Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins

Secret Keeper Reviews

• 
  Janessa

  The Secret Keeper is the story of sixteen-year old Asha, an Indian girl on the cusp of adulthood, who must move to her uncle’s home with her mother and her sister when her father leaves Calcutta to find work in New York. Asha feels acutely the injustice imposed on her by the cultural traditions that rule life in her Uncle‘s home. As a child she was given the freedom to pursue her own interests, whether they were viewed as masculine or feminine. Now she must accept her role as a traditional Indian woman. Her resistance makes her something of a feminist role model, and challenges the reader to consider complicated, but important, questions. How does one find an individual voice in a life defined by tradition? When does tradition empower the individual? When does it inhibit? What kind of sacrifices does it require? Is it worth those sacrifices?
  
  For Asha, those questions come into focus when she meets a young man named Jay. His bedroom window is situated across from Asha’s roof top, where she often escapes to think and write in solitude. Jay is an artist, and at the beginning of their friendship, he tells Asha that he has an offer to go to New York to study and teach. Asha is excited for him, but he tells her that he doesn’t want to go. She cannot understand why he wouldn’t want to escape the strict pressure of Indian life, but for Jay, the traditions that Asha sees as inhibiting enrich his perspective and make him who he is, both as a person and as an artist.
  
  Things get complicated after that, and soon everyone Asha loves is forced to make major sacrifices, out of loyalty to each other, and in honor of their traditions. For Jay, that means leaving India for the job in New York. Will he continue to find inspiration in the life and traditions he is leaving behind, or does his departure show a turning away from tradition in favor of greater freedom for individual expression and choice?
  
  And what about Asha, who must abadon her own hopes of going to New York some day? We see Asha lose so much in this book – so much that she loves. But she manages to gain something that, maybe, is worth more than all that she says goodbye to — a measure of independence. A chance to pursue her dreams. All this she does while upholding the traditions that are so important to her mother and her father’s family.
  
  In our modern American society, where tradition tends to be valued only inasmuch as it empowers the individual, Perkins story offers a valuable perspective about loyalty, family, and sacrifice. And also courage and hope. It opens the door to another culture, and a window into the lives of those who have made great sacrifices in order to have the choices that we take for granted every day.
  
• 
  Arminzerella

  Asha and Reet have had to move in with their father’s family while he is looking for work in America. They aren’t happy about it, as they have to stay inside most of the time, and their grandmother and relatives aren’t very kind to them or their mother. When Reet acquires a persistent admirer, who goes so far as to make a marriage proposal, Asha does something drastic to humiliate him and force him to withdraw his suit. Her whole family is embarrassed and ashamed by her behavior (she dresses up as a boy and beats him in a tennis match), but it does allow Reet to express her true feelings about the marriage - that she is too young to marry. Soon after, however, they receive word that their father is dead, and the girls learn what “trapped” really feels like. Reet and her mother withdraw from the world as they grieve, and it’s up to Asha to find a way for them all to be happy. She has secretly made a friend of the young man next door, Jay, and they have fallen in love, but she asks him if he will marry her sister instead (the younger sister should never marry before the elder). This angers both Reet and Jay, but Jay agrees to it. His family is wealthy and can help support Asha and her mother, who have been invited to move back to Bangladesh to stay with Asha’s best friend’s family while Asha goes to university. The compromise allows them all to breathe a bit easier.
  
  I loved Asha’s spunky tomboy nature – she was irrepressible and bucked tradition whenever she could. It gave her a strength that the other women in her family seemed to lack. For those who are curious about other cultures and traditions, this has a wealth of information about the structure of Bengali families and society and the culture (especially as concerns the place and rights of girls/women/wives). I didn’t care as much for Asha’s diary entries (as secret keeper), or her mother’s character. I'm sort of torn, too, between accepting Asha's decision as the *best* under the circumstances. Jane Austen would have written it differently, but, then, she and Mitali Perkins are working with different cultural norms. I keep telling myself that Asha barely knew Jay - their meetings were brief, they never touched, they barely saw one another. Can a few words exchanged from a window and a rooftop be the basis for an enduring relationship? Maybe not. But I did want them to have their chance at happiness.
• 
  Kirby

  Mitali Perkins is a wonderful writer and evokes India through smells, tastes and sounds, as well as through vivid visual descriptions. And Asha's (the teenage Benali girl who is the main character) fight to be less constricted in the 1970's brought back memories of my own teenage years and challenges during that time. The family relationships are wonderfully drawn, but this ended up being a hard book for me to review. This is no fault of the author but the reader: I don't think I fully understood the cultural mores and values of this time period in India, which made it difficult to accept Asha's ultimate decision.
• 
  Brigid ✩

  I liked it! :) It was sad, and I thought it could have had a tighter ending. But it was a compelling story with a great protagonist. It was good.
• 
  Alicia

  It wasn't one of my favorite Indian stories because I wasn't invested in Perkins' style of writing. Her characters fell flat and I wasn't left wanting to find out the secrets.
• 
  Louisa

  I read this book in one sitting. Well, technically two sittings, but only because it had gotten too dark outside to keep reading and I needed to turn on a light.
  
  It's short and the pacing is quick, but it sure does hammer home strong emotions. I lost track a bit of how time was passing -- sometimes it seemed like the narrative hopped ahead by weeks and sometimes by hours -- but overall a solid read that left me with a bit to think about. At first I was annoyed by how quickly Jay and Asha apparently developed feelings for each other despite the book showing very little in terms of their actual conversations, and then I was incredibly frustrated by everything about the last 30 or so pages...so make of that what you will. I'm a walking contradiction or something.
• 
  Margi

  When their father heads to the United States for work and promises to send for them soon, Asha & Reet must move into their uncle’s house with their extended family. Secret Keeper explores gender roles, family and traditions in India in 1974. Recommended for grades 7-12; a quiet novel.
  
• 
  Deanna Day

  Historical fiction 1970s, relationships between sisters and daughters/mothers, identity, marriage, Indian culture, friendship.
  
  This is one of the best books I have read this year. I didn't want the book to end. This book reminded me of Keeping Corner that came out a couple of years ago.
  
  Once Asha (who is 16) becomes a woman she must stop playing tennis and cricket, grow her hair out and wear sari's. This is difficult for her because her parents have treated her like a boy and then in one day they expect her to let go of her freedom. At this same time her father is unable to find a job in India and moves to the USA in hopes of finding an engineering position. Asha, Reet (sister), and mother go to stay with their uncle until father can send for them.
  
  Uncle's family isn't that welcoming to this threesome. Asha uses writing to help her survive. Her solace is the rooftop where she pours her heart out in her journal. She also reads-aloud to her 2 neices and tells them many stories to pass the time. On page 55 there is a wonderful paragraph where she talks about books, "She'd already demolished the few books she'd brought along. They were dead, at least for a while. Certain stories could come back to life on the second, third, and even tenth reading if you gave them enough time between encounters...."
  
  Asha dreams of becoming a psychologist so that she can become a "mender of the mind" and help people release their secrets so that they can be free. While at their uncle's house, Reet and Asha learn many of their mom's secrets that she has been holding for years. Asha also has a secret--she begins a friendship with the boy next door.
  
  Everyone should read this book. You will not be able to put it down. There are many new secrets revealed and story lines that you don't expect.
• 
  D

  Secret Keeper
  
  I wanted to cry, I felt such sadness as I was reading this. What is it like to be bound by customs and society? What must it be like to want to live your dreams but can't because you are not the right gender? My heart went out to Asha, I loved her. I know some will say that it is impossible to love a character because they are not real, but I loved her. As I read 'Secret Keeper', Asha became my friend. I understood her pain and hope that she would find joy. I was sad that she felt she had to sacrifice something she really wanted even though her sacrifice was born out of love. It still hurt me to see her pain. I not only felt for Asha but for her mom and sister too. I'm so thankful that the author gave us readers a glimpse into her culture, it was eye opening and it let you know not to be so quick in judging others' customs or lives. This was a beautiful, heartbreaking story.
• 
  Triss

  I loved this book! It was a quick read, but packed with fairytale and real life emotions, without the cheesey fairytale ending. It was a great way to learn about Indian culture as well, something I haven't been exposed to often. I loved the feeling this book left you with, a kind of hope even in the middle of despair. Definitely a great short-read.
• 
  Heather

  A beautiful story of family, love between sisters and of promises kept. The only reason I didn't give it four stars was because it reminded me so much of the book "Climbing the Stairs" that I sometimes felt I had read it before.
• 
  Nicole (Reading Books With Coffee)

  I've wanted to read this book for a while, and after reading You Bring The Distant Near last year, I finally decided to read Secret Keeper.  I didn't like it as much as I thought I would, and I didn't like it as much as You Bring The Distant Near.  
  
  I did feel for Asha and Reet, and I can't begin to imagine what it's like to have a marriage arranged for you, or to know that your decisions are not your own to make.  Asha has her own path, and while it differed from the traditional path her family wanted her to take, she knew what she wanted.  It's very different than the path that her sister took.
  
  I found it hard to wrap my mind around the fact that their uncle could make decisions- such as their future spouse- for them since their father was trying to find a job in the U.S.  It's a very different life than the one I know, and it's not bad.  It's just very different and hard for me to picture.  
  
  I did like Asha, and how much she wanted to help people.  Wanting to be a psychologist really opened doors for her, and it really seemed like a way for her to take care of her mom and her sister, especially after her dad died.  I also liked that she considered her diaries from her father her secret keeper, but I didn't particularly care for actually reading the diary entries.  I also liked how Reet wanted to take care of her mother and sister as well, and how getting married allowed her to help them.  It's strange how one event can change everything, and how we all need to make sacrifices.
  
  My Rating: 2 stars.  Even though there were things I liked about Secret Keeper, it was just okay for me.  I had a hard time getting into it, and I wish I liked it more than I actually did.
• 
  Libby

  I've had this on my bookshelf for years after winning it in a contest (I think it was a random enter-your-name contest, but I can't even remember for sure), and I put it on my list for 2019 to make sure I got to it. I'm so glad I did--this may be one of my favorite books of the year, and I'm so glad I finally read it.
  
  Asha, her mother, and her sister have to go live with her paternal uncle and the rest of her paternal family while her father goes to New York to look for work in the mid-1970s. The strains of living with this side of the family and the rules of being a well-behaved Indian girl make Asha seek privacy with her journal on the roof.
  
  The realistic picture of family conflict, while showing that each person was largely trying to do his or her best and fulfill family duty was very compelling to me. The book does not have a very happy ending, but it's also not a despairing ending.
  
  I think this book will probably appeal more to high schoolers, although some 7th and 8th graders will like it--it is slower-paced (although, as I said, it kept me reading), and it does deal with some issues about growing up and arranged marriages, not graphically but in a straight-forward way.
• 
  Aswathy

  Rating: 🌟🌟🌟.5
  
  The book 'The Secret Keeper' by Mitali Perkins portrays a family story and the plot of this book revolves around Asha and her family.
  
  When Asha's father went in search of a good job in America, Asha was forced to go to her father's ancestral home in Calcutta along with her mother and sister, Reeta. Inorder to escape all the overwhelming things happening there, Asha escapes to the rooftop hideaway every day, where she pours her heart into her diary. Sooner, some unfortunate events turn her whole world upside down.
  
  The plot of this book is set in the 1970s in Calcutta and the author has beautifully portrayed the culture and traditions prevailed in Calcutta during those times. This book was a quick read for me and I was able to finish it in one day. The writing was simple and lucid. The narration style was also interesting. Even though the plot was good, I didn't find it intriguing enough to grab my attention.
  
  Overall it was an average read for me.
• 
  Celia Buell

  It's funny, but when you use reading as a form of procrastination, you're usually expecting it to be easy enough to put down, and definitely not a page turner (or at least I am, because I know I should be studying--just two finals left and then I'm a high school junior, guys!). Anyway, life is funny that way, because it's almost never true.
  
  As was the case with this novel. It was so incredibly good, and it kept you guessing until the last second. There were ups and downs, and some parts brought intense feelings, but this book was very needed, and I couldn't have thought of a better way to spend my time (except, you know, studying, but books! There is immense character development through all the characters, and even more so as friendships between the teenagers in the story. Definitely putting this on my "reread" shelf.
• 
  Dieuwke

  There’s books set in India and there’s books set in India. Then there’s YA and there’s YA, when the best of those overlap I’m swept off my feet. Having lived on the subcontinent for a couple of years, I was back immediately and saw and smelled and tasted it. (And smelled)
  A well written book, and I think the author managed very well to explain/ show a lot of the cultural nuances without needing to spell it out,
  I was crushed with the turns of events, hoping for a 2021 ending maybe, or a miracle. It’s taken me a few hours to tell myself love isn’t a once in a lifetime thing, and Asha in some way getting what she wants, and how happily ever after is a western construct, a period after a story, and not a line of development.
• 
  Cherie

  A heartbreaker of a book. After Baba can't find work, he decides to head to America to find work (which he is told is plentiful for engineers). His wife and daughters go to live with his brother and mother and their family in Calcutta…misadventures of arranged marriages, falling in love, death, heartbreak, and the ultimate sacrifice. I loved this book so much I wanted to cry when it was over, and THAT ENDING
• 
  Sangavi Deepthi

  Asha, the frolicsome and whip-smart 16 year old, pumps hope and strength ,when wretched fate turns a disheartening page In their otherwise love knitted family. She takes a few irreversible life choices, which thankfully favors all their lives.
  Nothing dramatic happens, yet u feel ur one amongst them , such a beautiful narrative and precise characterisation
• 
  Rania T

  Set in the mid-1970's during the initial pangs of Indira Gandhi's Emergency, this bittersweet novel of cloistered Calcuttan life is an easy read, and one does wonder whether the younger sister in the novel Asha, gets her happy ending.
• 
  Emily

  i want all my kids to read this book
• 
  Ainsley Marr

  The ending was super sad, but this book is amazing!!! The first few pages are a bit confusing, but keep reading: it's totally worth it!!
• 
  Kelly Barry

  4 stars. I'm really surprised on how it ended! It's a bit of a bummer read, but a good one at that
• 
  بثينة الإبراهيم

  الحب والواجب، الصراع الأبدي، والنصر الذي لا يقبل الخيارين معًا!
  الحياة القاسية والخيارات التي تؤخذ منا عنوة!
• 
  Michelle

  A rich Indian setting was the best part of this coming-of-age teenage novel.