Four Secrets
Age 12+
General Fiction
This novel is a really thoughtful look at the social dynamics of teen bullying and the power of secrets told through three very distinct young voices.
Katie, Renata, and Nate are three friends bound by mutual outsider status. When Renata, who is new to town and who looks ""different"" from the average North Holmes teen, becomes the favorite bullying target of Chase, star athlete and heir apparent to the town's most prominent family, the trio hatches a plan to take revenge. They manage to kidnap Chase. Initially, they intend to make him apologize, but Chase turns out to be more than willing to disappear for a time, and after a few days, the trio wants nothing more than for Chase to go home. Things escalate when the kidnapping is finally exposed and the three are arrested. The three make a pact never to reveal why they did what they did.
Creators
Margaret Willey has published in many genres-picture books, fiction, and poetry. In 2002, Clever Beatrice (Atheneum, 2001) won the Charlotte Zolotow Award for best text in a picture book. Her most recent picture book is The 3 Bears and Goldilocks (Atheneum, 2008). She has written six young adult novels, most recently Four Secrets (Carolrhoda Lab, 2012) which was given the Booklist Top 10 Crime Fiction for Youth award and about which The Hom Book Magazine said, "the four secrets are satisfyingly juicy yet given depth by Willey's understanding of the complexities of friendship.
