Keep it Like a Secret by John David Anderson (review)

Reviewed by: Keep it Like a Secret by John David Anderson Meg Cornell Anderson, John David Keep it Like a Secret. Walden Pond/HarperCollins, 2024 320p Trade ed. ISBN 9780063279315 19. 99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780063279339 9. 99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 6-8 Introverted Morgan has always felt like his magnetic older sister Claire's "somebody"—her confidant and most important ally. However, now at twelve and eighteen respectively, the "Sibling Code" that they'll always be there for one another feels brittle, especially when explosive mother-daughter fights leave Morgan to clean up a shattered family dynamic along with his mother's broken porcelain figurines. After a particularly volatile blow-up drives Claire from the house, she returns in secret to ask Morgan to sneak a box out of her room—and join her on a mystery adventure in Sonic, her beat-up Honda Civic. Flashbacks from their first run-away as children show the stakes of Morgan's excitement to once again be a duo, and he hopes to convince Claire that living at home after high school will be alright, since she has him. Yet, as Claire slowly reveals the life she's built outside their home, Morgan can't help but feel replaced and rejected instead of in cahoots, most painfully, perhaps, when he sees her in love with her girlfriend Sasha or joking around at work with her peers. When the trip is revealed to be Claire's way of saying goodbye instead of sorry, Morgan must contend with what happens when sibling solidarity isn't enough. Anderson portrays with poignant accuracy the pressure a younger child feels when caught between their parent and their sibling, as well as the intensities and complications of strong sibling bonds. While dialogue sometimes tends to the cliché, Morgan's sympathetic narrative voice is steeped realistically with the too-early maturity of a younger sibling made emotionally responsible for others in their household. Morgan and Claire's story is sure to find resonance among thoughtful readers who prefer introspection and character study to action, especially if have their own sibling codes to crack. Copyright © 2024 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois