When I got this book it was very hard to put down. You easily get caught up with the characters and the author leaves just enough out the you HAVE to read what is coming or to find out what happened. Really enjoyed this book! ( )

“The Secret Year” by Jennifer R. Hubbard
Review written by Diana Iozzia


Young love lost. It’s a very important and very sad theme in many young adult fiction novels, but I think this is one of the best ways to describe a young love falling apart due to the death of one partner. In “The Secret Year”, Julia dies in a car accident, and we learn how she and Colt were in a secret relationship. You have your tropes; a beautiful blonde popular girl falls in love with the awkward yet handsome and kind boy from the wrong side of the tracks. His life is so wrong he has tires and old cars strewn across his front yard.
Julia and Colt had a lovely sugary high school relationship when they were together, often swimming together in a lake at night. Their love feels very pure, and it reminds me of many young adult novels, such as “Thirteen Reasons Why”.
I feel compassion for Julia, because she was never happy in her own shoes. She liked stepping into Colt’s and loving him, so it’s very sad when you remember that she was dead. I fully recommend this to anyone who wants a very different and sad young adult novel to sulk with. It’s not happy clappy. Boy meets girl, boy loves girl. Girl dies. Boy mourns girl. ( )

The writing was quite good and the characters compelling. ( )

The writing was quite good and the characters compelling. ( )

The problem with this book? No personality of its own. There is nothing to make it stand out from the pack, just damaged, not very believable characters having sex. As boring as it gets really. ( )