Release Date: April 15th, 2010
Publisher: G.P Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Format of Novel: Paperback
Rating: 3/5 stars
Summary: A poignant look into one fatherless twelve-year-old’s struggles with friendship and trust. Sean is Justin’s best friend, at least Justin thought he was. But lately Sean has been acting differently. Sean’s been telling lies, getting into trouble at school, and hanging out with a tougher crowd, even getting into fights. This isn’t like Sean at all.
When Justin finally discovers that Sean’s been secretly going to visit his father in prison and is dealing with the shame of that, Justin wants to do something to help before his friend spirals further out of control. But what if confronting Sean means Justin loses his very best friend? In the end, he decides it doesn’t matter; he’s got to man up.
Set in one of New York’s most dangerous neighborhoods, Secret Saturdays is an affecting read highlighted by strong characters and an authentic, heartening voice.
When Justin finally discovers that Sean’s been secretly going to visit his father in prison and is dealing with the shame of that, Justin wants to do something to help before his friend spirals further out of control. But what if confronting Sean means Justin loses his very best friend? In the end, he decides it doesn’t matter; he’s got to man up.
Set in one of New York’s most dangerous neighborhoods, Secret Saturdays is an affecting read highlighted by strong characters and an authentic, heartening voice.
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This middle grade story was one of the fastest books I've ever read in a long time. I picked up at the local book festival my old high school had back in May and got it because I wanted to explore diversity and middle grade fiction. This story was about Justin and his two friends who are just reaching teen hood and figuring out what their other friend Sean has been doing while attempting to maintain their 'normal' lifestyle. The entire story involves the 'secret' of Sean's weekend trips and odd behavior when around them, which made the story pretty straightforward once you get into it.
While I did enjoy the simplicity of the story and the little development the main character gains throughout the book, I did have minor problems with it. One I can quickly think of was the general plot. Even though the story is more focused on how the kids are growing up in a rough environment and without fathers; I did have issues with how narrow the overall concept of secrets. I didn't feel that the story was resolve in any shape or form and for a middle grade novel, I feel that kids within that age group would feel the same as well. Another issue I had with this story was the characters, while they quite relatable and young, they were also faded in a way. I mean, the only focused character we get is the narrator Justin and like the other ones, he is at odd standstill, and we don't get to see much growth from him as well. We only got to see bits and pieces of it, but nothing exciting at all.
Overall though, the story was a straightforward read and the message of being honest is quite strong within Maldonado's writing. I believe that the younger age group would enjoy this book. Unfortunately, I'm in my early twenties so I couldn't really enjoy it as much as I wanted too. This book is a great addition to the diversity we need in books, but I wish this was a little bit stronger in terms of plot and the characters had more growth than they did in the short amount of time we got to know them. :)
Overall though, the story was a straightforward read and the message of being honest is quite strong within Maldonado's writing. I believe that the younger age group would enjoy this book. Unfortunately, I'm in my early twenties so I couldn't really enjoy it as much as I wanted too. This book is a great addition to the diversity we need in books, but I wish this was a little bit stronger in terms of plot and the characters had more growth than they did in the short amount of time we got to know them. :)
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