Secret Word

by Jennifer Paddock

Capturing the dreamy rhythms of adolescence between staccato moments of crisis, A Secret Word is about three young women who find themselves transported into the cosmopolitan landscape of womanhood (Jan McInerney, author of Bright Lights, Big City).

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Book Club

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Jennifer Paddock is the author of the novels A Secret Word, Point Clear, and The Weight of Memory. She received an M.A. in creative writing from New York University, and her short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Stories from the Blue Moon Café, The North American Review, Other Voices, Garden and Gun, Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood, and The New York Times. She is also a tennis pro at The Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama.

Praise:

“A riveting novel about memory, the meaning of home, and what we are willing to leave behind.”
Michelle Richmond, author of The Year of Fog

“Jennifer Paddock seduces the reader with the narrative equivalent of a raised eyebrow or the almost imperceptible nod of the head. At the end the reader is inclined to ask the
writer as well as her characters—what’s next?”
Jay McInerney, author of Bright Lights, Big City

“Poignant and true, Paddock’s language evokes the
elegiac way lives play themselves out.”
William Gay, author of Twilight

“In remarkably elegant and evocative prose, Jennifer Paddockreveals that it’s not only the big moments that can change a life, but the deceptively quiet ones, like the eye of the hurricane her
heroine passes through.”
Leah Stewart, author of The Myth of You and Me

“Paddock writes like Raymond Carver with a bigger heart—simple, graceful but tough, always with an eye on the
possibility of redemption.”
Michael Knight, author of Goodnight, Nobody

“There is something about Paddock’s writing that defies conventional description. The closest word I can summon is ‘magic’.”
Melinda Haynes, author of Mother of Pearl

"Point Clear is a subtle novel about an introspective young woman's search for selfhood . . . elegiac prose . . . . A warm tale.” –-Publishers Weekly

"A Secret Word is striking . . . a subtle, surprising first novel, with unforgettable characters, a quiet sense of place and a nuanced exploration of the secrets, loves, despairs, friends and relatives that shape our lives.”—Publishers Weekly

"A Secret Word is an uncommonly assured debut . . . Paddock's narrative is deceptively simple. Her characters neither implausibly obsess over minutiae nor have conveniently placed dramatic episodes; instead, their creator relies on a smoothly authoritative voice to simply carry us through. An unusually generous spirit animates these pages, knowledgeable about shared pain, the call of the big city, disappointments, and secret keeping . . . . the lucky discovery of three secret diaries."-- Kirkus Reviews

"Filled with many moving and sometimes devastating moments and observations, Paddock’s first novel is three coming-of-age stories for the price of one." — Booklist

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an intriguing little book. At 200 pages, it seems slight, but once you get into it, you realize the author's spare, direct, non-linear writing hits you where it needs to, no wasted fluff. It follows the story of 3 girls, 2 rich and 1 poor, in high school who witness a tragedy that indirectly affects them throughout their lives. Then it follows them at key points in their lives over the next 15 years. Each character has a unique perspective, and they are brutally honest and concise when discussing their situations. The main theme is how people's lives can parallel, bounce off one another down the road, but still keep in contact. It stayed with me. What an underrated and interesting writer Paddock is, and what a unique first novel. I'm interested to see what she does next.

[Bri_laughs_a_lot. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book really lacked the ohgoshijusthavetokeepreading factor. It seemed that the 15 years covered were just skimmed through with little bits and pieces thrown together. Take off a few years add some dramatic events and it'd be something.

[Lindsey Morris · Rating 1 out of 5]

I personally wasn't a fan of this book. It bounces between 3 characters over a period of about 15-20 years but there wasn't really a cohesive storyline or resolution. I would not recommend this to a friend.

[Tricia Cassavaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3

[Marie LoBue · Rating 2 out of 5]

No plot just vibes!

[Arelya J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

In “A Secret Word”, Jennifer Paddock does a superb job in tying together an ‘event’ (and I won’t give it away) that affects three high school friends— two wealthy girls and one a poor girl—over a 15 year period. The time transition defining the ‘event’ and how it affects each girl into her womanhood could have been clumsily handled and especially lost in Paddock’s soul digging into their respective characterization. The reader is drawn into the friendships of Chandler and Sarah, the two country club set girls, and Leigh, the poor girl of the working class.

Chandler emerges as the main character of the three but that does not mean that she takes away from the character development of Sarah and Leigh. Just when you think Paddock is going to turn this into some stereotypical theme, she doesn’t and she could have and still have gotten away with it because the novel is so well written, but because she chose for each character to take a different path it makes the novel all the more powerful and realistic. Paddock employs the first person voice to develop each character, and how the ‘first person’ voice overlaps with the other first person voices is what moves the story and the ‘event’ along gently but still keeps the reader curious. The fact that Paddock decided to utilize three ‘first person’ voices was the first good and creative decision to make “A Secret Word” unique. The secondary characters are more than secondary characters. I found myself wanting to know more about them, and for that reason this could have been a longer novel for those of us who don’t mind long novels. (I’ve never had a problem with “War and Peace”. ) However, Paddock disciplined them and these secondary characters stayed in their boundaries while moving the story along.

“A Secret Word” is not only the title but a symbolism as well—and, again, I don’t want to give away anything. Five stars.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

How I Came To Own This Book: Most *random* book own to date...I was doing a fake newsletter project for Computer Design in Cre Comm - the project was more on the design not the content - so I included a faux book review as well, and picked this book randomly cause it had a (prettier) cover at the time. Anyway I thought the plot also sounded cool and ended up picking it up.

The Plot: The story is about three women whose lives (I feel like I write this phrase all the time) intertwine over the years. Each chapter reads like a short story about a specific period in each girl's life and how they affect the others' lives over the 15 years the book covers. It starts out with the girls in high school in the 80s, when a tragic accident they feel somewhat responsible for first bonds them together, then follows up with them in the 90s as each girls' life unravels.

The Good & The Bad: This book isn't a gripping page turner - so if you're looking for that, skip it. It is however, a very insightful, subtle, nuanced novel that draws you into the lives of each character. Although it's not a blockbuster read in any way, it's a great book to while away the hours with, and reminds me a fair bit of a book I read this year "the House on Fortune Street".

The Bottom Line: A slower but savoury read.

50-Book Challenge?: No.

[Carlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Secret Word: A Novel was another book (like Matchstick Men) written in present tense. So instead of "she said", it was "she says". Well, at least it wasn't like that book I read that was written in 2nd person. That was bizarre.

Anyway, A Secret Word spans 15-some years, from 3 girls' point of view. I thought it was chick-lit, actually, but it wasn't- it was better. It's a book about many things but most of all, sadness. Fit nicely with all the stuff that's been happening in my life the past couple of days.

Recommended, although I give it only 4 out of 5 stars, because I couldn't really figure out what the book was about. You know how books have themes and you sit there in English class dissecting written works? Well, maybe this book doesn't have one... and maybe I should be okay with that.

[George Ilsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a hybrid between linked short stories and a novel. As a novel it is as if a strobe light goes off every couple of months or years and flashes on the characters so we can see them. There are supposedly three first person points of view -- however, these voices are not distinctive. Especially as they mature everyone sounds the same (especially Chandler and Sarah). Some of the earlier sections were previously published and are very good as stand alone segments. The quality of the writing does not remain consistent as the book progresses and this reader became increasingly uninvolved in the text.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book would have done better if it had just focused on one of the girls rather than 3 different girls. The character Leigh seemed out of place in the book. Chandler and Sarah at least talked to each other after the first part of the book. Leigh was barely connected to them. The time jumps often left me wondering what happened to the chunks of time that were missing. It wasn't bad, though.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quirky story that's balanced between three mismatched friends, thrown closer together the day the girls go out to lunch and unknowingly witness the death of a shared boyfriend. It had potential to go directly downhill, but instead, Paddock manages the three lives of these girls without faltering. Where Crowell failed, Paddock succeeds creating a palpable non-linear story that is neither overbearing nor underdeveloped. Her first novel, I'm eager to read more of her writing.

[Ally Gravis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rated this book four out of five stars because I enjoyed the change of formatting, it's different than what I usually read. However, I did not like that some periods of time were left out of the book without notice- it made for a sometimes confusing read. I would recommend this book for female high school students because it relates to high school life, and all of the journal entires are written by different girls.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three high school girls are linked by a tragedy: while driving to have lunch at the local country club, the girls witness an accident involving one of the star athletes from their school. The tragedy affects each one differently and their three coming-of-age stories represent many aspects of female life.

[KrininaLynn]

I really enjoyed this book. I wanted to love it, but for some reason I didn't. The writing was excellent. The characters were very well developeed. Each distinct from the others, with her own unique voice. There's some sex in it, but only like 2 or 3 scenes and they conisst of about a sentence or two each. A really good, solid book, pretty quick read.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far it is good, I like how one incident can leak these girls for so long. It is hard for one to admit things to everyone they know, I know this. I can relate to these characters, some things are kept from others because of the unwanted outcome of what they may think. I'll give this a more thorough review when I am done.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting but hard to follow at times. The writing seemed to vary from well-written to thrown-together. It was, however, a very quick read.

In short: I didn't hate it but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it either.

[Marjorie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good light fast read. It's told from three character's point of view and is more like lots of mini short stories. There were themes of familes and friendship but I didn't really see any storyline. Very welll written.

[Gotobedmouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am from Fort Smith and not much younger than Jennifer Paddock, and had two close friends in high school so this book hits very close to home. I often have a coming of age book rumbling in my head very similar to this one. By the way, many of these events did happen in real life.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good and easy read that was very relatable in certain aspects. Having multiple characters as narrators (each chapter, except for the final) made this a unique read. The characters endured success as well as loss while all being connected in sometimes the slightest of ways.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book followed three girls over a long perios of time. But I didn't like any of them. So I didn't care.

[Drucilla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Different style of writing, but it was an okay book. I believe this was her first one. Her second book, Point Clear is much better.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good novel about three friends and their relationships with each other, family and love, over the span of 15 years. It's almost a coming of age story too.

[Corinne · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was okay

[Karianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. The characters were real and well thought out. I have a soft spot for books that take place in manhattan, as well.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyable throughout; wanted to read it before Point Clear
looking forward to Paddock's future work . . .

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending almost dropped it to a 3.5 but mostly because I felt like the author wrapped it up too quickly. Overall it was a good read, and surprised me with its depth of character in so few pages.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy and enjoyable read.

[Rahaf Alfar · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good fast read, the connection between the characters is still unclear to me however the style and structure of the novel are entertaining

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing special. :(

[Shelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Incredibly boring!