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A review by lobrarian
The Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins
5.0
Asha, her mother, and older sister Reet are experiencing huge changes in their lives. Asha's father has lost his job and has gone to New York to try and find work. While he is away, Asha and her family move from their hometown of Delhi to Calcutta to live with her Baba's brother. Life has been changing for Asha for quite a while now; moving, becoming a woman and everything that comes along with that.
Struggling with wanting to live a life she wants, and living up to the expectations of her family, Asha finds solace in the locked diary her Baba has given her. With her Secret Keeper (S.K.), Asha is able to voice everything she feels and not worry about what others think. Asha soon realizes that sometimes you have to do drastic things in life to protect the ones you love, even if it means messing everything up for yourself in the long run.
Perkins does an amazing job of transporting the reader to India. She does this through all the senses; having the reader see the landscapes of Calcutta, tasting the food Ma makes, smelling the rain as Asha sits on the roof, hearing the tinkling bracelets, and feeling the wool that Ma uses. I really enjoyed this story, it's a quick read and will work for middle school to older teens.
I do have to say that in the end, my heart was heavy. I was really hoping that Mitali would take the story down the avenue I wanted, but you can't always get what you want I guess. Overall, a fabulous read.
Struggling with wanting to live a life she wants, and living up to the expectations of her family, Asha finds solace in the locked diary her Baba has given her. With her Secret Keeper (S.K.), Asha is able to voice everything she feels and not worry about what others think. Asha soon realizes that sometimes you have to do drastic things in life to protect the ones you love, even if it means messing everything up for yourself in the long run.
Perkins does an amazing job of transporting the reader to India. She does this through all the senses; having the reader see the landscapes of Calcutta, tasting the food Ma makes, smelling the rain as Asha sits on the roof, hearing the tinkling bracelets, and feeling the wool that Ma uses. I really enjoyed this story, it's a quick read and will work for middle school to older teens.
I do have to say that in the end, my heart was heavy. I was really hoping that Mitali would take the story down the avenue I wanted, but you can't always get what you want I guess. Overall, a fabulous read.