afraid of what her friends will say, she tried to conceal her relationship to Micah.
When the teasing escalates to outright hazing, Essie is forced to make a choice between her friends and family. While the plot is sometimes predictable, Meyerhoff puts an interesting spin on the standard “shy girl dates popular jock” coming of age story with her sensitive portrayal of devout a teenager who is persecuted for his faith. I found myself wishing that Essie would grow a backbone and stand up to her shallow, mean friends for much of the book, but Meyerhoff provides an interesting twist to the story that makes for a very satisfying ending.
“Queen of Secrets” is loosely based on the Book of Esther, the origin for the Jewish celebration of Purim. It takes place this year on March 19-20. Those who are familiar with the story of Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman who becomes Queen of Persia and saves her people from destruction, will enjoy the parallels between the two narratives. King Ahasuerus, for example, is Austin King, and of course we know who Essie is. That said, it’s not necessary to be familiar with the Biblical Esther to enjoy this book about self-discovery, faith, and loyalty.

This review originally appeared in The News-Gazette, March 13, 2011. For more YA reviews, please visit my website at www.saralatta.com

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Sep 18, 2012 Good Golly Miss Holly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie-swap

Queen of Secrets is a fairly cliche novel focusing mainly on cheerleading, football and popularity with a touch of religion thrown in for good measure.

Essie has spent the past year swooning over the team quarterback, Austin. To the surprise of her best friends, Essie has plans to join the cheerleading team in the hopes that Austin will finally notice her. The only trouble is her strictly religious cousin has just transferred to Essie's school and she just can't bring herself to acknowledge Micah...more

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Mar 14, 2010 Kelsey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: finished-copies-review

Queen of Secrets was an original, yet cliché read. Essie was a girl who wanted to be popular and date the most popular guy in school, Austin. I liked Essie but at times I felt she was taking things to an extreme and not really thinking them over. Micah, her cousin, was very religious and thus a lot of kids made fun of him, including Essie’s cheerleading and football team friends. I really wish Essie would have stood up for Micah more, it made me feel like she had so many different sides- the nic...more Queen of Secrets was an original, yet cliché read. Essie was a girl who wanted to be popular and date the most popular guy in school, Austin. I liked Essie but at times I felt she was taking things to an extreme and not really thinking them over. Micah, her cousin, was very religious and thus a lot of kids made fun of him, including Essie’s cheerleading and football team friends. I really wish Essie would have stood up for Micah more, it made me feel like she had so many different sides- the nice to Micah outside of school side and the mean to Micah in school side. She was constantly flip-flopping on her opinion of Micah and her family in general. I liked Essie’s family and although the characters were a little cliché, they had their own twists. I really liked Essie’s friends (not the cheerleading ones), but I think they got kind of lost in the shuffle, after the beginning I didn’t really hear much about them. In general the novel focused on Essie, Micah, and Austin, which is okay. Austin was not the typical jock-popular type guy you so often find in teen novels, which was a pleasant surprise and I was glad things worked out in the end.

Essie learned a lot about herself and Micah by the end of the novel and finally found herself. Meyerhoff dealt with religion in a unique and interesting way and I learned a lot of Judaism I’d never known or understood before. No one at my school wears a kippa so it was sad, but intriguing, to hear how Essie’s classmates reacted to Micah. Religion is a difficult topic to write about all in itself and Meyerhoff added a spin to it that really kept the novel moving. There were quite a few twists in the plot and towards the end things really began picking up, especially the jocks opinions of Micah, they started taking their dislike of him to extremes.

Overall, I think this was a well orchestrated and intriguing debut, and Meyerhoff added a twist to the un-original tale of the unpopular girl dating the popular jock. I would recommend reading this, if only from your library, because it explains religion well and shows how important it is to judge from the inside not the out.

Overall: 3.5 out of 5 stars(less)

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Jun 29, 2010 Lauren rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: own

Going into Queen of Secrets, I wasn't too sure what to expect, since it seemed like this novel was getting one of two things from readers. Those two things? Love or hate. Thankfully, while I did think Queen of Secrets was a bit too much of a clichéd, predictable book, it was also one I really did enjoy excluding the previous factor.

Self-discovery. It's evident in almost all novels, and in Queen of Secrets it was no different, since the main purpose of this book is for Essie to find her niche in...more Going into Queen of Secrets, I wasn't too sure what to expect, since it seemed like this novel was getting one of two things from readers. Those two things? Love or hate. Thankfully, while I did think Queen of Secrets was a bit too much of a clichéd, predictable book, it was also one I really did enjoy excluding the previous factor.

Self-discovery. It's evident in almost all novels, and in Queen of Secrets it was no different, since the main purpose of this book is for Essie to find her niche in life; where she belongs, how much she should pratice her religion, and with whom she should be with. In all, leaving this to be one book filled with lots of drama from Essie's choices and questions about whether or not she is making the right ones.

It took me a while to actually like Essie, since for most of the book she was a pompous jerk to not only her friends but to her family as well. Though, after a while, I began to get a better appreciation of her, I guess you would say, because I decided that everyone is allowed to make mistakes, especially if they learn from them. Which she did. One of my favorite parts was her romance with Austin King, jock extraordinaire, since it was a cute and fun addition. And I have to admit he was a bit swoon-worthy. Also, it was interesting to see how Essie's Jewish roots played into Queen of Secrets, because religon is something I don't see too much of in YA.

While plot events tended to end predictably, they also provided for Queen of Secrets to run in a fast paced way, leaving me wanting to know what exactly was going to happen next. Some questions included: Was Austin all he seemed to be? Would Essie ever stand up to the popular group and go back to her real friends? Were Micah and Sara ever going to be together? All would be revealed in the the next pages, ones that most would be eager to read.

Lastly, Jenny's writing was a bit clunky in the beginning, but after the first few chapters it appeared to even out, leaving the rest of the novel to move quite swiftly.

Overall, while Queen of Secrets doesn't necessary bring anything new to the table besides the Jewish aspects, it still makes for the perfect light/somewhat serious summertime read, something that I'm sure many of you are looking for given the current season.

Grade: B-(less)

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Oct 09, 2011 Deanna Youkhana rated it 5 of 5 stars

In my opinion, this was one of my favorite books and needs to be in everybook store. This book would be loved by every reader! Expecially by the young adults. I looked at this book thinking "wow, i love cheerleading! I'll read this one!" but, its not just about cheer. Its about your high school life, and how to do things when worst comes to worst. I will deffitnetly read this book a secound and a third time.. you know what, maybe even a fourth! i LOVED it.

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Mar 20, 2010 Mariah rated it 1 of 5 stars

Recommended to Mariah by: find books by title or author or isbn

Shelves: 2010, arc, march-10

With this book I felt that I had read it before. The plot besides the Jewish thing was very common, and overdone. While I enjoyed the characters they were very stereotypical and hard to read about.

I really wanted to enjoy this book but I really didn't, the plot was too overdone, as were the characters. And I felt that the ending was very predictable. Overall I did not care for this book, and it was hard to get through.

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Oct 15, 2010 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really liked Essie's story...her grandparents raise her b/c her parents died when she was younger, and the book is about how her estranged cousin and his parents move back just as she is gaining social standing as a cheerleader in high school...Her cousin and his parents are observant Jews and his participation on the football squad forces her to confront her own heritage and her family's dynamics as she navigates the high school social hierarchy. It is a little predictable, but nicely written...more

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Nov 20, 2010 Katie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this. Based on the Book of Esther, Meyerhoff creates a fun and thoughtful look at what it means to be yourself. I thought her teens were true to life and her style was breezy, but with a core of substance. It'll appeal to a wide range of teens. The cover will be an easy selling point for girls who like lighter fiction, the biblical base can be used for kids who think it looks like too much teen fluff.

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Apr 24, 2011 Basil rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, contemporary-realistic

Iffy beginning that made me think the narrator was far more shallow than she actually was -- but I'm glad I stuck with it. She wasn't shallow so much as, well, believably young. I like all of the lessons learned, and the complex family drama that provided the background of the football/cheerleader high school scene. I just wish that Essie (the narrator) wasn't the only character who had to own up to her shit in the end.

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Dec 17, 2010 Daisy Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars

so i was at the library with my bestie when i found this book. as soon as i started reading it i could stop i started reading it on the same day i got it. i finished it in a mader of a couple of hours. its such a good bokk. it better then i tot it would be. nd austin is my dream guy and anyone would be lucky to find anyone like him

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Aug 28, 2010 Shelley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: youth

Loosely based on the Book of Esther. I was interested in seeing how the biblical story would be updated and modernized, and that was pretty nicely done. But I never really liked Essie much - she seemed very young and immature and passive. I would have rather read more about Sara and Aunt Shelli.

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Aug 03, 2010 Kelsy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Okay, but I didn't find Essie that likable, and I didn't understand what made Austin such a catch. I did, however, like Sara and Aunt Shelli. Also, Micah was interesting too. It seemed like everything was wrapped up a bit too perfectly at the end though.

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Nov 04, 2010 Kelly added it

Shelves: cybils-2010-nominations, could-not-finish, read-in-2010, ya-fiction

I couldn't get into the characters or the story. There wasn't enough action or character development to sustain me, and it wasn't until I read some other reviews I got this was based off a biblical story.

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Feb 27, 2010 Kapri rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: blog-reviewed

I don't know what I was expecting with Queen of Secrets, but it sure wasn't this, and that's a good thing. It was a very cute, relatable story with lovable characters.

Essie was a sweet, kind-hearted character. Through the book she did make mistakes, but her intentions were good. She grew up so much through the book. When I was starting the book, I was expecting her to be like the cheerleaders in all the other books and stories, but she wasn't at all. She proved to be good-natured through and thr...more

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May 06, 2012 Marisa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

Eh, teen palate cleansing fluff. I picked it up because it just sitting on the teen desk, and I just kept reading.

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Jul 17, 2010 Caitlin rated it 5 of 5 stars

omg this is like one of my favorite books!! YOU MUST READ IT!!

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Jul 28, 2011 Natasha rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

Good YA.

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Dec 18, 2010 BCPL Youth Services Librarian added it

Shelves: realistic-fiction, romance, sports

Click to see book in BCPL's online catalog

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Oct 01, 2011 Tampines House added it

B23018019B
B23018020E

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Apr 20, 2012 Kate Hastings marked it as to-read

Shelves: high-school

Loosely based on the Book of Esther.

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Nov 07, 2011 Lisa Pfeffer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

Good coming of age book

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May 13, 2013 Sabrina Chue added it

Apr 29, 2013 Kdmittens marked it as to-read

Apr 28, 2013 Faith adam added it

Apr 28, 2013 Debbie at Snuggling on the Sofa marked it as to-read

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About Jenny Meyerhoff

"As a child in West Bloomfield, Michigan, Jenny Meyerhoff often read a book a night. In third grade, she readAre You There God? It’s Me, Margaret twenty-one times. Her first attempt at a children’s book, The Leprechaun Who Never Found a Pot of Gold, was written when she was in first grade. From that moment on, Jenny has dreamed of becoming a professional children’s book writer.

Jenny studied creati...more

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