Secrets Out! (The Top-Secret Diary of Celie Valentine) - Softcover

Sternberg, Julie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1629798916 ISBN 13: 9781629798912

Publisher: Astra Young Readers, 2018

Synopsis

 

In this second book in the Top-Secret Diary of Celie Valentine series, ten-year-old Celie’s grandmother has moved in with her family, and Granny’s forgetfulness is starting to worry Celie. In the meantime, Celie can tell her parents are keeping secrets, but she can’t talk to her best friend, Lula, or her sister, Jo, because they’re both keeping secrets, too! Why isn’t Lula sharing with Celie? Who is Jo texting all the time? And what is Celie supposed to do when special time with her grandmother becomes much more complicated—and possibly dangerous—than Celie can manage on her own? Once again, Celie turns to her diary as she tries to sort this all out, filling the pages with humorous, heartfelt entries, notes, drawings, and pages from her top-secret spy notebook.

About this title

About the Author:

Julie Sternberg is the author of the best-selling Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie and its sequels, Like Bug Juice on a Burger and Like Carrot Juice on a Cupcake. Formerly a public interest lawyer, she is a graduate of the New School’s MFA program in Creative Writing, with a concentration in writing for children. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York. Visit juliesternberg.com.

Johanna Wright is the illustrator of Clover Twig and the Magical Cottage, Clover Twig and the Perilous Path, and several picture books, including her own The Secret Circus, Bunnies on Ice, and The Orchestra Pit. She lives with her husband, two young children, and fuzzy cats in Portland, Oregon. Visit johannawright.com.

Review:

"Although the issues Celie faces—loss of her best friend, conflicts with her sister, concerns about her cognitively compromised grandmother—are major, the story is in no way heavy... A heartfelt but amusing story about the many challenges of growing up." —Kirkus Reviews
"Ten-year-old Celie continues the ultra-honest (and at times unintentionally funny) journal she began in the first book, Friendship Over!... Celie’s voice is fresh, completely unselfconscious, and emphatic... Much of the book’s considerable humor, as well as its pathos, is communicated in Celie’s sketches, diagrams, and notes—scribbly, heartfelt, and immediate." —Horn Book

About this edition

• Publisher: Astra Young Readers
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1629798916
• ISBN 13: 9781629798912
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176
• Illustrator: Wright Johanna