Reviews

The Secret-Keeper by Heather M. Solomon, Kate Coombs

rachelgnelson's review against another edition

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4.0

I've recently begun tearing through a lot of children's picture books, and this one caught my eye. I really liked the central idea, namely that a woman could physically keep the secrets of a village, and the resolution to the inevitable problem. It was an interesting concept, and the pictures were different and gorgeous.

megatsunami's review against another edition

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4.0

I loved this book, though I found the subject oddly adult for a children's book. I felt I wanted to share it with other adults rather than children (though my child did like it quite a bit). In this tale, a young woman serves as her village's Secret Keeper. People come and share their secrets with her; the secrets magically turn into objects (a stone, a tin heart) and she keeps them in special drawers. However, over time the isolation (as people are wary of being friends with someone who knows their secrets) and the heaviness of carrying other people's burdens begin to wear on her and she stays in her bed, sick. The village comes together to try and help her, and ultimately two things bring her back to health: one is that everyone shares their happy secrets (which turn into butterflies, rainbows...), and the other is that the potter confesses his love for her.

As a therapist, I felt this book was a wonderful metaphor for the burdens of the therapist role which can lead to burnout. In the end I felt mixed about the outcome: She still carries the weight of the uncomfortable secrets, but each year in the spring the villagers gather to share their happy secrets with her. I wondered whether the villagers could begin to help each other instead - more of a mutual aid model - but this didn't happen. Still, I liked that it brought out some of the important factors in staying energized and motivated to work with people: 1. having your own support network and 2. being able to see and give attention to the resiliency and hope and beauty within the people you work with.

casbah's review against another edition

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2.0

God it was almost so good. Cool story, terrible illustrations (seriously, so boring and generic Fantasy), worse ending. So much solid worldbuilding in such a small space wasted on an uninspired happily ever after. I'm not opposed to happily ever afters and this story totally demands one! But the execution was so clumsy that I was almost offended by how bland and boring it was.

engpunk77's review against another edition

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4.0

A nice selection for a secondary school picture book collection for literary analysis. Very sweet story about the need for interpersonal relationships and positivity. Loaded with figurative language and many other poetic devices.
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