Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead, and that's how Jennifer Hubbard begins her reflective short young adult fiction, “The Secret Year,” about two star-crossed high school lovers from different economic backgrounds who have been clandestinely meeting for passionate trysts and successfully fooling all of their peers until a diary of their affair is found post mortum.

A high-society Black Mountain girl, Julia, runs in country club circles. From a working-class family, Colton lives in the Flats at the bottom of the mountain and enjoys nothing better than getting his feet muddy in the local Willis River, which he does almost every night. Stars aligned on one fateful evening when Julia waded into Colton’s favorite watering hole, and their inauspicious romance began.

This thought-provoking story presents a unique look at tragedy and the expressions of grief and loss seen in friendships and intimate relationships. Those shown are often handled inappropriately: by the use of anger, acting out, avoidance tactics, denial, and by entering into casual intimate relationships.

JoyReaderGirl1 graciously thanks Netgalley, Author Jennifer R. Hubbard, and Publishers: Penguin Group, Penguin Young Readers Group, and Viking Books for Young Readers for early access to this Advanced Reader’s Electronic Edition for Review. “The Secret Year” will be available to the general public on January 7, 2025.
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This is a powerful book about love, loss and
the class divides that still exist to this day. I would read more books by this author.

I tried so hard to make it through this book, but literally nothing was happening. My first DNF of the year.

I love the premise of a secret romance, it started all good but as you keep reading I was hoping it would come out as another thing..
secret romance, loss and grief are some of the aspects of this book .. overall a good reading a little bit slow but gets better at the half

Thanks to the Author, NetGalley, Penguin group Penguin young readers group and Viking books for this arc

Book Review: If Only I Had Told Her by Laura Nowlin
For fans of deeply romantic novels, Laura Nowlin's If Only I Had Told Her is a poignant exploration of love, loss, and the complexities of grief. The story revolves around Colt and Julia, who share a secret love over the course of a year, hidden from the world due to their differing social circles. Julia thrives within the elegant confines of her country club life on Black Mountain, while Colt navigates the vibrant energy of the flats. Their clandestine meetings by the river are filled with electric chemistry, making their connection all the more intoxicating.
However, the narrative takes a heartbreaking turn when Julia tragically dies in a car accident. This devastating event catapults Colt into a whirlwind of memories, particularly a fight they had on their last night together, leaving him to grapple with unresolved feelings.
The discovery of Julia's diary becomes a pivotal moment for Colt. It offers him a glimpse into her innermost thoughts and secrets she never had the chance to share. As he delves into her words, he finds himself on a journey that may heal his broken heart or unravel a tangled web of secrets that could change everything.
Nowlin’s writing beautifully captures the raw emotions of young love and the pain of loss, inviting readers to reflect on the importance of communication and understanding in relationships. If Only I Had Told Her is not just a love story; it's a moving tribute to the power of memories and the unbreakable bonds that endure even after tragedy strikes. This novel is a must-read for anyone who appreciates a heartfelt narrative that lingers long after the last page is turned. #netgalley

I have some mixed feelings about this book. I liked the premise of a secret romance, but that fizzled once the accident occured. I thought the secret journal was a cool idea, but I didn't buy that Colt didn't read that cover to cover the night he's given it. The rich girl matched up with the less fortunate young man was also an interesting part of the story that just didn't pack the punch it could have in this story. I had high hopes but unfortunately, it did not hit the mark for me. I wanted more out of this story. Your mileage may vary as they say.

The Secret Year was a quick read. It was confusing at times with the way it skipped around in time. The writing itself wasn’t terrible but I struggled to finish it.

Colt obviously loves Julia and how wonderful she is when they are alone yet she treats him like he doesn’t exist around everyone else. Add in the cheating aspect and I just couldn’t stand either of them. Though I do recognize that since their relationship was secret, Colt couldn’t mourn in public which caused problems for him in his relationships with other people.

It would have been nice to see Colt have his own voice and not just follow what his friends did. However, what we got was a story where it seems like he would be stuck not processing his feelings ever.

Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers for an early cop of this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book and read it in one sitting. This was a story of lovers from different sides of the track. I loved the characters and the storyline. I would definitely recommend this book.

THE SECRET YEAR – by Jennifer R. Hubbard - Rerelease

‘Colt and Julia were secretly together for a year, and no one ever knew, not even Julia's boyfriend. Why would they-they were from two different crowds. Julia lived in her country club world and Colt . . . didn't. Then Julia dies in a car accident. Colt is devastated but can't mourn openly, and he's tormented that he may have played a part in her death.’

Growing up as a teen in the 80s, there is a film that comes to mind as I read this Book—one of my favorites at the time—‘Pretty In Pink’ wherein classism takes center stage amid a budding relationship.

As a parent, I have difficulty recommending this book, that is until I reflect on my teenage years, and can’t help but recall the recent use of the phrase ‘Back In My Day’ when talking to my now adult children. I shudder to think how soon I start to utter phrases like, ‘Get Off My Lawn! and ‘You Call That Music!’

*sigh*

I digress.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and recommend it to you youngin’s out there. ;)

Thank you, NetGalley and Viking Publishing (Penguin Random House LLC.), for providing me with an eBook of THE SECRET YEAR at the request of an honest review.

Age range: 14 up
Grades: 9 - 12

I absolutely loved this book.
Such a great read and the first I’ve read by this author but I’ll be looking for more.

I have so many questions.

It looks like this was first published in 2010 and has recently been re-released. I’m not sure when the story is supposed to take place. I think only the Black Mountain (wealthy neighborhood) kids have cell phones, so I assume maybe this was supposed to happen during the late 1990s when cell phones first became widely available. There’s no mention of texting, just calling. There are a couple of mentions of email, which could still track with the late 1990s timing. I don’t think the narrative specifies.

The story’s tone has a little bit of a Holden Caulfield vibe. Colt isn’t trying to be particularly likable. Neither is Julia, honestly. And that was fine. I mostly appreciated their frankness. After someone comes out as gay, Colt does a couple of things that are not great. I get that his reaction is realistic, but I wish the narrative had at least weighed in on his thoughts as negative.

Julia’s letters to Colt interrupt the scenes periodically, and sometimes, I got confused at the bouncing back and forth between her letters and Colt’s perspective. I also felt like the back cover copy implies that the story has a lot more suspense than it does. Colt does remember details about a fight he had with Julia. He does read letters she wrote to him. But I didn’t feel a sense of suspense about any of that. This isn’t a story about uncovering secret reasons for her death. This is the story of a boy who’s experiencing complicated grief because his relationship with a girl was a secret, and he can’t grieve publicly.

I found the story of his grief compelling, but it wasn’t really what I expected the book to be about.

For me, the uncertainty of the timeline (which could have contextualized some of the characters’ behavior) and the confusion over the genre of the story made this one a weird read. I read the book pretty quickly, so I’d say the writing is compelling. Readers who like books by Matthew Quick might enjoy this one.

"Nothing stays secret forever" that is a lie if I ever saw or heard one! This is a rich girl from the right side of the train tracks and poor boy from the wrong side of the train tracks type of story and the way everything played out kinda gave me the ick at times, especially because they were so young. I guess I need to stop going in to some of the books blind. Thank you to the publisher for the ARC.

The characters were kind of flat and despite it being a fairly short story, it started to fizzle about mid way through. That being said, its one you can read in a sitting, so it has that going for it. I don't mean to say that its not good by any stretch, but it's nothing memorable.

For the past year seventeen-year-old Colt secretly has been meeting Julia by the river near his home in the flats. What started out as an innocent run in quickly became a dysfunctional "relationship" that neither Colt or Julia has shared with anyone else. Julia's life up on Black Mountain - full of country club events, parties, and unimaginable wealth - seems to be worlds away from Colt's. His front yard is more like dumping ground for rusting, broken down vehicles. The two couldn't be from more different backgrounds, but they click. But Julia is dating Austin and is fine keeping things casual with Colt. Then Julia dies suddenly, and Colt can't show his grief because no one else knows he even knew Julia. Lost in a bit of a grief fog, Colt goes about his normal routines until he's approached at school by Julia's younger brother Michael who gives him Julia's journal. Then begins Colt's healing process as he reads the journal entries Julia wrote to him about their time together. But will Colt ever be able to move on when no one else knows what he's experienced?


THOUGHTS: This title is a reprint (originally published in 2010) and is being heavily marketed for fans of If He Had Been with Me (also republished) and If Only I Had Told Her by Laura Nowlin. Though Colt and Julia share a mature "relationship," much of it is assumed and is mostly off page ("What happens between us is amazing. It's not just the sex."). This title takes a unique approach to the grief, where a male lead is featured which is a nice change for the romance/realistic genre, and it also addresses other important topics like social classes, grief, poverty, family dynamics, and homophobia. A new catchy new cover will ensure this epistolary title flies off of high school library shelves.

The Secret Year was a book with so much potential. It didn't quite make it there for me though.

Two kids, wrong side of the tracks, we have been here before. But this time the girl dies before a secret relationship ever came to light. With all of this being said Colt has to grieve the loss of his secret girlfriend alone. No one can know it will ruin her reputation as she had a boyfriend from the right side of the tracks during their year long secret relationship.

I feel like this would have been 100% better story if Colt wasn't obsessed with sex. It makes me question their relationship, was it even a real relationship or was he in it for his benefit? Anyway I do feel for him in having grief and needing to process but not being able to talk about it. Maybe it was his way of coping, I don't know.

Favorite part though is that we have a male POV! my favorite.

I would recommend this book to the right person however. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers for an ARC of this novel, originally published in 2010.

There is no note to the effect that this is in any way a revised or updated version of a now 24 year old publication, so I found myself reading it as a ‘snapshot’ of the early days of what is now classified YA. The main characters typify the ‘Romeo and Juliet’ pairing of much of the genre that persists to this day. Julia is the spoiled rich girl who belongs to all the right clubs, has fancy clothes and fancy cars and an equally fancy boyfriend. Austin. Colt is from the wrong side of everything—poor family, unemployed heavy drinking father, the so-called ‘white trash’ of a deeply divided small town society. Everyone, rich and poor, drinks heavily. Everyone, rich and poor, at least among the high school set, seems to be sexually active. Sex, in fact, is more a transaction than an intimate relationship.

The book takes a different approach, certainly for the times, by relating the story from Colt’s point of view. It can’t do otherwise, since Julia dies in a car crash right at the start and Austin knows nothing about Colt, who had been the secret in her life for an entire year. the crash could have made the secret permanent. But Julia’s brother finds her diary, containing her straight from the heart impressions of Colt. When Colt reads it—it is excerpted throughout so that Julia remains alive for Colt and the reader—he is drawn in, despite himself. It’s as though he was never able to get beyond social and familial expectations until he saw himself through the eyes of someone so different that their secret year might have been entirely imagined. I found this a gritty, realistic novel about 21st century teens, and, despite the familiar tropes, still very moving.

Thanks to Netgalley, Jennifer Hubbard and Penguin Group Young Reader's Viking Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this seemed interesting but I had a hard time enjoying. The characters were hard to relate to.

Secret love and then death. I liked the idea of this book and for the first half, it was pretty good as Colt was reading the journal entries. But then it just dragged on and on. Dead Julia wasn't likeable. Her friends were awful. And they had this greasers as socs thing (a la the Outsiders) going on between the rich and poor kids. While I think some of my students will love this book, it was just okay for me.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

Forbidden love. Something that appeals to so many, but this book contains forbidden love, and death and shows the rift between poorer families and the high regard the wealthy families have for, themselves and their social standing.
Colt is your kid who comes from nothing and has a passionate romance with Julia who has it all. When Julia dies in a car accident suddenly, Colt is beside himself. He has nothing to remember their romance other than her diary filled with entries to him. With each entry written to him, he can't forget the moments they spent time together. However, no one knew about their romance except for the two. How can you mourn and get over someone who was never actually yours to begin with?
This was an addicting interesting read that had me hooked from the beginning. If you are looking for a quick steamy read that's YA then this should be your next read! Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group for the opportunity to read and review this one!