Lisa Vasil

Connie is delighted when some people her own age finally move in next door. Identical twins Amanda and Rachel are much better-looking than Connie herself, but she still hopes they can all be friends. When she finds out Amanda is blind, Connie has to learn to treat her new friend normally and not be over-protective, but her real struggle is with the other twin: why is Rachel so warm and lively with Amanda, but so nasty to Connie?

The book’s simple title has several layers of meaning for the plot: the ‘secret’ is Rachel’s, while ‘dark’ is a literal description of Amanda’s life, in contrast to her sunny personality. Connie’s initial impression is that Rachel is just a mean, sulky person – the opposite of Amanda – but gradually she learns that Rachel is just as capable of having fun as her less able twin. What horrible secret is preventing Rachel from showing Connie her friendly side?

In addition there is another secret in the story: although the twins don’t know the real cause of Amanda’s blindness, Connie accidentally finds out, and is made to promise the twins’ parents not to reveal the truth to Rachel and Amanda. This creates a lot of tension for Connie, as she is torn between her own natural honesty and her faithfulness to her promise.

When the story begins, before the twins move in to the house next door, Connie doesn’t have any close friends. There are a few acquaintances from school, with whom Connie desperately wants to be friends, but she finds she doesn’t have very much in common with them. The all-too-familiar episode where she is invited to Eva’s house and spends the afternoon trying to appear popular is both funny and sad for a teenager to identify with.

This story has a very distinctive setting in a well-known New Zealand town. It is enjoyable for the reader to recognise descriptions of locations they are likely to have visited or driven past. Also when Connie has to cycle all round the hilly streets to find Rachel when she runs off in a crisis, the reader can vividly imagine the exhaustion Connie would feel after cycling that particular route.

The strength of this story is in its vivid portrayal of relationships, and of teenage needs for friendship and to be accepted. Plus it comes complete with a surprisingly satisfactorily happy ending to all the characters’ troubles. Published when the author was 16, Dark Secret is a story which girls will readily identify with, and become engrossed by.… (mais)