Keep it Like a Secret Blog Tour
As summer begins to take center stage, people are planning barbeques, camping trips, lake days, and of course, graduations. Graduation hits differently depending on which role you're standing in. Are you the graduate yourself? Proud, nervous, excited? Are you the parent of the graduate? Emotional on top of those proud and nervous feelings. Or are you, like Morgan, the younger sibling that is on the verge of what feels like a great loss?
Whoever you are, I think you'll feel a connection to John David Anderson's newest middle grade novel, Keep it Like a Secret.
Anderson has brought us epic fantasy adventures, taken us into space on science fiction journeys, and written several of the most heartfelt middle grade realistic fiction novels you'll ever find. The heart and mind behind Mrs. Bixby's Last Day and Posted now brings another coming of age story to young readers that will open the door for them to explore their own hearts and minds.
About the Book
From the first moment Morgan can remember, Claire has always been there. Big sister and little brother. Cat and Mouse. They’ve always understood each other, saved each other, seen each other. And they stuck to their own personal code, unwritten but understood, that siblings were inseparable, that they had each other’s backs, no matter what.
At least, they used to.
Somewhere along the line, things between them shifted. Claire started fighting more with Mom, storming out of the house, spending more and more time away, and Morgan felt his sister and best friend slipping away. Now he spends nearly every night sitting awake in his room, waiting for the sound of her key in the lock.
It’s a sound he hasn’t heard in nearly a week, ever since her and Mom’s worst fight ever. So when Claire finally calls and tells Morgan she wants to spend the day together, just the two of them, he knows this might be his only chance—not just to convince her to come home, but to remind her how good things used to be, and could be again.
But Claire has her own plan for the day. One that will mean that, no matter what happens, things between them are going to change forever.
Why it's for Me
When you spend 300 pages with a character, you are inevitably going to feel a connection to them. Closing this book after the final page was hard. I felt like I was leaving Morgan, or Mouse, too soon. It felt like there was so much more to experience with him, his sister, and his family dynamic. But that's the whole idea, right? That we meet characters, experience things alongside them, and then write the rest of their story ourselves.
Dualities cannot be ignored in this story: tenderness and strength, loyalty and abandonment, hope and apprehension. Morgan and Claire are so different, but they don't need to be the same to love each other fiercely. Loving someone is at once the easiest thing and the most complicated thing. It's so easy to do, but can be so hard to navigate. Because to love doesn't mean you want to make everything easy for someone, it means you want the best for them...but if their best means your worst, well it starts to feel really complicated. I loved following Morgan and Claire through their special day. There was risk, adventure, laughter, pain, flashbacks, and thoughts of a new future. The layers are endless, and I'm sure a second read would have me experiencing it in new ways. Maybe I'd focus more on Mom's feelings. Maybe I'd pay more attention to what is going on with Dad. Maybe I'd side more with Claire, or more with Morgan...not that there are sides to take in someone following their own heart...it's complicated. Just like life, and love, and relationships. So if you are alive, have loved, or ever had a relationship of any kind, I bet you're going to love this story, because I sure did!
About the Author
John David Anderson is the author of more than a dozen beloved and bestselling books for kids, including the New York Times Notable Book Ms. Bixby’s Last Day, Posted, One Last Shot, Stowaway, Riley’s Ghost, and many more. A dedicated root beer connoisseur and chocolate fiend, he lives with his ever-patient wife and two ornery cats, MJ and Parker, in Indianapolis, IN. You can visit him online at johndavidanderson.org.
Blog Tour
15-May | @nerdybookclub | |
16-May | @teachers_read | |
17-May | @litcoachlou | |
20-May | @mariaselke | |
21-May | @alibrarymama | |
22-May | @grgenius | |
26-May | @bluestockingthinking |
Educator's Guide
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