Reviews

The Truth About Keeping Secrets by Savannah Brown

leni_747's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

calloe's review against another edition

4.0

*4.5

personallyclark's review against another edition

4.0

i was so hesitant to pick up this book. i love Savannah’s poetry so deeply, and the fear of “what if i don’t love her stories as much” was there. but my goodness. it’s so good. it’s so good.

dembury's review against another edition

5.0

4.5 but giving it a well-deserved rounding up! I think the marketing for this novel is a little bit off; the synopsis sounds like a straight up mystery, but in reality those mystery elements are wound around a more prominent story about grief. I ended up totally enjoying both parts, but I’m just mentioning this so future readers can maybe adjust their expectations a bit.

Savannah Brown has an excellent writing voice, and considering this is her debut novel I can’t wait to see what she does next. Her characters are lifelike, and her prose is refreshing and sharp. Even when the story was a bit slower I was still engaged with everything happening. Also, Brown writes about mental health in a WONDERFUL way, and this book really champions ways to cope and take care of oneself even in dark times.
I’ll definitely be recommending this one to other readers!

petalsintea's review against another edition

5.0

Truly one of the most influential books I've ever read.

serenlewis_x's review against another edition

3.0

3.5

sarahch's review against another edition

4.0

loved it

dungareece's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

rewacado's review against another edition

emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

1221cass's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I wanted to like this so much more than I did. I've been a fan of Savannah Brown's YouTube channel for years and I absolutely love her poetry. This book has absolutely beautiful writing. I loved the dynamic between Sydney and June and the ways in which grief was explored. However, the mystery plotline was extremely predictable. I figured out who was sending the texts very early on in the book and even pieced together a little of the motivation behind it. Sometimes I don't mind when this happens but in this case I felt like I was waiting for the other characters to catch up. Still though, this is clearly something that Brown was passionate about and I'm excited to read more novels from her.