Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Saylor Grayson makes herself sick. Literally.
She ate her first needle when she was seven. Now, at nineteen, she’s been kicked out of college for poisoning herself with laxatives. The shrinks call it Munchausen Syndrome. All Saylor knows is that when she’s ill, her normally distant mother pays attention and the doctors and nurses make her feel special.
Then she meets Drew Dean, the leader of a local support group for those with terminal diseases. When he mistakes her for a new member, Saylor knows she should correct him. But she can’t bring herself to, not after she’s welcomed into a new circle of friends. Friends who, like Drew, all have illnesses ready to claim their independence or their lives
For the first time, Saylor finds out what it feels like to be in love, to have friends who genuinely care about her. But secrets have a way of revealing themselves. What will happen when Saylor’s is out?
Quick Review:
This book is intriguing, dark and will make you think. Secret For a Song is a must read.
Long Review:
I had many ideas of how to start this review while reading Secret For a Song. I even wrote them down. But to tell you the truth I don't even know where to start. There's so many things I want to say about this book that I'm... speechless. Secret For a Song was not what I expected.
I decided that I wanted to read this book when I read S.K Falls' author bio. I thought that if she could write an awesome bio then definitely she could write an equally awesome book. She did guys! Secret For a Song was so amazing and thought provoking. The characters, the writing and the EVERYTHING rocked.
Saylor is not likable. There I said it. But as the book progressed I could not help but care about her. I understood the why of what she was doing. She just wanted to be noticed by her mom and other people. She found a way to make it happen and she went for it. It wasn't the healthiest way to do it but to her it was worth it. After reading the first chapter I decided that I wasn't going to care for her. There's just no way to care for I character as selfish as her. But then I could not not care for her. It just happened. I wanted her to be happy.
The only way that I can describe how a feel about Saylor is by compering her with a loved one that suffers from depression. When I was in my teens a relative suffer a breakdown due to depression. She got treated for it and I thought that would be the end of that but it wasn't. She wasn't the same anymore. Many times I found myself wondering why wasn't she happy. Wasn't being alive enough? Wasn't I enough? You think they are being selfish because you think they can help it and you hate them a little bit for everything that's going on but then you realize that you can't stop loving them. It was something like that. Complicated right?
As I grew older I figured that mental illnesses are as real as physical ones. With this book I had to go through this whole philosophy all over again. S.K. took this controversial illness, Munchausen Syndrome, and made me see it in a completely different light. I went from, Why is she doing this? to Ok, I see why she is doing it. It takes a skilled author to make the reader go through so many emotions in one single book.
The secondary characters were also intriguing like, Saylor's mom. I had a love-mostly hate relationship with her. I mean, how can one be so cold towards their own kid? I have to say that I enjoyed Saylor's and her mom's dialogue a lot. I wanted to know why they disliked each other so much. I also have to admit that it was very hard to read. It felt so real and it just broke my heart. At the end we understand Saylor's mom. Not that there was any justification for the life she gave her daughter but at least we get to know the why.
The romance takes a back seat in this novel. I'm glad for that. I didn't want this to be about Saylor being saved. I wanted her to save herself. Although the romance is not the main focus of the story it does have it's heart pounding moments and you can't help but fall in love with Drew. Secret For a Song was sexy in a sweet and tasteful way.
Overall I say this is a must read.
Giveaway
[3 winners] Secret for a Song e-reader/tablet covers (will fit any reader) - Open to US and Canada
a Rafflecopter giveaway
AUTHOR BIO
Adriana Ryan is the pen name of writer S.K. Falls.
A huge fan of spooky stuff and shoes, I enjoy alternately hitting up the outlet malls and historic graveyards in Charleston, SC where I live and imbibe coffee. My husband and two small children seem not to mind when I hastily scribble novel lines on stray limbs in the absence of notepads.
Since no writer’s biography is complete without mention of her menagerie of animals, you should know I have one dog that doubles as a footstool, a second that functions as a vacuum cleaner, and a cat that ensures I never forget that my hands are, first and foremost, for pouring cat food.
Author Links: