Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Dirty Little Secrets by CJ Omololu


Everyone has secrets. Some are just bigger and dirtier than others. For sixteen years, Lucy has kept her mother's hoarding a secret. She's had to -- nobody would understand the stacks of newspapers and mounds of garbage so high they touch the ceiling and the rotting smell that she's always worried would follow her out the house. After years of keeping people at a distance, she finally has a best friend and maybe even a boyfriend if she can play it right. As long as she can make them think she's normal. When Lucy arrives home from a sleepover to find her mother dead under a stack of National Geographics, she starts to dial 911 in a panic, but pauses before she can connect. She barely notices the filth and trash anymore, but she knows the paramedics will. First the fire trucks, and then news cameras that will surely follow. No longer will they be remembered as the nice oncology nurse with the lovely children -- they'll turn into that garbage-hoarding freak family on Collier Avenue. With a normal life finally within reach, Lucy has only minutes to make a critical decision. How far will she go to keep the family secrets safe?



This book was incredibly interesting to read. CJ Omololu wrote an emotional and stunning book. Some things I liked about Dirty Little Secrets were that you could really feel what Lucy was going through while at the same time, you couldn't know what she was going through.
I didn't really agree with some of the choices Lucy made, but I think those choices helped the plot develop. Dirty Little Secrets is the type of book that will interest people of all ages. I strongly recommend this book to everyone, it is really amazing.

3 comments:

Jenn (Books At Midnight) said...

Nice review! I just reviewed Dirty Little Secrets myself, and I agree that it was amazing. It was an interesting perspective, that's for sure. :)

Ashley said...

Sounds really interesting. I've gotten into watching the show Hoarders on A&E, and I just find it fascinating...and sad.

Erica said...

Dirty Little Secrets looks so good! I need to get a copy.