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Margaret Willey
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Four Secrets Paperback – Illustrated, January 1, 2014

by Margaret Willey (Author), Bill Hauser (Illustrator)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 28 ratings
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"To you the idea to kidnap Chase Dobson might seem like a mistake. But to us... we were just trying to stop him from being so...evil. We just...we had to stop him. No one helps kids like us. Not at my school. We aren't the important kids. We knew it wouldn't stop unless we stopped it ourselves."

Katie, Nate, and Renata had no farther to fall down the social ladder. But when they hit bottom, they found each other. Together, they wanted to change things. To stop the torment. So they made a plan. One person seemed to have everyone's secrets―and all the power. If they could stop him...

But secrets are complicated, powerful things. They are hard to keep. And even a noble plan to stop a bully can go horribly wrong.

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Previous page
  1. Reading age
    12 - 18 years
  2. Print length
    288 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    7 - 12
  5. Lexile measure
    850
  6. Dimensions
    5.1 x 0.9 x 7.4 inches
  7. Publisher
    Carolrhoda Lab ®
  8. Publication date
    January 1, 2014
  9. ISBN-10
    146771626X
  10. ISBN-13
    978-1467716260
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Low on visceral detail but rich in unique voices, Willey's story masterfully teases out information until the final pages―and the ultimate revelations are well worth the torture." --starred, Booklist



"These middle school kids encounter drugs, alcohol, sexuality, and violence, but Willey sensitively and skillfully reveals not only the details of their drastic act, but also the secrets that the three friends and their victim harbor, secrets that shape who they are and what their futures may be." --School Library Journal



"This novel will make students think, and would be good for discussion." ―VOYA



"'There is a secret story and it is inside of another secret story and that one is inside of another secret story,' writes Katie, and the four secrets, one about each of the teens, are satisfyingly juicy yet given depth by Willey's understanding of the complexities of friendship." --The Horn Book Magazine



"[A] meticulously detailed and psychologically astute story with the feel of a procedural drama." --Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Margaret Willey has been writing for many years in many different genres. All of her books and stories come from a personal place, either something that happened to her or something she witnessed at close range. Like her previous novel from Carolrhoda Lab, Four Secrets (2012), Beetle Boy is about bullying, but a different kind of bullying―the kind inflicted on children by their parents. Beetle Boy was inspired by a real boy who was completely under his father's control and trying to make the best of it until he could escape. Margaret lives in Grand Haven with her husband, Richard Joanisse, and she is currently working on a new novel and a collection of essays about her childhood in Michigan.


A Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art graduate, Bill Hauser's artwork has graced the record covers, t-shirts, and posters of numerous punk, hardcore, and heavy metal bands from around the world. Inspired by '80s rock and roll artists like Pushead and Richard Corben, Hauser's attention to detail, jagged line work and bright color schemes reflect the chaotic urgency of punk rock gigs.
Bill Hauser is well known in the realm of underground music, having worked with bands like: Ghoul, Bad Religion, ANTiSEEN, Hirax, In Defence, Skit System, BANE, Hellnation and Ozzy Osbourne. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Carolrhoda Lab ®; Illustrated edition (January 1, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 146771626X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1467716260
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 12 - 18 years
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 850
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 7 - 12
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.1 x 0.9 x 7.4 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 28 ratings

About the author

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Margaret Willey

Margaret Willey

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Margaret Willey grew up in a lakeside town in Michigan, the eldest daughter in a family of eleven children. Reading stories and poems to her younger brothers and sisters led her to a life of writing stories and poems for young readers. She is the author of many young adult novels, most recently BEETLE BOY (Carolrhoda Lab, 2014) as well as FOUR SECRETS (Carolrhoda Lab 2012). She has also written picture books with an emphasis on folktales. She is the author of the CLEVER BEATRICE series, as well as THE 3 BEARS AND GOLDILOCKS (Atheneum 2008). She has received many honors for her books, including The Charlotte Zolotow Award and the Anne Izard Storytellers Choice Award. In 2010 she was given the GWEN FROSTIC AWARD from the Michigan Reading Association, an award for impacting literacy in her state. She continues to write for both teens and younger readers. Her novel BEETLE BOY was a 2014 IndieFab Finalist and an Honor Book in the category of Children's Fiction from the Society of Midland Authors. Find out more about Margaret at www.margaretwilley.com

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
28 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars I read this story in one day!
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2020
Verified Purchase
In the beginning, I was annoyed by these foolish teenagers. However, their story soon had me hooked. These middle school kids had some serious problems and they took them on. Friendship, adult betrayal, social nightmares, small-town petty societal issues, and a complicated mystery...4 Secrets has it all.
This book could be a really popular television series.
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Genevieve Ekani-Raze
5.0 out of 5 stars great Book!
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2014
Verified Purchase
It was a bit agonizing not finding the truth but when the book ended I was so glad I chose to read it for my summer work. I would recommend it to anyone who loves mysteries or just a good book!
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Regina
4.0 out of 5 stars Gripping, Entertaining -- and Important Messages Conveyed
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2012
I feel so fortunate to have received a copy of Four Secrets from the publisher, otherwise this book may have passed me by. And this book should not pass readers by. Four Secrets is an interesting and gripping read that I was reluctant to put down. Honestly, it takes a lot for me to read a print book these days -- pathetic, but yeah I need my ereader. I find myself not finishing print books that I start, but not with Four Secrets. The text of this book pulled me in. Ms. Willey tells the story through journal entries of three 8th grade children and from the point of view of a social worker trying to help them. Each character has a distinct voice; but each is interesting and easy to connect with. The setting of the story in the present is a juvenile detention center, but there are flash backs to the halls of the middle school, parties, children's houses and encounters with parents. The subject matter? Bullying, secrets and friendship.

This is a book that I want my 7th grade daughter to read. Absolutely. It does, however, have appeal beyond middle schoolers. Parents, high school aged children, teachers, and fans of middle-grade and young adult books will enjoy Four Secrets. Four Secrets is a message book, but beyond that it is also enjoyable. The message is one that needs to be heard by parents, teachers and students (both victims and bullies) but I don't think it is presented like an after-school special. Ms. Willey does a great job in moving beyond stereotypes of mean girls and negligent parents as the ones responsible for all the pain that kids go through. The tension in the book starts off right in the beginning and gradually readers learn the secrets lurking behind everyone's story.

Three friends are bonded together because they have been rejected by the cool group in their 8th grade year. They have been slammed and ignored electronically and in real life. Their parents don't understand or can't relate -- and in some ways are neglectful. Teachers pretend not to notice troublesome and scary behavior that happens on their watch. And each child -- despite being just a child -- brings to the story their own baggage and their own deep dark secrets. Because these kids feel like they can't trust adults and they don't know how to get help, they make some really bad decisions on how to deal with this problem on their own.

So read it, share it, encourage your child or students to read it - -and then discuss it! Because I think this story is so important.
3 people found this helpful
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Flora
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2015
Verified Purchase
It's ok
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Emily
5.0 out of 5 stars Four secrets
Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2014
Verified Purchase
This book was a great book that caught my attention strait from the start I give this book a 5 star rating and recommend it also.
One person found this helpful
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D. Fowler
5.0 out of 5 stars This phenomenal take on the secret lives and the lies of four young people was mesmerizing ...
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2013
One day they were leading life on their own terms and the next they found themselves at Ferndale Juvenile Detention center with social worker, Greta Shield, breathing down their necks. Honestly, who wanted to journal about the experience. Lenora Dobson, who was livid and wouldn't talk about her son, Chase, said to the Mrs. Shield, "They are social misfits from dysfunctional families." Chase was the athletic darling of North Holmes, but also the biggest bully to walk through the doors of any school. Katie Havenga didn't fancy being in juvie, but they had to find "a way to stop Chase Dobson from hurting Renata." No one was going to help them now because they weren't the "important kids."

Granted, no one would never think that kidnapping Chase and holding him hostage was even remotely kosher, but something had to be done. They kept him at Renata Le Cortez's house on the ground floor and her mother didn't even notice. It wasn't her style. From the day Katie and Nate Wilson met her, she'd become Katie's "perfect and beautiful friend." The three of them had created their own perfect little family and had made a pact never to tell what had gone on. Before anything happened, Renata proudly told them that "We're going to prove something once and for all to all the Chase Dobsons of the world." She needed their help and would get it. "Are you going to torture me? Like with cigarettes?" Chase Dobson III had asked them that night.

Greta Shield read an "overview of the kidnapping charges and the subsequent arrests" from the police report. There were "riddles and ciphers" in the journals and nothing was adding up. Despite the fact that the three had been separated, they held steadfast to their pact to keep silent. Katie's journal was little more than a juvie weather report and Renata's a drawing portfolio. Nate, or Nathaniel as he preferred to be called, had shifted into a" budding fantasy writer." Greta found his entries practically indecipherable. "The Master will destroy me if I do not keep my promises and he will destroy my sisters if they do not also keep their promises." Something was not adding up, but perhaps Martin Collier, a coach at the school, could help her. Greta couldn't quite believe they'd kidnapped Chase, but just why were they acting so strangely and what kind of secrets were they harboring? She was running short of time and was breaking boundaries by trying to help them, but could she do it before the Dobsons got their revenge?

This phenomenal take on the secret lives and the lies of four young people was mesmerizing. Initially, the story was somewhat disjointed, something I later felt was a deliberate literary tool to indicate their chaotic lives and situation. There didn't appear to be any cohesion between the characters when they were first dumped in juvie. Once they recovered from the initial shock, even though separated by walls and time, their characters and purpose grew continually stronger as they merged. They had created a pact "because there is a secret story and it is inside of another secret story." The kidnapping was not all it appeared to be and, because of the circumstances behind the pact, I discovered (or perhaps rediscovered) that loyalty grows deep among young people. This tale of harbored secrets is a powerful one that young readers can definitely relate to and enjoy.

This book courtesy of the publisher.
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