Review - The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard

Title and Author: The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard

Publisher: Viking Juvenile

Publication Date: January 7th, 2010

Paperback/Hardcover: 192

Genre: Young Adult

Summary:

Take Romeo and Juliet. Add The Outsiders. Mix thoroughly.

Colt and Julia were secretly together for an entire year, and no one - not even Julia's boyfriend - knew. They had nothing in common, with Julia in her country club world on Black Mountain and Colt from down on the flats, but it never mattered. Until Julia dies in a car accident, and Colt learns the price of secrecy. He can't mourn Julia openly, and he's tormented that he might have played a part in her death. When Julia's journal ends up in his hands, Colt relives their year together at the same time that he's desperately trying to forget her. But how do you get over someone who was never yours in the first place?

Review:

I’ve read this book a while back and even though I did enjoy it, I had high expectations and was a little bit disappointed.

Julia and Colt are too very different people from different sides of the city and of the social world.  One day they meet and sparks fly between them. Julia and Colt get involved but no one knows about their relationship. They meet mostly at night, away from everyone else.

When Julia dies in a car accident, Colt is left with several unanswered questions and is forced to deal with his feelings for Julia and come to terms with what their secret relationship meant.

Both these characters are interesting but I couldn’t seem to truly connect with them. Colt seemed a little too uncaring for me sometimes and so did Julia.

I did enjoy

The relationship between Colt and Julia in the beginning isn’t unlike a sex buddies relationship. Their feelings for each other seemed to grow every time they were together and become more real, though.

I believe their idea was to have a no-strings-attached relationship but ended up caring too much for each other, even though, they kept their relationship secret and there was someone else in Julia’s life.

I did enjoy reading about Colt’s struggle to try to find out if his relationship with Julia was the real deal and if they could have had a future together. Colt can’t just let go of Julia and the what ifs.

All in all this is a good and well written story. I liked the letters from Julia and the fact the story is told from a male point of view makes even more interesting.

I think Young Adults fan will enjoy this book.

Rating: Somewhere between Readable and Worth Your Time (3 ½ Stars)

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