It doesn't help Ella's case that she is so self-effacing and resistant to being included that it's hard to see her side of the story. There is so much Maddy in this narrative that it overwhelms any other voice Ella is practically a mouthpiece for her dead sister even to the readers. So much of what we know about her is relayed just as a contrast to how her sister would have acted or thought instead. Main character and survivor Ella doesn't have much of a personality besides the two facts just listed. What I got was about half that - sometimes interesting characters, a half-baked romance, and a very lame and overblown 'secret' for the 'mystery.' If you're like me, you were attracted to The Secrets We Keep for sordid reasons - finding out what Maddy did that was so horrible it drove her apart from her sister and made a misery of her own life right before it ended. I definitely didn't want my first review of 2015 to be a negative one, but I also wanted a story full of rich characters, horrifying teenage secrets, and a mystery. With two options-confess her deception or live her sister's life. Split-second decision to pretend to be Maddy. Responsible for Maddy's death and everyone's grief, Ella makes a Hospital surrounded by loved ones who believe she is Maddy. Into a tragic accident that leaves her sister dead, Ella wakes up in the When-after a heated argument-Maddy and Ella get

Sketchbook over the constant battle for attention that has defined In fact, she's chosen the quiet, safe confines of her Years living in popular Maddy's shadows, but she has never been envious Genre: young adult contemporary, thrillerĪ girl takes over her twin sister's identity in this emotionally charged page-turner about the complicated bond between sisters.Īnd Maddy Lawton are identical twins.

The Secrets We Keep by Trisha Leaver