As a kid, Dara was really cute, so cute, in fact, that she won the Little Miss Maine pageant. Between her cuteness and her singing skills she was irresistible. Her dad used to spend hours practicing with her, and her mother was always there to cheer her on. Those days are long gone. She’s gained a lot of weight. Her parents aren’t really involved in her life anymore. When an English project gets hugely misinterpreted, it finally pushes Dara over the edge. She’s tired of it all, so she goes to the only place she can think of. To the home of the sister she has never met. There she learns about her family and herself all while finding out who she wants to be.

I had mixed feelings about the book. On the one hand, Dara was a really cool character. I felt like I understood her. Dara’s trip to meet her sister, Rachel, was great. It takes up the majority of the book, and the characters that live on the farm were really interesting. They all had such vibrant personalities, especially Owen, a guy that becomes Dara’s friend.

The plot in this book was interesting as well. Not everything was a big surprise, but there were just enough shenanigans to keep me interested. It moved along fairly quickly which was nice. Also, I loved the setting. Rachel lives on a goat farm. Not exactly your average setting, huh?

On the other hand, I felt like a lot of info was left out that I would like to have had. The reason Dara had never previously met Rachel was because their mom believed that Rachel was a bad person and had done some really horrible things. I never really understood what Rachel had done that was so horrible. Dara didn’t really, either. I wanted to know but never got the chance to find out.

A smaller qualm I had with this book was the cover. It’s really pretty, and it was what initially drew me to the book, but after reading it, I don’t feel like it fits. Dara is supposed to be overweight, and Owen, if I understand the book correctly, is supposed to be half African American. Neither of the models look like what they are described as in the book.

Overall, I feel like Secrets of Truth and Beauty was a good read. A few things could have made me like it more, but it was still definitely worth the time I spent reading it.

My rating- 3/5 stars

Posted by Melanie at 8:00 AM    

Labels: 3 stars, Megan Frazer, Secrets of Truth and Beauty