Keeping Secrets

After I read All the Rage, I wanted some more intense reads about heavy issues. I guess that's been my reading MO for a while now- I am trying to read a middle-grade novel right now, but I find myself losing interest in it whenever I try to read a little. There's so much dialogue, rather than internal thought narration, and they're discussing silly things. I enjoy middle-school humor, but I also need to be able to explore and discuss more controversial topics that are not appropriate for that age group.

I picked this one up while browsing in the local library. Devon Davenport cannot believe that 'it' was inside her. Was she really in denial for nine months that there was something growing inside her, or is she just another teenager who did not want to take responsibility for her actions? Nothing about 'it' ever seemed real, so when she gives birth alone in her home, no one else, not even her mom, believes it. How could she have hidden that secret for so long? Furthermore, what could have possessed Devon, a talented soccer player and honors student, to try and hide all the evidence, including 'it' in the garbage can? After tells the story of a girl who is desperate: desperate not to end up like her mother, desperate to go to college, and desperate to keep her secrets. Author Amy Efaw manages to keep the story focused on Devon, and her psychological struggle, rather than condemning girls like her or proselytizing.

I'd been waiting on this inter-library loan book for a couple of weeks, and I finished it one day. I think this title came up on Amazon as a suggestion while I was browsing one day, and it seemed like a good companion for all those Jodi Picoult books I've become kind of addicted to.  Lisa Kallisto is a mother of three, with a full time job at a local animal shelter, balancing her schedule with the crazy hours of her husband, who is a taxi cab driver. One day, her daughter's friend, who was supposed to be sleeping over, vanishes. Lisa takes the blame, from her friend, the locals, and herself, for neglecting to tell anyone about the change in schedule that led to the miscommunication, and the search for the teenage girl begins. Running parallel with the story of searching for young Lucinda is the narrative of a man, a predator. Reading the book is like being in a race against him.  .  .at least until all the secrets start coming out.  .  .

I don't think this book is on par with Picoult in regard to the careful characterization, and the crafting of descriptive passages that always renew my addiction, but it was a great read. Readers who enjoy mysteries, and the satisfaction that comes with uncovering deep, dark, secrets would enjoy this.