The Best Kept Secret - Blog Tour

Synopsis:
In high school, everyone has secrets. Even well-brought-up Emma Fraser.

Emma’s sophomore year started out all wrong. First, her best friend Andy confessed to losing his virginity leaving Emma all alone in the V-Club. Then the rest of her friends got weird and suddenly Emma finds herself feeling like the people she knows best have become total strangers. And total strangers are becoming friends.

When Deegan Burke, a rich, gorgeous senior, asks Emma to be his date for the prom, Emma thinks her luck has begun to change. But rather than being able to bask in this newfound glory, her whole world starts to unravel. And when secrets that once seemed so innocent start to take a very dangerous turn, Emma discovers that true friends are friends no matter what…and some secrets aren’t worth keeping.

Review:
Powerful. Daring. Courageous. Wendi Nunnery brings blurry high school issues into focus with her novel, The Best Kept Secret. This fictitious tale exemplifies true teenage situations, giving readers an in-depth look at bullying, sexuality, and relationships in a high school setting.

Emma is the main character in this tangled web of secrets. She's the innocent fifteen year old girl who knows what going through high school can entail. Readers will be able to see themselves in Emma, relating to the school years that taught them the most. Emma is very cautious and uncertain of what to do when her friends become sexually active and boys start showing interest in her. It's a chaotic and confusing time for a teenage girl. And we've all been there. Readers will empathize with Emma's situation and her uncertainty. They'll understand what she's going through and connect with her quickly. The foundation for a reader/character connection is swiftly set and built upon with each chapter.

The plot is surprising and a bit on the controversial side of topics. Emma faces the idea of losing her virginity after her friends admit to losing theirs. Then there's prom. Usually sophomores don't get to go, but two seniors are showing interest in asking her. This is only the beginning of the chaos and drama of Emma's sophomore year. The Best Kept Secret tackles underage drinking, bullying, virginity, and crime. It leaps over the boundaries and will shock readers with the truth. I was completely stunned by the ending. I did not see it coming at all. Well, except the letter.

The truth is that high school can be heart breaking, soul stomping, and completely unfair. This is that kind of story. The kind that ends with tears and tissues.

Rating: 4/5 Cups

Meet the Author:

Wendi Nunnery is the author of The Mayfield Family Story. She is also a regular contributor to The Huffington Post and The Simply Beloved, a lifestyle website for women of faith. She is a proud alumna of Georgia Southern University and, at any given time, you can find her w

ith a cup of coffee and a book. She lives, loves, and mothers in Atlanta, Georgia. The Best Kept Secret is her first novel.

Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Blog

To All the Boys I've Loved Before

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

*May Contain Spoilers*

It has been a while, a long while, since I read a book in one sitting. A novel needs a certain collection of attributes to affect readers in that way. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han definitely has them. 

[x]Deep connection to the character -- check.

[x]Intriguing plot line that is unpredictable -- check. 

[x]Unique writing style that captivates -- check. 

Lara Jean is one of the Song sisters. One of three to be specific. She has two sisters, Margot and Kitty. Margot is older and leaving for college while Kitty is younger. Lara Jean is the middle sister, about to embark on her Junior year of high school. Lara Jean is a wonderful alignment of attributes. She's quirky, honest, uncertain, caring, naive, nervous, and even slightly sarcastic. Lara Jean is the girl in high school that goes unnoticed without good reason. Readers will connect with her through her experiences, words, and doubt as she tries to deal with her secrets being revealed. 

The plot is both lovely and highly entertaining. Right after Margot leaves for college, Lara Jean decides to write her sister's ex-boyfriend one more letter because she thinks she still has feelings for him. She presses between the pages of a book planning to finish it later on. The next day, Peter K walks up to her and asks her about the letter she sent him. The one about the STD's he doesn't have and how he always steals the last piece of pizza like a barbarian. Knowing that something very, very wrong happened, Lara Jean panics. The following events of the story are hilarious, embarassing, and completely understandable. Readers will laugh out loud and shake their heads with wisdom as they see that Lara Jean's solution is slowly spinning out of control. 

Rating: 4.5/5 Cups