Book: Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu
Book Info: Published by Walker Books For Young Readers; 212 pages; hardcover
Source: Borrowed from the library
Genre: YA/Contemporary
Find out more: Goodreads~Barnes And Noble~Amazon~C.J. Omololu
Goodreads.com Summary: Everyone has a secret. But Lucy’s is bigger and dirtier than most. It’s one she’s been hiding for years—that her mom’s out-of-control hoarding has turned their lives into a world of garbage and shame. She’s managed to keep her home life hidden from her best friend and her crush, knowing they’d be disgusted by the truth. So, when her mom dies suddenly in their home, Lucy hesitates to call 911 because revealing their way of life would make her future unbearable—and she begins her two-day plan to set her life right.
With details that are as fascinating as they are disturbing, C. J. Omololu weaves an hour-by-hour account of Lucy’s desperate attempt at normalcy. Her fear and isolation are palpable as readers are pulled down a path from which there is no return, and the impact of hoarding on one teen’s life will have readers completely hooked.
I really liked Dirty Little Secrets. It’s a great look at the life of someone who’s related to a hoarder.
I loved the hour by hour account of Lucy’s life after discovering her mother has died. I liked how it focused on Lucy trying to figure what to do, and how to make her life normal.
It didn’t delve into a lot of the issues surrounding hoarding, but considering it’s Lucy’s story, I’m okay with that. I thought her mother was interesting (although a bit annoying) and her older sister was really interesting as well. You’d think that after seeing what their mother was like, her sister wouldn’t be a hoarder. But then again, if it’s all you’ve known…
It was nice to see a novel dealing with hoarding that focused on the family, because it is something that has an effect on people who live with the person hoarding. I feel like hoarding tends to focus on the hoarder, and not anyone connected to them, so it was very refreshing to Lucy’s story.
It gets a 4 out of 5. It is simply told over the span of a day, making it somewhat intense. But it doesn’t delve too deep into the issues surrounding hoarding, which could have added something extra to the book.
Reading Books With Coffee 
I just read her new one called Transcendence (really mistitled). It’s paranormal romance with reincarnation as a theme.
Cool, I’ll have to check it out!