Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Nov 2008
368 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
Physician Deborah Monroe and her teenage daughter Grace are driving home one night in a raging rainstorm when their car hits a man who is on foot on the road. He subsequently dies, throwing Deborah and Grace into emotional turmoil. They share a secret concerning the accident, a lie that takes on a life of its own and threatens both their everyday lives and the special bond between them. And it refuses to go away, growing larger with each denial, jeopardizing ties Deborah has with her renegade sister and their father, a recent widower, and with the ex-husband whose role in their children's lives is at stake. As details emerge about the accident victim - an aloof local teacher who wove his own web of secrecy - Deborah must find a way to reconcile her worst fears with the truth of that terrible night.
The Secret Between Us is about a lie gone wrong, about making bad choices for the right reasons. This book explores the limits of responsibility - mother to daughter, daughter to father, husband to wife. It examines the price that we pay for denying the truth.
First published in hardcover Jan 2008.
"Starred Review. Provocative… Delinsky is interested in how the lies we tell for love can destroy us instead–and she lays out this particular deception so painstakingly that even the most honest reader will sympathize." - Publishers Weekly.
"Starred Review. [The Secret Between Us] deftly and realistically addresses family issues like parental expectations and disapproval, divorce and secrets, as well as small-town issues like preferential treatment and gossip... In addition to being immensely readable, Delinsky's latest is thought-provoking; readers will inevitably pause to consider what they would do if they found themselves in Deborah's situation." - Library Journal.
"One of her best… Delinsky is a first-rate storyteller who creates believable, sympathetic characters who seem as familiar as your neighbors." - The Boston Globe.
"This novel will have teens considering their own moral compass and asking just how honest, dishonest, and secretive anyone can be." - School Library Journal.
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
In her own words: "I was born and raised in suburban Boston. My mother's death, when I was eight, was the defining event of a childhood that was otherwise ordinary. I took piano lessons and flute lessons. I took ballroom dancing lessons. I went to summer camp through my fifteenth year (in Maine, which explains the setting of so many of my stories), then spent my sixteenth summer learning to type and to drive (two skills that have served me better than all of my other high school courses combined). I earned a B.A. in Psychology at Tufts University and an M.A. in Sociology at Boston College. The motivation behind the M.A. was sheer greed. My husband was just starting law school. We needed the money.
Oh. Oh. Back up. You'll love this. When I was in high school, I was kicked out ...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Barbara Delinsky's Website
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