It's Not Like It's a Secret

By: Misa Sugiura

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller

"Well-paced, brimming with drama, and utterly vital." —Kirkus (starred review)

This charming and bittersweet coming-of-age story featuring two girls of color falling in love is part To All the Boys I've Loved Before and part Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature!

Sixteen-year-old Sana Kiyohara has too many secrets. Some are small, like how it bothers her when her friends don’t invite her to parties. Some are big, like the fact that her father may be having an affair. And then there’s the one that she can barely even admit to herself—the one about how she might have a crush on her best friend.

When Sana and her family move to California, she begins to wonder if it’s finally time for some honesty, especially after she meets Jamie Ramirez. Jamie is beautiful and smart and unlike anyone Sana’s ever known. There are just a few problems: Sana's new friends don't trust Jamie's crowd; Jamie's friends clearly don't want her around anyway; and a sweet guy named Caleb seems to have more-than-friendly feelings for her. Meanwhile, her dad’s affair is becoming too obvious to ignore.

Sana always figured that the hardest thing would be to tell people that she wants to date a girl, but as she quickly learns, telling the truth is easy…what comes after it, though, is a whole lot more complicated.

©2017 Misa Sugiura (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Beautiful story

The performance of the reader was absolutely magnificent! She manage to perfectly represent each character uniquely

A Little boring

This book started very well however it just went on for to Long
And i personally didn’t really like the narraters voice

ok

got bored and annoyed half way through but stuck it put. it gets better near the end.

Better than I expected

Strong start and in the end I really enjoyed this, but there were a few moments when I just had to take out my buds from irritation. The story suffers from some irritating tropes. I get that drama needs conflict, in this genre its usually either the parents or homophobes but one of my least favorite tropes is the protagonist unwittingly weaving an ever-more-complicated web of unnecessary lies. It isn't quite that bad but it almost gets there.
However I'm glad I stuck with it because it makes up for everything in the end and I forgave the story for what it did to me.

Excellent performance and interesting story

The performance and 90% of the story are near flawless but some bumps in the writing prevent me from giving it a perfect review. The story feels slow at times and rushed at others, especially towards the end. I would have liked to have seen more of Jamie and Sana rekindling, and perhaps more of Jamie's friends.

The supporting cast is extremely strong, and performed expertly by Emily Woo Zeller. It's rare that one can read/listen to a book one time and remember ever secondary and supporting character, even those only mentioned two or three times.

The cultural aspect really elevates this story above others in its respective genre, and the race dynamic between Jamie and Sana is far more nuanced than I expected going in.

To summarize, "It's Not Like It's A Secret" is a YA novel done right with rarely a dull moment, even in the parts where the story slows down. A must read for anyone interested in LGBT representation, asian culture, race dynamics, or just good reads.
8/10.

sensationally amazing

couldn't stop listening to it.

lots of tough but important issues that teens, and everyone really, were brought to life beautifully and with a realness that is greatly appreciated. a realness that is rarely seen in the YA genre.

YA contemporary that focused on an important topic

What did you love best about It's Not Like It's a Secret?

Wooooo....wow this book was a lot to unpack. Lots of conversations that need to be had but have never been approached like this before. I think a lot of books about prejudice and ignorance tend to focus on a very black and white lens but this one centered on prejudice in Mexican and Asian communities, which is very unique to California being that both racial groups are the largest minorities. I think the pros of this story was that it made me feel something, and it wasn't always cotton candy and comfort.

What scared me the most about this story is that it reflected my own childhood and teenage years. Sana, the main character's mother, i'm ashamed to admit that she's actually like my grandmother. She's ignorant. She says hateful things about pretty much every ethnic group she doesn't fall under and she doesn't think of anything she says as wrong. She's scared of what she considers different, and unfortunately I found myself relating to Sana for not doing the right thing and challenging her on her ignorance. It's hard to challenge people you love and raised you and make them see your point when they in their heads, feel as though they've never been wrong. I constantly ask myself, why don't people call their families out on their racist thoughts? And then I think back to every situation that's happened and has yet to happen, where I don't correct my family members for saying hurtful things. Sometimes it's just not worth it and you always feel as though you're never going to change their minds.

While I didn't think Sana was a traditionally likable heroine, I did however relate to her. I think what would have made this book a five is if it would have centered more on the f/f relationship and not so much the drama her parents were going through. It was so distracting and all I wanted was a love story. I also needed Sana to own up to her privilege and admit that all the hurtful things she said about Latinos were wrong and that she needed to learn more about things she wasn't knowledgeable enough about before she spoke. Overall, we need more ff books with no white gaze and this was a step forward in that direction.

AMAZING STORY

I loved everything. The impressions were on point. The story warms my hearth. At the age of ten I get to see young romance and different cultures being treated in different ways. It shows us it’s ok to be different. My family has bad traits of miss judging people because of how they look, and who they date. It pisses me off. This story had suspense, like what’s gonna happen with Jamie, and poor Caleb is he okay? This story was an amazing trip to read along with the audio.

Loved it

Really awesome book! Enjoyed the storyline and characters. Fantastic writing as always and Emily did an amazing job narrating

Dive into the whirlwind of the teenage mind

To step into the whirlwind mind of a teenager. The insecurities, the convictions, the learning, the honesty. It’s all there in this beautiful YA story. I listened to the audiobook version and Emily Woo Zeller’s narration brought the story to life and added to it the ultimate extra dimension of creating a believable internal world.

16-year old Sana has never fit in. Growing up as a Japanese teen in Wisconsin, she has always been the odd one out. When her family moves to California, she is suddenly not the only Asian kid anymore.

Through the first months at the new high school she finds new friends who look like her. Finds out a heart wrenching family secret and finds herself when she meets the girl of her dreams in Jamie.

Misa Sagiura doesn’t shy away from difficult topics like racism, cultural believes, betrayal and ultimately, love. She takes your hand and puts you on a chair in the corner of a teenage girl’s mind. She portrays the insecurities and learning curve of a teen beautifully. So much so, that despite the questionable choices Sana makes at one point, you can’t stop yourself from liking this girl and rooting for her.

The story gives a glimpse into a culture (Japanese) that was unfamiliar to me. As a reader it opened my mind to a new experience while turning the pages/ listening.

Dive into the muddy waters of teenage life. You will not regret it.