Secret Lives

by Caroline MacDonald

Inventing the rebellious character of Gideon for a class project, Ian loses control of himself when Gideon becomes real to him and gets him into trouble, forcing Ian to admit that he has real problems and that Gideon is only imaginary.

144 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1995

About the author

Born in New Zealand, Caroline Macdonald moved to Australia in 1982 and passed away in Adelaide, South Australia.

She wrote mostly fantasy and science fiction for older children and young adults and her stories were often set in New Zealand or Australia.

Reviews

[Anne Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ian's granny and guardian, Lil, is off for several days to a teacher's conference. She's arranged for him to be taken care of, but he wants to stay home by himself.

Visited by the mysterious Gideon, a hardcore rebel, he becomes involved in car theft, a hold-up at gunpoint and the burning of a luxury vehicle. Or does he? There's things he can't remember and he's not sure he wants to. Gideon is his own creation—a character whose backstory he has invented for a holiday assignment—but Gideon is starting to control his life and destroy his relationships with friends and family.

Even when Ian burns the story pages and deletes the document file, Gideon still emerges in strange and subtle ways. Ian, desperate to get rid of him, decides to create a counter-character to master Gideon: Jacqueline.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great, "hey, I'm normal" kind of a book. Also, a social commentary on women's and girl's sexuality and why we are the way we are.

[Velvetink]

* Inherited from Mum's shelves.

[Abril Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

it is good