2023 EDIT: Changing my rating amid my bookshelf clearing-up.
'Secrets' is no longer a favourite from my childhood. I hate the ending, and I will not tolerate Jacqueline Wilson books that gloss over, or even sympathise with or make apologia of, abusive parents.
As I mention in my previous review of 'Secrets': I mean seriously, why is every single adult in this book, apart from Treasure's nan, so useless, pathetic, childish, selfish, self-absorbed, delusional, manipulative and mean? The loveless abusers don't completely get off scot-free at the end of the book (apart from India's horrible mum, but that's another story entirely), but someone should definitely have gone to prison, where they belong. But no one does (not yet, anyway).
I should have also mentioned how horrible and evil Treasure's mother is, too.
Final Score: 3/5
2021 EDIT: Content warning: domestic abuse, sexual assault mention.
My gosh, 'Secrets' is heaps more adult and intense than I remember it! 'Rape' and 'rapist' are even stated! The themes of dysfunctional families and domestic abuse are prominent throughout and are uncomfortable to read about, but the young heroines themselves, Treasure and India, are fantastic. They are so different in every way, or are they?
'Secrets' shows us how full of hope and love children and preteens are.
I mean seriously, why is every single adult in this book, apart from Treasure's nan, so useless, pathetic, childish, selfish, self-absorbed, delusional, manipulative and mean? The loveless abusers don't completely get off scot-free at the end of the book (apart from India's horrible mum, but that's another story entirely), but someone should definitely have gone to prison, where they belong. But no one does (not yet, anyway). It's not fair, but that's life, isn't it?
No matter anyone's background and class, people are people. And loads of them can be such heartless and tricky monsters that it's hard to stomach. In most cases it all comes down to capitalism, and money is the root of all evil. But there will always be good people to be found anywhere, too. Kind, caring and understanding people who think of others' feelings and safety.
'Secrets' demonstrates the worst and best of human nature in a short reading time - there's a reason for why Anne Frank and her diary are a huge motif - and it remains a brilliant book. It's one of my favourites of Jacqueline Wilson's, even though I don't particularly like her work in general anymore. Not helping is that my new copy of 'Secrets' contains the first chapter of 'Love Lessons', which I loathe with a passion, at the end.
And I definitely ship Treasure and India. It's so obvious from reading about them together - and how obsessed they are with each other from the moment they meet - that their closeness transcends a typical girls' friendship, no matter how lonely both of them have been for a best friend. They'd do anything for each other. They're remarkably comforting - they go beyond hugging and even snuggle up together in the same bed at one point, soothing and sweet, and one girl makes the other a drawing of them two inside a love heart! Treasure keeps saying she never wants a boyfriend (though admittedly that may well be due to her trauma as an abuse victim and her terrible mum's own multiple disastrous boyfriends), and she once mentions how she used to be interested in her Barbies because of the breasts.
It's hard to believe JW didn't intend for Treasure and India to crush on one another. I suppose they are still in middle school, though 'Secrets' never discloses the girls' ages. Also, all of a sudden India may have a crush on a guy at the end. But he's an adult. All the same, BOO!
Another thing I've got to add: India feels her emotions strongly and she cries easily. But she is never whiny or annoying. She's a posh, rich kid but she's also a victim, living with a loveless family. She hates injustices and stupid, thoughtless people, and she expresses her educated views loudly and passionately. She (and Treasure, too) doesn't understand why people would want to hurt other people. India cares very much - others think she cares too much - but the book never rebukes her for this! Feeling things greatly over any kind of abuse is framed as a positive attribute for humans to accept and embrace. Don't ever dismiss altruism, no matter who you are and where you come from. It's not easy to express oneself, but be brave and try, make your voice heard, even in an ignorant, broken adult environment. Be sensitive, caring and selfless!
These are the reasons why Treasure and India are sympathetic and worthy heroines.
'Secrets' - recommended, for older readers who have a strong stomach and a big heart.
If only there was any POC rep, however.
Final Score: 4/5
Original Review:
Reviewed: Favourite Jacqueline Wilson books in no particular order.
I actually saw a stage version of 'Secrets' years ago. I really enjoyed it. Even my mum, who later admitted that she had not been looking forward to going with me to see it, ended up liking it. It was in a small children's theatre in London, used by university students I think, and it was to do with learning about Anne Frank. The book also does a good job in teaching us all about her, and the Holocaust.
Two young girls from different social classes and backgrounds, Treasure and India (the daft names seem to be the definitive thing they share in common), meet and bond in a story about friendship and support in unlikely places. 'Secrets' is another of Wilson's darker books for children, as it explicitly highlights issues such as child abuse and abusive families - abuse in different forms. There are many characters aside from the main two, and each are memorable, and not always positively.
Treasure is a skinny and bespectacled girl from the "bad" area of London; as in, the English "pleb" working class. She has asthma, and a scar on her forehead after her stepfather attacked her with his belt. She lives with her awesome grandma to hide from him and her also-terrible mother. India is a chubby and well-off redhead from a super-posh family who is nonetheless lonely, sensitive and caring of others. Her fitness-mad mother not-so-subtly fat shames her, and her father is an alcoholic and a dodgy businessman who possibly abuses the depressed maid. Most importantly, India loves Anne Frank and sees in her a spiritual sister.
Together, Treasure and India are the heart and light of 'Secrets'. Both are intelligent in their own way, and are still just kids, in situations caused by careless adults that are outside of their control. Custody battles wage, and when India offers to hide Treasure in her attic, like Anne Frank, things get really scary...
One of the better examples of Jacqueline Wilson showcasing the hypocrisy, self-absorption and abusive nature of a lot of adults. But mainly 'Secrets' is about friendship, which doesn't care for limitations, and class. The only thing that would have made it better for me was to have one of the friends be a person of colour, to further highlight its issues and themes, and to intersect both race and class, because they are systematically connected. Wilson's books are predominately white, sadly.
A classic that I've both read and seen. 'Secrets' holds a special place in my childhood heart.
Final Score: 4/5
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