Review: The Secrets We Keep by Trisha Leaver
SYNOPSIS:
A girl takes over her twin sister’s identity in this emotionally charged page-turner about the complicated bond between sisters.
Ella and Maddy Lawton are identical twins. Ella has spent her high school years living in popular Maddy’s shadows, but she has never been envious of Maddy. In fact, she’s chosen the quiet, safe confines of her sketchbook over the constant battle for attention that has defined Maddy’s world.
When—after a heated argument—Maddy and Ella get into a tragic accident that leaves her sister dead, Ella wakes up in the hospital surrounded by loved ones who believe she is Maddy. Feeling responsible for Maddy’s death and everyone’s grief, Ella makes a split-second decision to pretend to be Maddy. Soon, Ella realizes that Maddy’s life was full of secrets. Caught in a web of lies, Ella is faced with two options—confess her deception or live her sister’s life.
REVIEW:
An intriguing YA mystery to change up my reading pace. I enjoyed this quick dip into this dramatic and complicated world of twins. Ella finds herself in the middle of Maddy’s mess and in over her head. The sister she thought she knew is not that person at all.
My heart goes out to Ella, who is so tragically torn. She feels the guilt of being the driver the night her sister died but also she wakes up in the hospital and is surrounded by everyone thinking she is dead. I can’t even imagine how heartbreaking it would be to be mistaken for you sister and have all her loved ones surrounding you. And while Ella and Maddy have switched places in the past, switching lives is a whole other ball game that Ella wasn’t prepared for.
As her deceit begins to unravel, she also starts unraveling Maddy’s life. And Maddy was not the golden girl that everyone believed. I don’t want to spoil it but Ella does right by the characters Maddy wronged. I felt justice as I watched everything played out but my heart ached for those who were closest to Ella. And while I enjoyed the story, I wanted a little bit more at the end. I feel like there was never true closure on the Alex, Molly, and Jenna front and I wanted maybe two more chapters to wrap that up.
LINKS:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
