Secret Keeper

by Mitali Perkins

Book Overview

From National Book Award finalist, Mitali Perkins, comes a dramatic tale about a displaced Indian family in the 1970s.

When Asha's father loses his job and leaves India to look for work in America, Asha Gupta, her older sister, Reet, and their mother must wait with Baba's brother and his family, as well as their grandmother, in Calcutta. Uncle is welcoming, but in a country steeped in tradition, the three women must abide by his decisions...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440239559
• ISBN13: 9780440239550
• Release Date: April 2010
• Publisher: Random House Children's Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A final novel of politics and personal courage

Mitali Perkins' SECRET KEEPER tells of Indian girl Asha and her older sister and mother, whose father leaves India to look for work in America. The women come under the jurisdiction of an uncle with all kinds of ramifications as Ma struggles with personal depression and her mother- and sister-in-law, Reet's beauty attracts unwelcome suitors, and Asha herself can't seem to hold the family together. A final novel of politics and personal courage set in India in the 1970s makes for an involving story.

heart-warming and fun historical fiction

This is a lovely book about a tomboy named Asha growing up in 1970s India. While Asha's father is traveling to the US to find a job, Asha, her mother, and older sister go to live with her father's very traditional relatives in Calcutta. Asha feels stifled by their old-fashioned view of propriety; all she wants to do is go outside and play cricket. The story is an interesting and realistic glimpse into the lives of a normal Bengali family of this time period. At times, though, I wondered whether this needed to be a historical fiction since I'm sure many people still live with the way Asha's family does (and the author does also refer to this in the afterword). Perkins's writing style is modern and fun and I appreciated how the casually used foreign words were not italicized as they are in other books, which I find very off-putting (there is a glossary in the back which I read before I started and didn't need to look at again). Many readers may be saddened by the ending, but I thought it was a refreshing and realistic choice on the part of the author. PS I read this on my kindle and the images looked great!

Fans will look forward to more novels from this talented author

Times are tough in 1974 India. Poor people line the streets begging for money, and jobs are scarce. Sixteen-year-old Asha Gupta and her family are affected as well. Asha's father is out of work, and with no prospects looming, he decides to go to America to get a job. While he is away, Asha, her older sister Reet and their mother live with relatives in Calcutta. Asha's uncle, aunt, grandmother and older cousin don't seem very happy to see them; only the younger twins are excited by their arrival. But with three extra mouths to feed, plus more bodies crowding the house, Asha can understand their resentment a little. What she can't seem to wrap her head around are the very strict cultural rules Calcutta insists upon, which are much more stringent than in the city of Delhi where she was born. She can't even walk down the street by herself. Stuck in the house day after day, loneliness gnaws on Asha's nerves, as does the lack of privacy. She makes her way up to the rooftop to pour out her heart in her journal. There she can confide her secrets, such as the devastation she feels at having to drop out of school, giving up her dream of studying psychiatry in college, and how she and her sister try to fight her mother's deep depression. Then she meets the fellow next door. Jay is a bit strange, and for the longest time he would watch Asha through the curtains while she sat on the roof. Then they start talking, something else forbidden by her culture. Asha learns that Jay is an artist, and he wants to paint Asha. They become friends, forbidden ones, and Asha begins to feel even more for him. But then things go from bad to worse in the Gupta household. Asha's uncle starts looking to make wedding arrangements for Reet, and Asha is afraid for her sister. Asha boldly makes some rash decisions in hopes of keeping Reet safe and happy. These choices will change everyone's lives forever. Mitali Perkins is no stranger to adjusting to various cultures, as she has traveled all over the world. Nor is she a stranger to writing awesome young adult fiction, and she has given us another winner with SECRET KEEPER. This touching story pulls the audience in and doesn't let go, as the pages slip away swiftly and easily. The character of Asha quickly becomes a friend to admire, sympathize with and applaud. Readers will get a taste of the Indian culture --- some of its food, clothes and rules for society --- and will see that teenagers of other cultures aren't so different, with needs for privacy and friendship, dreams for careers and the future, caring for family and longing for freedom. Perkins also offers an unexpected, and thus rather refreshing, ending to her enchanting story. Fans will look forward to more novels from this talented author. --- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman

Sister and the sacfrices to keep them safe...

Asha is the second daughter in a very traditional in a Bengali family in the 1970's. There are riot and jobs are hard to find. Asha's father is forced to go to America in order to find a job. Her sister Reet, her mother, and herself are going to Calcutta; They are going to live with her father's family. In Calcutta, Asia is trapped in her Grandmother's house. She is unable to go to school, because of lack of money. Her mother finds it disrespectful for her to go outside of the house, on her own. So her freedom is limited. Asha finds relief in writing in her diary or as she calls it, her Secret Keeper. She tends to write on the roof, until she find out that her neighbor, Jay has been spying on her. He wants to paint her. Asha's sister, Reet has caught the attention of the young men in town. Many are their cousin's Raj's friends. Asha and her family are left with difficult decisions that would alter their life's. I found this book to be well descriptive. The characters drew a hole in my heart from how life like they were and how the ending wasn't exactly what I wants. It was still amazing. If you want to discover a book, that will pull your heart strings and makes you wonder... How much would you sacrifice to save someone that you loved? It also was great at making Asha and It seem like real sisters. I really hope that you check this book out.

Perkins has done it again!

Mitali Perkins has done it again--but this time with an added depth and poignancy. Secret Keeper introduces twists of intrigue and surprise, along with real-world issues and emotion that resonate with readers of all cultures. This is not just for young adults--all ages will appreciate Perkins' way with words and her grasp of subtle nuance. Cross-cultural richness and great writing--I see "screenplay" written all over this!