I Have No Secrets by Penny Joelson (Mystery)

Jemma is not like your ordinary fourteen-year-old girl. Jemma has a shocking secret. A secret that she is not able to share using her voice. Jemma has cerebral palsy, which is a condition that means that does not allow her to communicate or move her body. Jemma lives her life in a wheelchair going to school a few days a week and watches a lot of shows on the television. She was adopted years ago by her parents who have always taken such good care of her. She also has a younger brother (who has a form of autism) and a younger sister that were adopted as well. Jemma even has a caretaker named Sarah. Sarah lives with Jemma and her family, so Jemma has met Sarah’s boyfriend Dan many times. She knows that Dan is the murder. He told her himself. He knows that she cannot tell anyone which is, why he told her. But when a genius professor comes in contact with Jemma, he thinks that his newest invention could help her communicate for the first time in her life. This brings major excitement towards Jemma’s family, however Jemma is extremely frightened and worried. She knows that if Dan found about this invention, he will do something to stop her. Will Jemma use this new technology and tell her family? Will Jemma not use the invention at all? Will Dan find about the exciting news and do something about it? All these questions will be answered in the book “I Have No Secrets”.

This mystery novel is intriguing and inviting to anyone that reads it. I always wanted to keep reading and never put down this fantastic book. I would rate this book a ten out of ten. It was full of shocking twists and suspenseful events. I keep asking myself the same question, “What is going to happen next?”. I would recommend this book to anyone ages eleven to fifteen. If you love thrilling and at times a little bit scary mystery books, this is the perfect book for you. This story was written in first person perspective that Jemma narrated. Even though Jemma could not respond to the other characters verbally, her thinking and what she would have said was always shared in the book which highly interested me to keep reading. I also loved the relationship between Jemma and her caretaker Sarah. Even though Jemma could not respond to Sarah, Sarah always talked to Jemma which Jemma always appreciated. Sarah always looked after Jemma and made sure she was in good hands. I loved watching them engage, even if Sarah was the only one verbally responding back to their conversations. This book also showed a lot of crazy things that Jemma’s younger siblings would do. I always found these parts of the book interesting just seeing how they behave and act around her. Overall, I believe that this a great story that is exciting, thrilling, and full of twists that everyone who loves mystery books should read. 

Deanna D., Grade 8