The Secret Year: Book Review

This was another book that I borrowed from my friend, and I'm glad I borrowed it instead of buying it because I was not impressed. I usually fall in love with the characters and the story line of most of the books I read, because I know what I like when I read the back of the books. The Secret Year by Jennifer R. Hubbard was not a book I'd recommend to anyone - it was short and the story line was weak. I thought the story could have been written better because the plot was rather interesting... a secret relationship, one dies and leaves a journal and the other is figuring out what their relationship really meant. Unfortunately, it was just a terrible version of Romeo and Juliet.

Synopsis According to Barnes&Noble:

Colt and Julia were secretly together for a year, and no one ever knew, not even Julia's boyfriend. Why would they-they were from two different crowds. Julia lived in her country club world and Colt . . . didn't. Then Julia dies in a car accident. Colt is devastated but can't mourn openly, and he's tormented that he may have played a part in her death. And when Julia's journal ends up in his hands, he is forced to relive their year together-just when he is trying to forget. The problem is, how do you get over someone who was never really yours to begin with?


My Review:

The beginning of this book started off great, a secret love in high school between two people on the opposite sides of the economic ladder in town. Julia, being the rich girl, and Colt, being the boy that lived on the farm. While Julia had a boyfriend for show, she was secretly having a love affair with Colt. When Julia dies, Colt is unable to get over it, even though he tries to push it out of his mind, and tries to cover his pain with not one girlfriend, but eventually another one. It sounds like a great story, an intense love between two young individuals, but the author was unable to provide readers with exactly that. I think Hubbard could have had a much better story out of this plot, but it was really poorly executed. I honestly could have gone by in life without having read this book, and I would've been fine. Luckily, it was short so it wasn't a waste of too much time. I don't recommend this book, unless you're looking for a quick read. 

My Rating: 1 Star