29 June 2015

Review #259: Only We Know by Simon Packham



My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“The best way of keeping a secret is to pretend there isn't one.” 


----Margaret Atwood, a Canadian author



Simon Packham, an English YA author, pens his latest YA book, Only We Know, that traces the story of a young teenage girl named Lauren, who moves to a new town with her parents and her younger sister, the only slight problem is that the whole family is trying to run as well as hide away from Lauren's little secret, so they all have to maintain a very low profile to not to attract any undue attention towards themselves. What is that secret?




Synopsis:

What is the secret of Lauren's past?

Lauren's family have moved house very suddenly, and she and her sister Tilda have to go to a new school. Lauren's determined to reinvent herself, but she's panic-stricken when she sees Harry, who she knew a few years ago. Luckily Harry doesn't recognise her, and she knows she has to make sure it stays like that.

Lauren, unlike Tilda, settles in well. She makes friends, is helping to organise the school fashion show, and has boys asking her out. But just as her life finally seems to be looking up she starts receiving macabre packages. When she gets a message: 'Isn't it time your new friends knew all about you?' she has to admit that someone knows her secret. But who - and what should she do?


Lauren and her family moves in to a new town. Lauren and her family are actually running away from Lauren's secrets and is trying hard to keep it hidden from the new towns folks. Lauren settles in quite easily in her new school, whereas Tilda faces difficulty to accept her new school. Gradually Lauren becomes more accustomed to new new life and soon she meets a boy from her past which she is trying to bury it. And eventually when this perfect boy becomes a part of her love life, Lauren started to get some presents marking all the evil clues about her dirty little secret. Lauren is devastated and is on the verge of breaking down, and the revelation nearly kills her. Will Lauren be able to handle it? What is the secret that she is trying to bury it?


The author's writing style is fantastic and since the whole book revolves around an untold secret, so right from the very begining, the story kept me engrossed till the very end to find out Lauren's secret. And trust me, your guessing won't work here, since the secret leaves my mouth agape with the gravity of it's darkness. And I really loved it how the author no remark about it all through the story.

The prose is evocative and with an articulate and catchy and easy to comprehend with narrative style, the book falls in the category of must-read YA lists for this summer. The pace is really fast since it made me anticipate with lots of guesses to find out the secret that the author kept tightly wrapped under layers of confusion and fear.

The characters sounds quite realistic enough to believe in them, especially the main character, Lauren, who acts brave on the outside but is actually a scared little kitten on the inside. Tilda sounds like a no-nonsense sister and this is one character with whom I can't relate much with, who annoys me with her don't care attitude towards her elder sister's fears. Lauren's parents are drawn with lots of realism and their demeanor is similar to any 15 year old daughter's parents, worried all the freaking time and nosy at all the times. Harry is another character who made me fall for him mainly because the way he treated Lauren with lots of respect, love and concern.

There is also a lot of chemistry between Harry and Lauren, which is really sweet to read about and the author have painted those scenes with lots of compassion and cuteness. Lauren's demeanor towards her fear of her secret is vividly portrayed in this story, I mean I too have reacted in the similar way. The climax is really justified as I was constantly feeling that the mystery should better be good as the author kept me hanging in the loop till the end of last chapter and the mystery really satisfied me and according to me, it is worth the wait.

Overall, this is an interesting story written poignantly that kept me engrossed till the very last page.

Verdict: A must-read YA for the summers.

Courtesy: Thanks to the author, Simon Packham, for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book. 
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Author Info:
They call me Simon 'three sheds' Packham. No they don't. Although I confess to being the balding man in the photograph, sadly I don't own three sheds. Welcome to my website anyway! After twenty years as an actor, (if you didn't blink you might have caught me on The Bill or standing behind Dame Judi Dench in a mask) and a few more looking after small children, I decided to get serious about my writing. Although I have published some adult fiction, 'Trust Games' is the fifth book in a series for younger readers set at the fictional St Thomas's Community College.
Visit him here


Book Purchase Links:

3 comments:

  1. I can see how the suspense would be there because you would be wanting to know what the secret is! Just reading this review made me eager to know what it is myself. I am going to have to check this one out myself. It must be something big if the whole family must go.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yeah I know the mystery will simply kill you! Thanks bdw! :-)

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