“I know your secret. Do what I say, when I say it, and I won’t tell a soul. Skip even one step and I will tell everyone. Text me at this number as soon as you read this email. And then get ready for tomorrow. It’s going to be a very big day.”
It all starts with an email neither Owen, Gemma, Ally or Todd expected. The email arrives Sunday night and suddenly, the four seventh-graders find themselves in the same boat: blackmailed by an anonymous individual that threatens to make their deepest and darkest secret public if they don’t comply with the list of tasks they set. Trapped by the knowledge of what might happen if their secrets are revealed, they all decide to comply and do whatever is asked of them. On Monday morning, the four students who’ve rarely interacted before, meet and one thing is clear: this day will be one for the books as they race the clock to meet the demands of the anonymous blackmailer—and maybe find friends in unexpected places in the process.
The premise of I Know Your Secret sounded right up my alley. As long-time fan of Pretty Little Liars and mystery books that brings a group of misfits together, I thought this was going to be a new favourite. Unfortunately, this one kind of missed the mark for me. Ironically enough, I had the opposite issue with the book that I have with most television shows with similar premise and that is that this severely lacked in characterisation.
I Know Your Secret fell deeply into the telling instead of showing trap. While some lack of description may be attributed to the desire to keep the pacing snappy, it almost had the opposite effect because instead of descriptions of the characters, of the school or even of their lives, we get a lot of repetition of the one—dimensional aspects of the story. An example of this might be the blunt hit-you-over-the-head reminder every few pages that there are anti-bullying posters wherever the four of them have to run to, but not once is that anti-bullying poster actually described. This was probably so the reader could make something up for themselves but a mere sentence here would have been nice to know whether there was at least a slogan, or a nice graphic on it. Judging from the importance of the anti-bullying poster in a narrative that is literally about four children being bullied, it confused me quite a bit to never have any more background information on the lacklustre attempts the school makes to create a safer space. Evidently, this makes sense once you get to the big plot twist of the book but it’s tough getting there without that sense of immediacy. Thus, for a book that’s less than 250 pages, the beginning dragged quite a bit due to the repetitions and only once the characters decide to try and figure out who the blackmailer is does the pacing pick up.
All that being said, though, I quite enjoyed the characters themselves. The further we dive into the story, the more we get to learn about their familial background and I loved how these four people who had misconceptions because of the things they’d heard at school or because of stereotypical thinking slowly vanished as they got to know each other better. Each of them has a good reason for wanting to keep their secrets close to them and this is where Benedis-Grab shines, by showing that the mistakes we make in the past shouldn’t always determine our future, especially when the mistakes are based on having a too big heart and good intentions. Thus, despite the overt telling instead of showing, I still recommend this book for kids who need a bit of a thrill and enjoy whodunit mysteries.
Exploring the reasons for why we conceal the truth and the power of honesty, I Know Your Secret will appeal to younger readers who enjoyed One of Us Is Lying.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
One of Us is Lying meets Pretty Little Liars for middle-grade readers.
The email arrives Sunday night: Do exactly what I say, when I say it, or I will reveal your secret.
On Monday morning, seventh graders Owen, Gemma, Ally, and Todd, who have nothing in common and barely know each other, must work together and follow the instructions of an anonymous blackmailer. None of them want to go along with the blackmailer’s instructions, but each of them have a secret they must protect at all costs.
Set during a single day of school, the students race against the clock to complete a disquieting set of tasks, with fast-paced chapters detailing each moment of the day interspersed with a later interview-style recording made by the quartet.
I Know Your Secret is an exploration of why we conceal the truth, how far we’ll go to keep it hidden, and the power of being honest.
