Helpful Score: 14
The Secret Between Us by Barbara Delinksy is truthfully painful. A good novel but with so much guilt that you really start to feel like it's you in the story. It's a can't put down book til the end so that you can see if things come out for better or worse.
Deborah Monroe is mom, daughter, sister, ex-wife, and prominent town doctor to a quite little town in New England. Highly respected and loved, independent, honest to a fault has her life upturned by one little incident. Oh, is it little or bigger than she thinks.
Grace Monroe is a loving, athletic, brilliant, devoted teen who knows right from wrong but the one little unfortunate incident throws her into such an emotional turmoil that you sit and wonder how your own child would react to the same thing happening to her. The entire town knows this teen as truthfully honest and reliable almost to perfection which sets Grace up for emotional pain that is unimaginable.
The story brings into question what lengths we would go to as a parent in order to protect our children. It also questions our ability to handle one crisis following another as an adult especially in a small town where everyone knows everything about everyone. Can secrets truly be hidden in such a small community. Will one little deception tear a family apart not only from themselves but from all prying eyes. Can one selfish person willing cause so much emotional pain and break the trust that has been here for generations. So many questions with too few answers.
The author is brilliant with the actual storyline. With living in Massachusetts myself I can actually visualize all the areas that the author takes us to. Even though this is fiction it could also be someone's real life story. It's something we say can't possibly happen to us but in all reality, "It only takes one time", and it could very well come to pass.
Deborah Monroe is mom, daughter, sister, ex-wife, and prominent town doctor to a quite little town in New England. Highly respected and loved, independent, honest to a fault has her life upturned by one little incident. Oh, is it little or bigger than she thinks.
Grace Monroe is a loving, athletic, brilliant, devoted teen who knows right from wrong but the one little unfortunate incident throws her into such an emotional turmoil that you sit and wonder how your own child would react to the same thing happening to her. The entire town knows this teen as truthfully honest and reliable almost to perfection which sets Grace up for emotional pain that is unimaginable.
The story brings into question what lengths we would go to as a parent in order to protect our children. It also questions our ability to handle one crisis following another as an adult especially in a small town where everyone knows everything about everyone. Can secrets truly be hidden in such a small community. Will one little deception tear a family apart not only from themselves but from all prying eyes. Can one selfish person willing cause so much emotional pain and break the trust that has been here for generations. So many questions with too few answers.
The author is brilliant with the actual storyline. With living in Massachusetts myself I can actually visualize all the areas that the author takes us to. Even though this is fiction it could also be someone's real life story. It's something we say can't possibly happen to us but in all reality, "It only takes one time", and it could very well come to pass.
Helpful Score: 9
I received this book for free as part of a marketing campaign conducted by BzzAgent, and had never read a book by Barbara Delinsky before (I don't think I'd even heard of her). The cover for some reason reminds me of a book you'd find in the "young adult" section (not where I shop), but I'm always up for trying something new.
The plot revolves around a family and several other people in a small New England town, who (surprise!) all have secrets. That said, I didn't find the book to be overly predictable. There are family tensions, concerns about reputation, and overwhelming situations, and the characters all act in an understandable manner.
The book didn't take a lot of brainpower to read, but it also wasn't complete fluff. I'd say it's a great book for the beach or traveling, something you can breeze through but not feel like you've wasted your time.
The plot revolves around a family and several other people in a small New England town, who (surprise!) all have secrets. That said, I didn't find the book to be overly predictable. There are family tensions, concerns about reputation, and overwhelming situations, and the characters all act in an understandable manner.
The book didn't take a lot of brainpower to read, but it also wasn't complete fluff. I'd say it's a great book for the beach or traveling, something you can breeze through but not feel like you've wasted your time.
Helpful Score: 2
I'm sure like most of you I was very excited when I received this book due to the reviews and buzz I heard from others. Unfortunately, the book did not meet up to its hype (well, to me at least!). I found the book to be very slow moving and it actually took me a good few MONTHS to finish this book. And for an avid book reader like me that's saying a lot - I typically can devour a book in a sitting ;-)
The characters started to becoming more annoying than likeable and there were too many other subplots (Karen and Hal, Jill, unresolved issues, etc.) for you to actually feel the suspense I'm sure the author was trying to convey. Had the story been oh maybe 100 pages shorter I'm sure it would have flowed much better, but I must warn you not to rush to pick this one up if you decide to read it at all.
The characters started to becoming more annoying than likeable and there were too many other subplots (Karen and Hal, Jill, unresolved issues, etc.) for you to actually feel the suspense I'm sure the author was trying to convey. Had the story been oh maybe 100 pages shorter I'm sure it would have flowed much better, but I must warn you not to rush to pick this one up if you decide to read it at all.
Helpful Score: 2
Another great Delinsky book - keeps you wondering right up to the end of the story! Would highly recommend.
Helpful Score: 1
This one had been on my shelf for awhile and I'm glad I finally got a chance to read it. I was expecting a full blown romance, yet this was just a plain story line. I enjoyed that right now. Just enough to make me want to read some more of her books.
Helpful Score: 1
Great family drama. I don't normally enjoy abridged audiobooks, but this one was extremely well done.
Helpful Score: 1
Really makes you think about your own life and how telling the truth - no matter how awful it may be to tell - is always the best policy. I was so torn as I was reading this story and could relate to how the mother was handling her daughter in their "situation". Very good book and very realistic - a very nice ending to the story as well.
Helpful Score: 1
Twenty pages into this book, I thought that it was going to be a good story. Then, it just kind of stopped. The story doesn't flow, and the characters aren't very believable. I stopped reading it about halfway through, so perhaps it got better, but I just didn't want to waste anymore precious (scarce) reading time finding out.
Helpful Score: 1
I would describe this book as vanilla. It was somewhat bland, with not enough tension between characters and not enough suspense. Also, I didn't feel an emotional connection to the characters and found their points of view to be hard-to-get-into. It definitely wasn't the worst book I've read - I didn't struggle through it or anything - but I will probably forget all about this storyline by next year.
Helpful Score: 1
THE SECRET BETWEEN US deals with the interactions of family. How far a mother will go to protect her child, how a child reacts to knowing they've done something that can never be taken back. It's not a bad story, but it wasn't as fully evolved as I would have liked it to be.
The main problem, for me, was the ending, which I saw as a total cop-out. In the end, the resolutions came too easily, and in ways that made everyone turn out to be a good guy. Things rarely work this way in real life.
This isn't Barbara Delinsky's best story, but it's still good for reading about a family who will do anything to keep itself whole.
The main problem, for me, was the ending, which I saw as a total cop-out. In the end, the resolutions came too easily, and in ways that made everyone turn out to be a good guy. Things rarely work this way in real life.
This isn't Barbara Delinsky's best story, but it's still good for reading about a family who will do anything to keep itself whole.
As usual Barbara Delinsky has written a wonderful story. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and found the point of the story to be so true.
I generally LOVE Barbara Delinsky's books....something just fell a bit short for me with this one.
I enjoyed this book. It seems at times we overprotect them to the point of hurting them and us in the process. good read and quick read..
This is another great one by a great author that never fails to entertain. While reading it I went back and forth in my views of what the mom had done. Would I have done the same or not? It makes you think a lot.
WONDERFUL book about a mother-daughter relationship. Delinsky really gets the tension between a young woman trying to find her way in the world and the responsibility of a mom who just wants to protect her daughter. The hazards of driving after drinking are poignantly illustrated in this gripping novel. Well done!
A challenging story about the everlasting bond between a mother and her daughter. Throughout this book, they must work to keep their relationship alive in the midst of hardship and turmoil. A thought-provoking story that asks you how far you would go for love.
This is the first book I have read by Barbara Delinsky and it was ok; quite a bit was far-fetched and seemed highly improbable. There were a number of what you might side stories within the book and I continued reading because I wanted to know how all the different twists were going to be resolved. If this book is supposed to be âone of her best' as quoted by the Boston Globe, it makes me wonder about all her other books.
As Deborah Monroe and her teenage daughter, Grace, are driving home from a party that Grace attended; the unthinkable happens. Their car is in an accident; striking a man who is running in the dark. Although sixteen-year-old Grace was the one at the wheel, Deborah sends her daughter home before the police arrive, determined to shoulder the blame for the accident herself.
Deborah's rash decision, made in an attempt to protect Grace, quickly takes on a life of its own. Her decision soon morphs into a deception, one that ultimately threatens the special bond between mother and daughter. In The Secret Between Us, Barbara Delinsky explores the limits of personal responsibility - responsibility of a mother to a daughter, of a daughter to a father, and of a husband to a wife.
Once again, Ms. Delinsky has delivered a riveting, superbly crafted family story. This book was absolutely great. I find that Ms. Delinsky is wonderful at creating nuanced family relationships and dramatic plots. I do like reading books that deal with secrets and deceptions, and how such things can detrimentally affect the family dynamics. I give The Secret Between Us by Barbara Delinsky an A+!
Deborah's rash decision, made in an attempt to protect Grace, quickly takes on a life of its own. Her decision soon morphs into a deception, one that ultimately threatens the special bond between mother and daughter. In The Secret Between Us, Barbara Delinsky explores the limits of personal responsibility - responsibility of a mother to a daughter, of a daughter to a father, and of a husband to a wife.
Once again, Ms. Delinsky has delivered a riveting, superbly crafted family story. This book was absolutely great. I find that Ms. Delinsky is wonderful at creating nuanced family relationships and dramatic plots. I do like reading books that deal with secrets and deceptions, and how such things can detrimentally affect the family dynamics. I give The Secret Between Us by Barbara Delinsky an A+!
I liked the story but as a one time big Delinsky fan I was disappointed. I liked her books better when she had more romance in the story. And I think the ending was too convenient and too easy.
Not a favorite. To me the story had so much potential only to be trite, boring and without a true storyline. Happy endings all around very predictable table with boring characters who certainly have potential but cannot live up to it
This was a very easy read. It had some exciting parts. It was a typical Barbara Delinsky book. Worth reading.
This is another great book by her!! From begining to end this book was good!!
The diaglogue between mother and daughter never rang true. And if I thought the book was too preachy before, after the daughter confesses to her grandfather, all the family's problems were summed up and solved by mini sermons. I should have put the book down after the first chapter.
Loved this book. This was my first ready by Barbara Delinsky, but will definately look for more of hers. She really knows how to keep you intuned.
This is the first book I have read by Barbara Delinsky and it was ok; quite a bit was far-fetched and seemed highly improbable. There were a number of what you might side stories within the book, and I continued reading because I wanted to know how all the different twists were going to be resolved. If this book is supposed to be âone of her best' as quoted by the Boston Globe, it makes me wonder about all her other books.
awsome book
I really enjoy most of the books Barbara Delinsky writes and this one was one I really enjoyed. It shows just how far a mother would go to protect her child.
Loved this book. There are several twists and turns that keep you wondering exactly what happed. A great story about a family who is beginning to fall apart and their attempts to fix it. Mystery, intrigue, parenting problems, and love all combine in one book!
Deborah Monroe & her daughter, Grace, are driving home from a party when their car hits a man running in the dark. Grace was at the wheel, but Deborah sends her home before the police arrive, determined to shoulder the blame for the accident. Her decision then turns into a deception that takes on a life of its own and threatens the special bond between mother and daughter. Once again, Barbara Delinsky has delivered a riveting, superbly crafted family story.
