Why read My Secret to Keep?

Book cover of My Secret to Keep

Book description

When Maggie Bryan works up the nerve to tell her parents she's pregnant, they immediately disown her. Later that night, her boyfriend is killed. In desperation, she turns to her brother, Sam. Against his wife's wishes, Sam brings Maggie to his home in rural Pennsylvania.

While Maggie awaits the birth…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked My Secret to Keep as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Linda Rosen

Author

I am drawn to novels set in the not-too-distant past that resonate today. I wanted to read this book as soon as it came out because I loved Conrey’s first book, the USA Today bestseller, Nowhere Near Goodbye.

As with that book, the characters are well-drawn and the novel is gut-wrenching and unputdownable. A secret the character feels forced to keep runs through this story about love and loss, biases, and family dynamics.

From Linda's list on The best historical fiction with mysteries around long-held family secrets.

Mary Helen Sheriff

Author

This book is a prequel. You don’t have to read one to read the other, but it was enjoyable to spend more time with beloved characters and understand the world of Conrey’s imagination better.

This book made the list because it was the book that resonated with me the most; after I finished it, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It explores the complexity of love and sexuality in a time in the not-too-distant past when small-town America struggled to accept and understand same-sex love stories.

From Mary Helen's 3 favorite reads in 2023.