Sworn Secret by Amanda Jennings is a dramatic story of a family who must struggle through their grief from the loss of their sister and daughter named Anna, who in a tragic accident, falls from the roof of her school.

The cover of the book features a sombre-looking young girl, which may deceive its readers into thinking this is a simple young adult (YA) novel. but rest assured, don’t be misled. The grip of the story is serious and mature enough to peak the interest of its readers to not only empathize with the emotional responses of the characters in the book, but sombrely feel the substantial weight of their personal loss and grief.

Anna’s mother, Kate, succumbs to a deep, almost intolerable form of grief that reveals a disturbing post-traumatic stress, which ultimately alienates her husband, Jon, and their daughter, Lizzie, who, too, must come to terms with their own feelings of loss while trying to appease their wife and mother’s manic inability to cope.

Jon’s own grief for his daughter’s death is repressed and cast aside along the continual deterioration of his father’s health who is afflicted with the disheartening last stages of Alzheimer’s disease. His steadfast compulsion to remain a pillar of strength for his wife furthers his burden of helplessness and deterioration at the potential loss and disintegration of his marriage.

Through Jon’s constant worry and concern for his wife, Kate, and Kate’s self-indulgent, self-preoccupation; their less charismatic, yet surviving daughter, Lizzie, is left emotionally neglected, almost unseen—a ghost of her elder sister both in looks and in blossoming personality.

To read the rest of my review, please visit my blog, The Bibliotaphe Closet:

http://zaraalexis.wordpress.com/2012/10/18/book-review-sworn-secret-by-amanda-je...

Thanks,
Zara ( )