Colt and Julia couldn’t have been more different because of their social differences. Julia had everything—a wealthy lifestyle, friends, a car, and a country-club boyfriend—everything except true happiness. Colt was the boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Despite their differences, they had been in a relationship for a year…until Julia was killed in a car accident. Their story felt like a mix of Romeo and Juliet and The Outsiders.

Julia died on Labor Day, returning home from a party. I never got to see her that night. We used to meet on Friday nights, sneaking off to the riverbank, hiding in her car, stealing moments together. It was our secret. No one else knew.

After Julia’s death, Colt grieved alone, keeping their relationship a secret. Julia had a boyfriend—Austin. For Colt, their relationship was simple at first, just physical. At least, that’s how he thought of it…until she was gone.

After Julia’s death, Colt receives a notebook—Julia’s journal. In it, she wrote letters addressed to C.M., pouring out her emotions and feelings. Reading it slowly, Colt gains insights into Julia’s life that he never knew. Through her words, he experiences her emotions from her perspective.

The Secret Year was a quick read. I wasn't really ready for it to end. Awesome book. I loved it!

This was packed with so much grief, you can feel how much Julie’s death impacted Colt. The grief was well written, and well done with a lot of respect. This is definitely one of those books that will stick with you for awhile.

Yet another book I have read that involves grief lately...this book is wonderfully written and will make you wonder if you really know what is going on in the lives of the people around you. Highly recommend!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Secret Year
Author: Jennifer R. Hubbard
Source: NetGalley
Publication Date: January 7, 2025

The Secret Year reminds me of West Side Story or Romeo and Juliet. In this novel, Romeo is Colt, a young junior at a local high school who comes from a home on the wrong side of town with an alcoholic father and a hard-working mother who barely makes ends meet. The beautiful Juliet character is named Julia, and she comes from the country club with lots of money, homes high on the mountain that are 5 times the size of the flat lands, and dreams of going to Harvard. Her world is markedly different than Colt’s. Julia is a wealthy and entitled student at the same high school. Colt lives under truly different circumstances and works cleaning tables at the local diner. But for almost a year before Julia’s death, the lovers meet at night down by the river, where their love grows stronger, although it remains a secret. Unfortunately, not even love can save Julia from a tragic car crash. The resulting fallout is where the story gets even more interesting. Like many high schools, there is a hierarchy and money rules over the lower class. A secret between two lovers becomes an explosive point in the plot. I enjoyed this book. It is simple, well-written, and timeless. The author writes for Colt: “All year, I’d been walking this riverbank with her voice and the lines of her notebook in my head, living those highs and lows again, trying to keep her. But we’d had only so many nights together, and the notebook had only so many pages, and that world was never going to get any bigger.” #TheSecretYear #JenniferRHubbard @vikingbooks @netgalley #YA #fiction #contemporaryFiction #romance #younglove #richVsPoor #life #loss #tragedy #redemption
.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the opportunity to read this novel.

#book #books #bookAddict #BooksOfInstagram #bookstagram #bookstagramer #bookshelf #reader #pbooklove #bookreviewer

I had high expectations for this book. A modern Romeo and Juliet where Romeo is left to go on alone when Juliet is tragically taken from him. I wanted to love it, but the story just didn't meet those expectations. Yes, it's a story with a forbidden romance but that's not what it was about. It became a tale about a boy who tries to prove to himself that he mattered to someone who was just using him to escape her perfect world.

I’m right on the fence about this one. There were things I really loved and things I think needed A LOT more fleshing out to pack the punch they needed to. The promised vibe was Romeo and Juliet meets The Outsiders. Those are some BIG shoes to fit and while I could see why it was marketed that way, I don’t think that’s in the book’s favor necessarily. I did really love Colt as the MMC. I could feel some slight Ponyboy Curtis vibes in his narration and especially being the quiet boy from the wrong side of the tracks. I liked the snippets of Julia’s diary that we got and seeing Colt look back on their relationship with fresh eyes after she was gone. I wish we would have gotten more of a look at Colt’s family dynamic and also his friend group because those were very intriguing, but felt underdeveloped. The ending was incredibly abrupt and I felt like it needed a lot more closure. I think honestly this book needed 50-75 more pages to fully develop what could have been a really beautiful story on all fronts.

CW: violence, car accident, death, grief

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for an advanced digital readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley.com for a free copy of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are mine.

A great book about a tough topic. No one in High School thinks they will die or thinks anyone they know will die but in an unfortunate accident Julie does die, leaving behind a boyfriend she planned on breaking up with and a diary full of letters to her secret boyfriend.

This book is very readable as Colt grapples with grief that he can't share since no one knew about the relationship. He also lives in a town where the lines are very clearly drawn. The kids on Black Mountain are the haves and the kids in the Flats the have nots. The two don't mix. But Julia was from the Mountain and Colt from the Flats.

Beautifully written you could feel the struggle Colt has with his relationship with Julia, her death and how everything seems so big in their little world but he knows that things are different outside of Black Mountain. How do you let go of something that you aren't sure was yours in the first place? How do you move forward when you struggle to forgive yourself.

I was immediately drawn in to this book and couldn't put it down. There is a lot to this little book that will leave me thinking about it for a while.

When this showed up on NetGalley, I didn't realize it was because it's about to be published in paperback after being originally released in 2010. This book about a forbidden teenage romance was pretty bad and filled with cliches. I'm giving it 2 stars instead of just 1 because it might appeal to some teens who otherwise might not read a book.

4.5 stars.

The Secret Year by Jennifer R. Hubbard is a captivating young adult novel.

Colt Morrissey is stunned by the death of Julia Vernon. They were in a secret relationship for a year and he is mourning by himself after she dies. When he receives a notebook of letters written to him by Julia, he is grateful for the opportunity to learn more about her.

Colt is a well-developed character who is well-rounded. He is even-tempered and enjoys the outdoors. Colt understands his place in the social hierarchy of school and the town. He harbors some resentment at Julia’s refusal to dump the boyfriend she always complains about. Colt harbors guilt over her death that might be misplaced.

The Secret Year is an angst-free young adult novel. Colt is a sympathetic character and easy to like. The secondary characters are interesting and their inclusion adds depth to the story. The storyline is engaging and fast-paced. Jennifer R. Hubbard brings the novel to a bit of an abrupt conclusion that is mostly satisfying.

The premise of this book is interesting. I wanted a little more from it than it gave. The Secret Year explores the differences in societal class and a secret love. It also explores the topic of grief which was done quite well. The ending did get more emotional for me, but that's what I was looking for during the entirety of the book. Overall an enjoyable read addressing some important topics.

Thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was really interesting, I thought we were reading about adults, completely passing by the age that’s stated in the synopsis lol, until I started to read the book and these are teenage kids. Colt is from a more poor part of the neighborhood and Julia is from a richer part, these kids don’t even talk to each other but they bumped into each other on a river that divides them and there they started their one little affair, for a whole year. No one knows, but after she dies and he is given a journal where she writes about them and even creates poetry, and I was loving it and then also taken aback by how graphic is adult it was for a YA book. Their love story was confusing, emotions were all over the place, typical teens, and I felt more confused about everything going on towards the end, maybe this book was not for me.

This was a very quick read that was clearly trying to be like the outsiders and Romeo and Juliet, but I really don’t think it succeeded at either. I know it was YA but it still felt very young and while the diary part was interesting it wasn’t enough to hold my interest

This was a really well crafted Young Adult novel that tackles some really sensitive and tough topics. The author describes the challenges of being a teenager along with some with pretty tough issues: sex, drugs, violence, and tragic death. She touches on the subjects without too much graphic detail.

The main character Colton is struggling with the tragic death of a girl that he loves. Julia died in a tragic car accident. Colton is struggling with grieving because nobody knows about his relationship with Julia. She is privileged and lives in a wealthy neighbourhood. Plus, she also has a boyfriend. After her death, Julia’s brother uncovers their secret and gives Julia’s diary to Colton the diary is full of her inner thoughts, in the form of letters written to Colton. Colton struggles with his grief and moving on. Maybe, the letters can bring him some peace.

I highly recommend this book. Check the triggers and see if it’s a good fit for you. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC Copy.

I thought this was a sweet story. There aren’t a lot of love stories told with a male teen protagonist, and I think Colt shared what he could. I think it’s fine there wasn’t more *drama* because Colt isn’t a dramatic guy who wears his heart on his sleeve. He is a regular guy who had an odd year and then has to figure out how to deal with what comes next. To me, he was very relatable and I enjoyed watching him find his way.

This book was very much a YA book. Told entirely from Colt’s point of view and conveniently through a journal of letters written (but not given) to him until after Julia’s death. Yes it’s reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet, but isn’t that also a very normal young adult way of thinking? Maybe it’s just me, but I could understand where Colt was coming from and his thoughts.

While this book deals with an accident and death and violence, it is not overly dramatic or emotional. Colt doesn’t seemed bothered by the usual teen angsty drama of eating alone in the lunchroom or being embarrassed by having to bus tables for the rich kids while they throw food at him. Interesting.

This book was a quick read. It didn’t put me to sleep and I was interested in reading to the end. I was a little surprised that it ended so quickly but I guess there is no need to draw things out and overthink them. I wonder how Colt is faring as an adult.

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

This was a super fast read that deals with tough situations. I don’t think that it scratched the surface of what it could’ve been though, as it didn’t make any sort of impact on me as a reader. I think that it tries to be an updated version of The Outsiders, but it doesn’t quite make it.
Julia and Colt are high schoolers who are in s secret relationship after meeting up at the river accidentally one night. They are from opposite sides of the economic spectrum and therefor Julia can’t tell her friends about him, not to mention that she also has a boyfriend and Colt can’t tell his friends about her because they wouldn’t believe him. Then Julia dies in a drunken car wreck and Colt is left to deal with his feelings and the loss by himself. That made the book standout for me because we don’t get a lot of stories told from just the make POV when dealing with tough subjects. One day Julia’s brother Michael gives him Julia’s notebook that he finds in her room and it’s full of poems and letters she wrote to Colt but never gave him. Can he bring himself to read the notes and finally bring closure to the most intense year and the biggest loss of his life?
I was hoping for a roller coaster of emotions but sadly that never happened. 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, it’s one you can read in a sitting, so it has that going for it. I don’t mean to say that it’s not good by any stretch, but it’s nothing memorable.
Thanks to Viking Juvenile for this eArc in exchange for my review.

I read this book years ago. Saw it was being republished. I forgot I already read this. I didn't like it the first time so I did not reread it again.

Romeo and Juliet retelling. It sounded so intriguing and I thought i would love it. Alas, it was a big miss for me. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of this novel.

Colt, a high schooler, is reeling from the unexpected death of his secret hookup partner Julia of a year. Colt is from a working class family from the wrong side of the tracks, while Julia is from the country club world of Black Mountain and has an upper class boyfriend to match. Julia's brother discovers letters and poems that Julia wrote to a "CM" and figures out that it's Colt. Armed with her writings, Colt reads them to try and figure out what happened with their relationship.

The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard is an interesting novel about class and grief. It had many Outsiders tone to me, and even though it was set in today's time period, the class wars kind of seemed dated to me. It's nice to see a book written from a male teenager's point of view. I think it was detached retelling on purpose because it's hard for teenagers to actually deconstruct their feelings. .

Two teenagers fall in love; a secret relationship since they are from 2 different sides of town. But then Julia dies suddenly. Colt is devastated but can't let anyone know why. He discovers the truth about their relationship through a journal Julia left behind.

I enjoyed the story; it was a quick read overall. However, since it was so short it didn't pull me in emotionally like other romance books often do.