As much as I wanted to love this, I just had a hard time with it. It all seemed so far fetched to read.

If you’re in a relationship with somebody and it’s a secret, is there really a relationship?
Colt and Julia we’re in a secret relationship for a year when tragedy strikes… Coltis handed Julia‘s diary,
He gets to relive that year from her words!

Emotionally heartbreaking, a total ugly cry!
My first book this, but it definitely will not be my last!

Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group I Viking Books for Young Readers for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review of Jennifer R Hubbard's The Secret Year. The idea of the book intrigued me; the Outsiders meets Romeo and Juliet. Honestly, I don't think I saw the Romeo and Juliet so much as their families didn't know about their relationship so they didn't forbid them from seeing each other but this book definitely had an Outsiders vibe.

Julia, a wealthy girl who has a boyfriend decides she wants to have a secret, no strings attached relationship with Colt, a poor boy from the flats. They are still secretly together when Colt gets the news that Julia has been killed in a car accident. The book explores the loss Colt faces alone since no one knows they were together, to stop feeling like he is to blame for the accident, and his trying to move on.

This book was a fast read and I had a hard time putting it down because I wanted to know what would happen next. The book didn’t really dig very deep into feelings and was surface level but perhaps it is because this book is meant for high school, however I know high schoolers can handle more in-depth writing than this. I liked the book being from Colt’s point of view but I felt like it ended abruptly with no real resolution.

The Secret Year is a story about loss and grief of a secret romance. Colt and Julia were secretly together for a year, but when Julia is killed in a car crash Colt is left all alone with his grief and his knowledge of what they meant to each other.

I had such high expectations after reading the blurb. The premise was intriguing and it even said that it would be a mix of Romeo and Juliet and The Outsiders, so it sounded like a beautiful and emotional story that would break my heart (in a good way). But unfortunately, it never got me invested.

The whole book felt like it only scratched the surface. Colt told us all about how he felt, but as a reader I didn’t experience it as much as I would have liked to. There was nothing of the tragedy and deep feelings from Romeo and Juliet nor the feverish vibe from The Outsiders. I also didn’t fully root for the characters. Mostly because I never really got to know them. All the time I read the book I kept waiting for something more to happen, for the story to go deeper or for the characters to show more of themselves. But sadly, the story never really got going. And I didn’t like the way Colt treated Syd, especially not how he justified it to himself. Nor did his falling in love with Kirby feel authentic. Throughout the book, even when Colt thought about Julia, it never felt like it was about any deeper feelings, only about the sex.

So, all in all, a story with a lot of potential but sadly it turned out not to be a book for me.

2.5 stars. This one fell flat for me. I really like to read YA, but this one had such a juvenile tone to it. I notice that this is a re-release of one of Hubbard's earlier books, and I venture to bet her writing has gotten much better over the years. The storyline was good, but I just couldn't get very into this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the eARC.

This book had such an interesting premise, and I have been loving some YA reads this year. Unfortunately this one was too YA for me. I did not like Colt and his POV and so I struggled to get through.

Eh decent YA book similar vibes to He Should Have Been With Me but He Should Haven Been With Me was much better with likeable characters who your root for and grieve for… this one had characters that were annoying and not likeable and honestly at the end of the day I am not sure what the purpose or plot of the book was

Thank you, PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers group for the copy of The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard. I loved the premise, a teen in a secret relationship dies, leaving behind mourning friends, including Colt, who has to grieve in private. I could have loved this book but the execution was off. The male POV was so unemotional I never really cared about Colt. To be fair, I don't read many books with just a male POV so maybe I was expecting too much. The events felt choppy and weren’t cohesive. There were parts I loved and others that seemed just thrown in. I think people who enjoy an episodic narrative will love this. 3 stars.

This book was excellent I truly did not want it to end! There were also some unexpected twists and turns! Very well written this was my first time reading this author but I will be looking for more in the future!

The setup: a rich girl and poor boy in a secret relationship. A year later, Julia is dead and Colt is left to silently mourn her.

The premise of this story was intriguing and dealt with some tough subject matter. This story has a lot of great potential, but I do feel like some parts could have been executed better.

Overall, I've got some mixed feelings about this book as it is a bit hit or miss, but I'm still glad to have checked it out.

Colt and Julia live in different worlds, despite going to the same high school. The two of them have been in a secret relationship for an entire year. Julia is rich, popular, a senior and has a boyfriend. Colt is a junior from a much less wealthy family. On Friday night they have an argument, on Monday Julia is dead.

Weeks after that, Julia's younger brother figures it out and tracks Colt down to give him one of Julia's notebooks. For the past year, Julia has been writing down everything that's been going on in their secret relationship in letters she wrote for Colt but never sent. Now Colt has all those letter's and is slowly making his way through it, reliving the past year of his life while trying to be present in his current life as well. Like, his female best friend, Syd, clearly has a crush on him and he might be leading her on,

I enjoyed that this book was told from Colt's POV, as there isn't too many High School romances told in a male POV.

As a big fan of secret love stories and contemporary romance novels I was very excited to get my hands on this one. As an avid reader especially of this genre it's very hard to get a book that shocks me however this one completely left me speechless. This was unlike anything I've ever read in this genre and that made it all the more tantalizing. I love the characters however it was the plot that really had flipping the pages at a rapid pace. This isn't your typical contemporary romance. This one is all about secrets, mystery, and hidden affection. When a young woman, Julia, is killed in a car crash her whole community is devastated however no one is as crushed as Colt. The two ran in completely different circles and Julie had a boyfriend so Colts devastation was a little unexpected. Behind the surface of his devastation however leaves a heartbroken man who has to grieve the loss of a woman he was never able to claim in the first place. With a love that had to be kept under wraps for their social sakes they were never fully able to express how they felt and after Julia's death it's cemented their secrecy. When Colt manages to get his hands on Julia's journals he's able to relive their romance as it played out in her eyes and once more connect with the woman he loved. This book is all about morning a loss that no one even expected was there in the first place. I can't imagine having to go through that and have everyone looking at another person when you're the one who's heart is breaking into a million pieces. I love the concept of this book because it was such a roller coaster that I never wanted to end. It was heartbreaking to witness all of the happy times knowing how they ended. I love the flashbacks because it really gave the reader an insight on how close the two were and how they dealt with their secrecy. This book got me from the beginning but it wasn't until the journals that it really secured its hold on me. I found myself racing through at a record speed just devouring all of their moments together and knowing how it ended made it that much more heartbreaking. This is a short read that will leave a giant impact on its readers. Don't be turned off by the size as good things come in small packages. And this is one that lives up to that standard. It managed to take all of the important parts and leave all of the unnecessary fluff. Great read and I'm so glad I got the chance to check it out This is one book that even if you've read multiple times will always be able to make your heart flutter. I highly recommend this book and I can't wait until everyone else is able to check it out. This book will be the book of the year and I know all book clubs will be desperate to get their hands on it, and I'm very thankful to be able to say that I got to check it out first. The only negative thing I have to say about this book was I found the ending to be a little stunted. I feel it could have wrapped up a little bit better however that might just be because I didn't want the book to end.

If you are looking for a YA book that’s is based on a males POV this is a book for you. It is a good book that hits on some pretty serious subjects. Rich vs poor and the divide between them. And coming out to your family. And the power of words that can hold you to a person. A good read for someone in high school who is looking for a bit of romance and some serious subjects. A fairly easy read for an adult just looking for something to cleans their pallet.

I liked this book because it was from a High School boys' point of view. That doesn't happen much especially in a YA novel. It does have "The Outsides" feel to it. Like, problems between the Black Mountain kids and the Flats kids. They don't hang at the same places or date from the "other side". It's about 2 kids from different worlds getting together in secret and just enjoying each other until one dies and the other one is left to carry on like he didn't even know her. You hear from his point of view how he does with her ghost in his head and on paper. He deals fairly well and some don't once the truth comes out.

Thank you for 48 hours to read this novel.

This book claims to be great "For fans of Laura Nowlin's If Only I Had Told Her" and while I agree with this statement, I felt a bit underwhelmed by this novel. I think the author does a good job with the story but it was lacking a bit of feeling for me especially around Julia's death. I didn't feel sad at all and I feel like I didn't know her character or personality very much. For me this one was just ok.

Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a touching story of friendship and coming to terms with grief. I enjoyed Colt and Julia’s story but wish it was longer because I felt it was lacking resolution.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.