Review: Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu

Title: Dirty Little Secrets
Author: C.J. Omololu
Age Group: Young Adult
Received From: Publisher
Other Info: 2010 Debut Author Challenge
IBSN: 9780802786609
Blurb:
Everyone has secrets. Some are just bigger and dirtier than others.

For sixteen years, Lucy has kept her mother's hoarding a secret. She's had to -- nobody would understand the stacks of newspapers and mounds of garbage so high they touch the ceiling and the rotting smell that she's always worried would follow her out the house. After years of keeping people at a distance, she finally has a best friend and maybe even a boyfriend if she can play it right. As long as she can make them think she's normal.

When Lucy arrives home from a sleepover to find her mother dead under a stack of National Geographics, she starts to dial 911 in a panic, but pauses before she can connect. She barely notices the filth and trash anymore, but she knows the paramedics will. First the fire trucks, and then news cameras that will surely follow. No longer will they be remembered as the nice oncology nurse with the lovely children -- they'll turn into that garbage-hoarding freak family on Collier Avenue.

With a normal life finally within reach, Lucy has only minutes to make a critical decision. How far will she go to keep the family secrets safe?

My Thoughts: 

This book takes place in only 24 hours. Lucy has a big secret. One that no one must never find out about. Her house is full of trash. Newspapers stacked to the ceiling. Garbage piled in the kitchen. Mold covering everything. So when Lucy discovers her mother dead under a pile of magazines, what can she do? If she called 911 her family and their secrets would be on the evening news. This is the story of how Lucy copes with her mother's death and their secrets.

This book is a little disturbing because of it's content but I still really enjoyed it. Lucy is just like every other teenager. She worries what people will think of her. She worries about keeping her friends. She is very easy to relate too but she also has this huge secret that she can't share with anyone. How far will she go to keep it? That's what keeps you on the edge of your seat through this entire book. Half of me wanted Lucy to just get it over with! Call 911! But the other half agreed with her. She had to do everything she could to cover this up. Through the entire book I racked my brain trying to figure out how this could work out in Lucy's favor. I could find no options. If you want to know how it turns out you will just have to read it!

Overall I really enjoyed the book. It was something completely different than what I have been reading. C.J. Omololu did a great job of taking a very disturbing situation and turning it into something that we could all connect to. I will definitely be reading more by Omololu in the future. 4 Stars.