The Secret of Me is a unique adoption story because it is composed as a book in verse. It is written as a fictional account of a teenage girl’s perspective on being adopted and how it impacts her learning, home and social life. The heroine, Lizzie, experiences a “good” adoption, but like many adoptees, she still harbors concerns and fears over what others will think and how others will treat her if they knew her secret. She longs for a birth story. She also longs for open, objective and fair communication about her thoughts between herself, her friends, and her parents.
The Secret of Me is an excellent choice for anyone from about grade 6 through adult. It is an honest account of what being adopted feels like regardless of generations, especially if the adoption was closed. This book clearly explains the fact that even in the finest of circumstances, adopted kids and even adults are thinking about their alternate time lines and about what would have happened in their other lives. It validates that many adoptee feelings and beliefs are real and common among our community. In the story, Lizzie has an older brother and sister who are also adopted, but everyone in her household finds it impossible to discuss adoption in terms of feelings. It is indeed a universal struggle for adopted people to put their feelings into appropriate words because so many of us have been silenced and told how we should think.
This book is a fast read, and although it was composed in verse, it does not necessarily rhyme. You do not have to be a connoisseur in poetry to appreciate this tale which may or may not be semi-autobiographical. There are many moments when, while reading, the adoptee reader will experience a , “Yeah, Same here!” feeling as will most readers from middle school age on up in this coming of age tale. There is a detailed afterward section which explains author, Meg Kearney’s creative process for putting this story together and some of the works which inspired her (and her main character, Lizzie). The afterward isn’t required, but since the book itself is so short, it provides a nice closure.
I have no criticism except to say it was too short and now I will miss the family members in this story. I felt involved and curious about what could happen next.
