From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up–Seven women tell a story about a secret they kept as teens. They write about adultery, alcoholism, mental illness, rape, drug abuse, self-mutilation, and physical and sexual abuse. Collectively, these selections tell young people dealing with any of these issues that they are not alone. Thus, the stories offer reassurance. Taken together, they also lead readers to realize that secrets have tremendous power and enormous emotional costs. Each piece is sensitive, realistic, and well written.–Laurie von Mehren, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Brecksville, OH Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


Book Description
Seven essays from the heart. "When I was sixteen years old I had secrets, all right. But my secrets were not exactly my own; they were the secrets of others." So writes Nan Germaine in Perfectly Secret, Susan Musgrave's fourth collection of essays written by women writers about their teenage lives. Nan remembers the loneliness of enduring her parent's secret confessions: her mother's unhappiness and her father's infidelity. For Anita Rau Badami, a mad aunt was her hidden shame. Meanwhile, a drunken father meant Lorna Crozier could never invite her friends home. And Cathy Stonehouse, who lived her life in fragments, found her secret self threatened in a not-so-innocent game of Truth or Dare. Heartfelt, disarmingly honest, at times painful, these essays eloquently capture the reality of adolescent life. Perfectly Secret is a testament to the axiom that life isn't always as it appears.


About the Author
Susan Musgrave is a poet, novelist, children's writer, essayist and columnist. Her previous books include Nerves Out Loud, Certain Things About My Mother, and You Be Me.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

These moving, honest, and deeply personal accounts present an unforgettable profile of the inner lives teen girls keep hidden from the world. Nan Germaine remembers the loneliness of enduring her parents' secret confessions: her mother's unhappiness and her father's infidelity. For Anita Rau Badami, a mad aunt was her hidden shame. Meanwhile, an alcoholic father meant Lorna Crozier could never invite her friends home. When her best friend shared her intention to kill herself, Susan Musgrave had to choose between loyalty and her friend's survival. Heartfelt, touching, sometimes gritty, these essays capture the poignancy and universality of the secret lives of adolescent girls. They remind us, too, that things aren't always as they appear.

FROM THE CRITICS

Children's Literature - Francine Thomas

Secrets; most have them. Many keep them for others. This book shares the hidden lives of seven people. Each story is told in the voice of the individual secret holder. In "Truth, Dare, Kiss, Command, or Promise: Fragments from a Life," Cathy reveals a painful secret that causes her to develop two distinct personalities. The alternate self is "one who opens her eyes when Cathy closes hers" and can handle knowing terrible things she cannot let herself think about. A young girl thinks her parents hate her in "Unseen, Unheard," so she tries to make herself invisible. She becomes her own secret. "Cherry Pride" tells of keeping a best friend's secret; Delphine wants to commit suicide. Mentally unbalanced Sheela's behavior is the reason her relatives pretend she is not a part of their family in "Mad As Sheela," and the alcoholism of a parent is the skeleton in a young daughter's closet in "Dancing with My Father." Her shame forces her to hide the sadness and "bury it beneath an exterior that has little to do with what is going on at home." "There Will Be No Secrets" is an account of extremes—from a father with too many secrets to a mother with too few. These profiles are presented in a straightforward manner that invites interest, but does not evoke emotion. This may actually be the ideal method for understanding the heavy price of saving face. 2004, Annick Press, Ages 14 up.

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-Seven women tell a story about a secret they kept as teens. They write about adultery, alcoholism, mental illness, rape, drug abuse, self-mutilation, and physical and sexual abuse. Collectively, these selections tell young people dealing with any of these issues that they are not alone. Thus, the stories offer reassurance. Taken together, they also lead readers to realize that secrets have tremendous power and enormous emotional costs. Each piece is sensitive, realistic, and well written.-Laurie von Mehren, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Brecksville, OH Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews