Interesting YA mystery, but it didn't really have enough with the plot to really keep me invested. I do think that younger teenagers might enjoy it more than I did though.

A YA book about secrets and cover-ups, The Secrets We Keep is a thrilling tale of deception and intrigue that will appeal to all teenager, and enthusiastic adult YA readers. Highly recommend to school and public libraries.

This was a quick read for me. I liked it. I loved the way it was written. I, however, did not like the plot and the events leading up to it but again the author did a wonderful job telling the story. I felt like there could have been more added to the story to make the plot a little more interesting. I gave this book 3/5 stars.

This was a fast and easy read, but nothing that really kept me guessing. The characters and situations seemed a little younger than what I'm used to reading, but it was a fun read.

I started The Secrets We Keep by Deb Loughead because I was just like yessss, murder mystery, young adult, possible romance, this is so great! I'm such a fan of mysteries and all that angst over characters thinking x person's death is their fault when in reality something else entirely happened. So, I was super excited to get into this. And then, it all fell through when I actually read the words on the page.

This is a super short review because obviously I Did Not Finish-ed the book. Maybe the story itself is decent, but the writing, I could not get past it. It feels like the written equivalent of the Steve Buscemi's gif where he is dressed like what he thinks teens wear saying How do you do, fellow kids?

The disconnect between the age the character is supposed to be, and the way it is written, the words used, is so severe and jarring, I just cannot keep going with it. It feels wrong. It feels as though the author is trying to write how she thinks teens talk and think, but at the same time, passing judgement on them? 

If you can get past the writing, then I hope the story is an enjoyable one. It definitely seems like there's something intriguing there, and hopefully my initial hunch that Ellie knows more than she's saying is wrong, but for me, I'll never find out. The Secrets We Keep by Deb Loughead is just a bust.

“He did not wind up in the water by accident. I know that someone out there, one of many who were at the quarry that night, knows more.”

Since The Secrets We Keep is intended to be a contemporary mystery, I will not be discussing the plot. On that note, do yourself a favor and go into every mystery book without prior knowledge of the story. The reading experience will be so much more enjoyable that way.

Anyway, let’s talk about this book. It’s on the shorter side so there isn’t much to discuss. The story starts a few months after the mysterious death of Kit Stinski. Authorities ruled it as “death by misadventure”, but his lawyer mother will not settle until the real cause of his death is uncovered. It turns out that almost every character in this story is keeping secrets about what really happened that night, and the roles they may or may not have played in Kit’s “misadventure” eventually come to light.

The writing is fast-paced and easy to follow but it felt a little juvenile for my taste. That being said, I’m used to far more lengthy (and frankly disturbing) mysteries, so it’s quite possible that you will enjoy this a lot more than I did. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a lighter mystery.

Pro: This was a very quick read so it shouldn’t be surprising that I finished it in one sitting. I do love it when a book can give me closure very quickly.

Con: The plot twists were more like gentle nudges, but maybe you’re into that kind of suspense. I prefer my mysteries to feel like consecutive punches in the gut.

Pro: There are several suspect characters, so even though it was a little predictable to me, there are some bits and pieces that will keep you constantly guessing.

Con: I really didn’t like any of the characters… and normally this is fine. I love to hate characters. The problem is, I feel nothing at all for these ones. Take that as you will.

Conclusion: This simply wasn’t my cup of suspenseful tea but I’m sure many others will love it.

Enough with the blaming already! Way too long, and i didnt really like the mc, Clem.
The mystery part we pay, but again, it dragged on and on

"The Secrets We Keep" has a premise full of promise. The first half of the book is riveting! The author's story telling is impeccable, and I was devouring page after page of this short book at a healthy clip. The characters are easy to sympathize with, Clem in particular. She feels responsible for Kit's death (even though she really shouldn't in my mind). This relentless guilt got very old when other plot points started to deteriorate...about 50% through the book. For me, it went downhill from there, which made me sad! There was so much potential! The ending...realistic but unsatisfying. That's always difficult as a reader. The author stayed true to the characters. It just felt disappointing.

So, what would have possibly made this ending more compelling? Another friend of mine who read the book suggested a retelling at the end from Kit's point of view of that night would have been a great addition. I agree. It would have been a more compelling way to do 'the big reveal', but also potentially problematic for storytelling. (How would we have gotten that information?)

Overall, I would recommend this book for middle school readers, English Language Learners, and struggling readers. I think they would be more satisfied with the story.

Side note: This book drove me crazy. I had received the ARC through NetGalley, completely forgot about it (because I neglected to put it on my calendar), never downloaded it, and there went my beautiful 100% rating on the site. It bothered me so much that I purchased the ebook for myself to read and review so I could clear the blemish from my account!

I was unable to review due to not being able to successfully download the book.

Listen, I love YA Mystery novels and this was a great one.

While this is a YA mystery novel, I found that it wasn't as suspenseful as I would want it do I also found that it would probably be better suited for a middle school as opposed to a young adult novel. That being said, it was a super quick read, with a little bit of character development, and a story that wraps up neatly.

Although was approved to review this title, it was, however, unable to download onto my device, so I didn't have the chance to read it. This book sounds good though so I'll keep an eye out for it. Thanks for the chance though.

For some odd reason I downloaded twice and I never recieved I have been waiting for it to just show up but it has not :(

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Dundurn for the opportunity to read and review The Secrets We Keep by Deb Loughead. This story is told in four points of view beginning with Clementine, and telling the story of Kit and how he died, which is a mystery. The target audience is right on as described by the publisher - 12 to 15 years. Clementine, Jake and Ellie are part of the group who last saw Kit, who has special needs. Ellie is blackmailing Clementine for favors, such as lying to her parents so Ellie doesn't get in trouble when she's doing something she knows she shouldn't be. The blackmail has ruined their friendship and Clementine finally decides to tell Ellie it's over. Holding in and denying their secrets is tearing each of them apart and destroying their relationships. When the truth finally comes out, the community can finally heal. Aimed towards young teens with a passion for mystery and realistic fiction, 3.5 stars.

I love that the book was told from four different points of view, and each encounter seemed to come together. I would definitely consider this book extremely fast-paced, I'm sure being only 184 pages long helped. It also had a lot of mystery involved, and it was really great. I flew through this quick read mainly because of all the twists and turns, which kept me wanting more. It also slightly touches on Autism.
I like that the characters have very different personality traits. At the beginning of the book I found Clem extremely judgmental, and it really frustrated me. I didn't really like the fact that it was kind of a love story sold more as a mystery. I got pretty annoyed at each of the characters, it seemed they were all having a pity party for themselves, without letting anyone know.
Overall I thought this was a very solidly written book, that I enjoyed reading. I thought it started to get a bit repetitive and annoying at times.

This has so much potential, but unfortunately it fell a little short for me. Secrets We Keep follows a group of teens as they deal with the aftermath of the drowning of Kit, a socially challenged student; each blaming themselves.

Even though this mystery unfolds slowly, the author’s writing is quite addictive and is the only reason I kept flipping the pages. However, what starts out strong begins to dwindle by the second half of the book and it seems like the author and subsequently the characters begin to lose focus about what happened to Kit.

While the bones are there, I didn’t feel like there was enough suspense or character development to make this as great as it could be. The ending was underwhelming and did nothing to serve the overall arc of the story.

Would recommend more to the younger YA reader or middle grader in your life.

I picked up this book because I thought it was going to be a teen mystery but there was really no mystery. I did not care for the main character which made enjoying the book difficult. Parts of the book also read like an adult lecturing teens about the dangers of social media and dependence on devices. I was very disappointed in the ending,

Sorry this was archived before I was able to download it. Actually I had thought I had downloaded it when I checked my spreadsheet against my Net Galley titles. However, when it finally became time to read it, I found the one I thought it was was not. It was the same title, but with a different author's name. If you want to send it to me again, I would be glad to read and review it. So sorry for the mix up.

Dundurn and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Secrets We Keep. This is my honest opinion of the book.

After Kit Stitski drowned in the quarry after a party, Clementine Stanford blamed herself. As the last person to see him alive, she cannot forgive herself for being distracted by Jake, the boy she has had a crush on for a long time. Between being blackmailed by her so-called friend and the pressure from Kit's mom for someone to tell the truth, Clem is concerned that her role might come to light. When a discovery at the quarry changes everything, will Jake and Clementine be able to put the events of the night in order?

As this was an ARC, I expect some grammatical and assorted typographical errors. The many missing commas were distracting, but the lacking plot was even more so. The story never came together for me and I did not feel a connection with the main characters in any meaningful way. Clem and Jake, in their zeal to find the truth, do not take the threats seriously, despite the fact that there has already been issues. The dialogue seemed forced in places, as though the author needed to use the characters to make the plot go in a certain direction. For these reasons, I would not recommend The Secrets We Keep to other readers.

Kit, an autistic student, disappears at a party and turns up dead. Clem was the last person to see him alive, and the guilt is eating at her. Her supposed best friend is taunting her with the knowledge that Clem was the last person to see Kit, so Clem turns to her crush Jake. Jake has his own guilt over Kit’s death, and he and Clem come to turns with their involvement to help find out what really happened to Kit.