What They Don’t Know

Title: What They Don’t Know

Author: Nicole Maggi

Published: October 2nd, 2018

Pages: 368

Genre: Young Adult & Contemporary Fiction & Women’s

Publisher: Source Books

Netgalley provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review! (MY FIRST NETGALLEY!) 

BUY or PRE-ORDER ON AMAZON HERE

Goodreads Description: 

Mellie has always been the reliable friend, the good student, the doting daughter. But when an unspeakable act leads her to withdraw from everyone she loves, she is faced with a life-altering choice—a choice she must face alone.

Lise stands up—and speaks out—for what she believes in. And when she notices Mellie acting strangely, she gets caught up in trying to save her…all while trying to protect her own secret. One that might be the key to helping Mellie.

Told through Mellie and Lise’s journal entries, this powerful, emotional novel chronicles Mellie’s struggle to decide what is right for her and the unbreakable bond formed by the two girls on their journey.

Things I enjoyed about this book: 

This book sucked. me. in. I had a hard time putting it down, not just because I wanted to know what happened, I NEEDED to know. I loved the letter format of What They Don’t Know. It allowed for character development on a deeper level, which I appreciated. I always enjoy when a heavy topic is tackled in a book, and this my friend is a HEAVY topic. I admired the two girls friendship and quickly felt like I could be their third wheel.

The Things I Didn’t Enjoy: 

While reading this book, I had to put aside my personal and political views on abortion. The information throughout the book was hard to resinate with and I am guessing there will be a lot of people who will have a problem with it. I also had a hard time with how the religious people were portrayed, I felt it was a little too generalized.

MRS BIRDS WORDS REVIEW

Nicole Maggi deserves 4 out of 5 bird feathers for her novel “What They Don’t Know.” Again, my review required me to set my beliefs aside and rate it solely on the writing and ability to keep me hooked even though there were parts so hard for me to swallow, but I kept reading. I think I would have been better prepared for this if the synopsis had included it was about abortion, also for trigger warning purposes. I loved the characters and how much of their souls they shared with me. I also enjoyed reading an opinion that differs from mine, it allowed me to “listen” and just accept. I only recommend this book for young adults and co-reading or discussion with an adult figure.  It is deep stuff. This book reiterating how important it is to have open communication and endless love for your children. Overall, great read but I don’t recommend it everyone.

Parent’s Guide:

What They Don’t know does have swearing, rape, sex talk, abortion is a common theme discussed, and stressful family relationships.

©CLVB2018