Secret Keeper
(2009, Fiction - Family Life, Written by Mitali Perkins)
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings(Flash is loading. If this text does not disappear you need to install the latest flash version)
Not age appropriate for kids under 9, age appropriate for kids over 10; suggested age 12. -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Cultural peek into 1970s India through a girl's eyes.
Why We Rated This
for Ages 12 and Up
The good stuff
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
About Secret Keeper
Parents need to know this book highlights 1970s-era Indian customs that will seem very sexist (and likely unimaginable) to contemporary American girls. Asha and Reet's mother suffers from depression; the sisters must deal with a rumor that their father committed suicide. There are some oblique references to what happens on wedding nights.
Read our full review by Stephanie Dunnewind
Families Can Talk About
- Families can talk about societal expectations for women's beauty. In this book, set in the 1970s, Asha rails against women being judged on their looks. Has this expectation changed in the last 40 years? Do readers agree with Asha's sacrifice at the end of the book? Would they make the same choice, given the circumstances?

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