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The Secret to Belonging
Three starred reviews!
A neglected teen travels to Norway for a fresh start in this “lush…aching” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) coming-of-age novel in verse about longing, love, and the courage to create joy from the ashes of despair by award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Megan E. Freeman.
You are invisible in your own family. Your parents spend all their care and attention on your brother, who is addicted to drugs. Your dreams don’t matter to anyone but you.
Your only ticket out is a college fund left by your grandfather—until your parents use it to pay for your brother’s drug rehab.
Just when your future seems about to collapse, you are offered a a scholarship to become an exchange student in a remote part of Norway. It’s an invitation to begin a new life in a new place with new people…a place where you might finally feel like you belong.
A neglected teen travels to Norway for a fresh start in this “lush…aching” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) coming-of-age novel in verse about longing, love, and the courage to create joy from the ashes of despair by award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Megan E. Freeman.
You are invisible in your own family. Your parents spend all their care and attention on your brother, who is addicted to drugs. Your dreams don’t matter to anyone but you.
Your only ticket out is a college fund left by your grandfather—until your parents use it to pay for your brother’s drug rehab.
Just when your future seems about to collapse, you are offered a a scholarship to become an exchange student in a remote part of Norway. It’s an invitation to begin a new life in a new place with new people…a place where you might finally feel like you belong.
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 15, 2026
About the author
Megan E. Freeman
9 books429 followersMegan E. Freeman attended an elementary school where poets visited her classroom every week to teach poetry, and she has been a writer ever since. Her New York Times bestselling novel in verse, ALONE, won the Colorado Book Award, the Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, and Vermont Children’s Book Awards, the High Plains Book Award, is an NCTE Notable Verse Novel, and is included on over two dozen "best of" and state reading lists.
Megan is also a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet and the author of the poetry chapbook Lessons on Sleeping Alone. An award-winning teacher with decades of classroom experience, Megan is nationally recognized for her work leading workshops and speaking to audiences across the country.
Megan used to live in northeast Los Angeles, central Ohio, northern Norway, and on Caribbean cruise ships. Now she divides her time between northern Colorado and the Texas Gulf Coast.
Megan is also a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet and the author of the poetry chapbook Lessons on Sleeping Alone. An award-winning teacher with decades of classroom experience, Megan is nationally recognized for her work leading workshops and speaking to audiences across the country.
Megan used to live in northeast Los Angeles, central Ohio, northern Norway, and on Caribbean cruise ships. Now she divides her time between northern Colorado and the Texas Gulf Coast.
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August 10, 2026ִֶָ𓂃 ࣪˖ ִִֶֶָ🥀་༘࿐In need of something that will make me sob𓂃 ࣪˖ ִִֶֶָ🥀་༘࿐!!!!!!!!
October 2, 2026
4 Stars
One Liner: Heartfelt!
What does a teenage girl do when her family ignores her to ‘care’ for her drug-addicted brother? Can a cultural/student exchange program offering a year-long stay in Norway give her the love and family she craves?
The novel in verse is written in the second-person POV.
My Thoughts
Most novels in verse read like prose, with sentences broken and structured as a lengthy poem. That style does make it easier to read the book like regular fiction, so it has its advantages. However, this one has a disjointed style that suits poetry more, but is not fully poetry either.
The choice to write the book in the second person is interesting. It definitely has more impact. Though I’m nowhere near that age group, I could feel the emotions with similar intensity.
The style follows modern poetry, meaning the first letters of the verses are not capitalized, and the punctuation is barely there. It took me some 5-7 pages to get used to this, but soon I stopped noticing. By the way, there are many Norwegian words that add authenticity to the setting. And since they are followed by English translations, I had no issues following the context.
The official blurb lays out the premise. You know what to expect and hope that the girl finds the stability and love she deserves. It reminded me of a few Reddit posts. After all, parents with misplaced priorities are not uncommon in real life (and thereby in fiction too).
The book is divided into parts, establishing the protag’s life, showing her finding herself in Norway, and what happens afterward. I won’t reveal anything except that the arc feels realistic and believable. It’s easy for outsiders to give advice, but for the person to actually get out of that toxic environment is very hard, and even more so for a teenager with no financial security or support.
I like the contrast in the family dynamics and the unease, fear, and cynicism that come with this change. I’ve been reading about how the nervous system rejects peace when it has learned to thrive on fear and stress. It requires deliberate slowing down, giving up control, and patience with oneself to rewire the nervous system. How people mess up others, huh!
The story is not limited to this single theme. Despite the restricted format, we can experience the remote town in Norway, its people, the culture, the weather, and what it means to find a place to call home. We also see teenage drama of friendships, betrayals, forgiveness, support, etc.
I’m not entirely sure about why the last chapter switched to prose, though I have a theory.
To summarize, The Secret to Belonging is a touching, heartfelt, heavy, but hopeful story of a teenager finding a place where she truly belongs. I finished it in a single sitting, and that’s the best way to read this book.
Thank you, NetGalley and Atheneum Books for Young Readers, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
#NetGalley #TheSecretToBelonging
One Liner: Heartfelt!
What does a teenage girl do when her family ignores her to ‘care’ for her drug-addicted brother? Can a cultural/student exchange program offering a year-long stay in Norway give her the love and family she craves?
The novel in verse is written in the second-person POV.
My Thoughts
Most novels in verse read like prose, with sentences broken and structured as a lengthy poem. That style does make it easier to read the book like regular fiction, so it has its advantages. However, this one has a disjointed style that suits poetry more, but is not fully poetry either.
The choice to write the book in the second person is interesting. It definitely has more impact. Though I’m nowhere near that age group, I could feel the emotions with similar intensity.
The style follows modern poetry, meaning the first letters of the verses are not capitalized, and the punctuation is barely there. It took me some 5-7 pages to get used to this, but soon I stopped noticing. By the way, there are many Norwegian words that add authenticity to the setting. And since they are followed by English translations, I had no issues following the context.
The official blurb lays out the premise. You know what to expect and hope that the girl finds the stability and love she deserves. It reminded me of a few Reddit posts. After all, parents with misplaced priorities are not uncommon in real life (and thereby in fiction too).
The book is divided into parts, establishing the protag’s life, showing her finding herself in Norway, and what happens afterward. I won’t reveal anything except that the arc feels realistic and believable. It’s easy for outsiders to give advice, but for the person to actually get out of that toxic environment is very hard, and even more so for a teenager with no financial security or support.
I like the contrast in the family dynamics and the unease, fear, and cynicism that come with this change. I’ve been reading about how the nervous system rejects peace when it has learned to thrive on fear and stress. It requires deliberate slowing down, giving up control, and patience with oneself to rewire the nervous system. How people mess up others, huh!
The story is not limited to this single theme. Despite the restricted format, we can experience the remote town in Norway, its people, the culture, the weather, and what it means to find a place to call home. We also see teenage drama of friendships, betrayals, forgiveness, support, etc.
I’m not entirely sure about why the last chapter switched to prose, though I have a theory.
To summarize, The Secret to Belonging is a touching, heartfelt, heavy, but hopeful story of a teenager finding a place where she truly belongs. I finished it in a single sitting, and that’s the best way to read this book.
Thank you, NetGalley and Atheneum Books for Young Readers, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
#NetGalley #TheSecretToBelonging
April 3, 2026
It's the 80s, and our narrator dreams of a fresh start in college—somewhere far away from California, far away from her brother's addiction, far away from the parents who have poured so much of their love and energy and focus into helping (or enabling) her brother that it often feels like there is none left for her. And when they use her college fund to pay for yet another round of rehab, well, there is her college dream gone to dust too. And so she finds herself, on little more than a desperate whim, applying to study abroad and accepting an opening in Norway, a place she can barely locate on a map.
Because I am predictable, I read this for the setting—I always want more fiction, and more YA fiction specifically, that takes place in far-flung but less-travelled places. (I love a good book set in Paris or Rome, sure, but those are also easy to find; give me travel fiction set in Finland or Botswana or Kazakhstan, please.) And when our narrator goes in, she goes all in: Again, it's the 80s (though this is only mentioned in passing, well into the book), and she cannot spend her time in rural Norway on the Internet; she can write letters to friends, yes (and home on occasion), but mostly she learns to study and socialize in Norwegian, and she learns what it is like to live in a family that does not have her family's demons.
the post arrives / a letter from Alison / a postcard from Maura / you feel giddy / you feel rich (loc. 763*)
(Every family has its demons, or at least its skeletons in the closet. But for our narrator, it's still refreshing to think that there is something out there beyond what her own family has been able to offer her.)
It's a complex book with a lot going on. I enjoyed the use of verse here—it made for a fast read without feeling as though it was just short sentences with extra line breaks. The characters, too, are allowed complexity. Perhaps my favorite thing is the quarter the narrator is given, relatively early on in the book, and what happens with the quarter; I don't want to say too much about it, but it's such a small moment that speaks volumes about the narrator and the way she views her family situation.
Really glad I picked this one up. I hope it makes it into lots of high school libraries and encourages kids to think beyond the confines of their towns.
*Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.
Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.
Because I am predictable, I read this for the setting—I always want more fiction, and more YA fiction specifically, that takes place in far-flung but less-travelled places. (I love a good book set in Paris or Rome, sure, but those are also easy to find; give me travel fiction set in Finland or Botswana or Kazakhstan, please.) And when our narrator goes in, she goes all in: Again, it's the 80s (though this is only mentioned in passing, well into the book), and she cannot spend her time in rural Norway on the Internet; she can write letters to friends, yes (and home on occasion), but mostly she learns to study and socialize in Norwegian, and she learns what it is like to live in a family that does not have her family's demons.
the post arrives / a letter from Alison / a postcard from Maura / you feel giddy / you feel rich (loc. 763*)
(Every family has its demons, or at least its skeletons in the closet. But for our narrator, it's still refreshing to think that there is something out there beyond what her own family has been able to offer her.)
It's a complex book with a lot going on. I enjoyed the use of verse here—it made for a fast read without feeling as though it was just short sentences with extra line breaks. The characters, too, are allowed complexity. Perhaps my favorite thing is the quarter the narrator is given, relatively early on in the book, and what happens with the quarter; I don't want to say too much about it, but it's such a small moment that speaks volumes about the narrator and the way she views her family situation.
Really glad I picked this one up. I hope it makes it into lots of high school libraries and encourages kids to think beyond the confines of their towns.
*Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.
Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.
September 9, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The perfect novel in verse for upper grades, specifically eighth grade and up!
I really enjoyed watching the FMC choose herself time and time again after being forced to live with a family that was incredibly selfish. Seeing her find her independence and figure out what she truly wanted for herself was one of my favorite parts of the story.
There were definitely moments when I wanted to shake her and tell her to just make a decision already 😂, but ultimately, I loved seeing her growth and how everything came together in the end.
A great choice for middle school and high school readers looking for a thoughtful story about family, independence, and finding where you truly belong.
The perfect novel in verse for upper grades, specifically eighth grade and up!
I really enjoyed watching the FMC choose herself time and time again after being forced to live with a family that was incredibly selfish. Seeing her find her independence and figure out what she truly wanted for herself was one of my favorite parts of the story.
There were definitely moments when I wanted to shake her and tell her to just make a decision already 😂, but ultimately, I loved seeing her growth and how everything came together in the end.
A great choice for middle school and high school readers looking for a thoughtful story about family, independence, and finding where you truly belong.
April 25, 2026
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book!
When I heard Megan E. Freeman was coming out with a YA novel in verse, I knew it would be special. This far exceeded my expectations. The story follows a teen who leaps at the opportunity to be an exchange student during her senior year of high school. This opportunity truly saves her life.
This book hit close to home in a lot of ways, and I know it will for many other readers, too. I will be thinking about this book for a long time.
When I heard Megan E. Freeman was coming out with a YA novel in verse, I knew it would be special. This far exceeded my expectations. The story follows a teen who leaps at the opportunity to be an exchange student during her senior year of high school. This opportunity truly saves her life.
This book hit close to home in a lot of ways, and I know it will for many other readers, too. I will be thinking about this book for a long time.
August 12, 2026
I loved the specificity in this book mixed with a topic many teens, young adults, *cough*40 year olds*cough* can relate to. Freeman introduces the concept of sibling addiction with such raw emotion; no punches are pulled. This is probably the first book I’ve read that transported me back to my own experiences in middle and high school.
September 22, 2026
This book was truly a gift.
May 7, 2026
Absolutely astonishingly beautiful! So many times I reread pages because I wanted to savor them again. This YA novel in verse tells the story of a girl whose family uses her college fund for her brother’s rehab and steals her dreams. But she finds a different dream, something completely unexpected. Do NOT miss this book when it comes out in September!
Review of advance copy
This had a lot of potential, and the writing itself was great, but one of the central conflicts in the latter half of the book was handled irresponsibly in my opinion. I can't get into why without spoilers, so..... you've been warned. Read ahead at your own risk.
Basically there is a subplot in which the protagonist feels isolated and betrayed because she believes that her boyfriend cheated on her with her best friend. We later learn that said "best friend" crawled under the boyfriend's blankets WHILE HE WAS ASLEEP and started kissing him. When he woke up he stopped her. This is very clearly an assault, and it was never acknowledged as such. Rather than worrying about her boyfriend's consent being violated, the protagonist continues to view this as a friendship betrayal. She dumps the guy, and rekindles the friendship, after the girl apologizes for "being stupid" and promises she'll never betray the protagonist again. She later also gets back together with the guy and the assault is not discussed again. While I can buy that a teenage girl would be self centered in this situation, it feels incredibly irresponsible and potentially harmful in my opinion to write this kind of assault in a book for teens without acknowledging it as such, and the fact that it was glossed over made me feel ill.
Thanks to Librofm and the publisher for the ALC
Basically there is a subplot in which the protagonist feels isolated and betrayed because she believes that her boyfriend cheated on her with her best friend. We later learn that said "best friend" crawled under the boyfriend's blankets WHILE HE WAS ASLEEP and started kissing him. When he woke up he stopped her. This is very clearly an assault, and it was never acknowledged as such. Rather than worrying about her boyfriend's consent being violated, the protagonist continues to view this as a friendship betrayal. She dumps the guy, and rekindles the friendship, after the girl apologizes for "being stupid" and promises she'll never betray the protagonist again. She later also gets back together with the guy and the assault is not discussed again. While I can buy that a teenage girl would be self centered in this situation, it feels incredibly irresponsible and potentially harmful in my opinion to write this kind of assault in a book for teens without acknowledging it as such, and the fact that it was glossed over made me feel ill.
Thanks to Librofm and the publisher for the ALC
September 27, 2026
”parenting an addict really fucks a person up. too bad parenting a non addict doesn’t seem to improve things at all.”
Deeply, deeply personal subject matter here, folks, which is probably why I’m judging it so harshly. In all fairness, I know that doesn’t make a ton of sense, but I’m electing to ignore that aspect of my reading journey.
There were a few lines in here, mainly at the beginning, that really resonated with me and my own experiences with my brother. I really did appreciate the complex feelings that our narrator had about her parents, and I’m glad the book didn’t absolve her brother in the end. Her experience as a sort of bystander in her own family due to the dynamics her brother introduced was almost too familiar, and I do feel the book did a good job with the complex portrayals of those familial relationships when they were discussed.
That said, I do wish that her relationship with her brother and her parents was explored more. I feel like we got to Norway, and that aspect of the book was put aside so we could focus on the exchange student portion of the narrative. In my experience, the turmoil that you feel internally when living in a situation like hers doesn’t just go away when you leave your house. In the reality I live in, her relationship with her brother and her parents would have informed every interaction she had in Norway, and I just didn’t get that from the writing.
Additionally, as much as I loved Espen, it did frustrate me that he was *so* central to her Norway experience. I wish that she had friends (with names!) that lived in her immediate area. Acquaintances were mentioned in passing as schoolmates, but we don’t learn their names and they don’t interact with the narrator outside of school. She jumped from an emotionally abusive hellscape into a serious, committed relationship with a foreign guy, and I personally would have liked to see her form more of a local support system before jumping into that. The friendships that were highlighted in the book were all long distance, which makes my heart sad for her.
Then, there’s the Allison of it all. Her character arc seemed completely out of left field for me. She was the normal, girl-next-door best friend, then she gets to Rome and immediately becomes the victim of misogynistic writing. She hooks up with everyone, she has no boundaries, she would betray her friends if it meant getting a man… like, seriously? Then, all of that is brushed past at the end anyway. So, what was the point? My assumption is that the author needed to create emotional conflict between Espen and the narrator, and didn’t know another way to do it— which just seems like lazy writing, to be honest.
Overall, I feel like the book ultimately suffered from a bad case of that thing I do where I have an idea for a writing project, so I draft out what I want to happen, then never go back and fully flesh out anything. I end up with a pile of half-written scenes, good sentences, and jotted down ideas in a Google Doc, and I’m not unsure that some of them would read like this book. It needed to be developed more!
Deeply, deeply personal subject matter here, folks, which is probably why I’m judging it so harshly. In all fairness, I know that doesn’t make a ton of sense, but I’m electing to ignore that aspect of my reading journey.
There were a few lines in here, mainly at the beginning, that really resonated with me and my own experiences with my brother. I really did appreciate the complex feelings that our narrator had about her parents, and I’m glad the book didn’t absolve her brother in the end. Her experience as a sort of bystander in her own family due to the dynamics her brother introduced was almost too familiar, and I do feel the book did a good job with the complex portrayals of those familial relationships when they were discussed.
That said, I do wish that her relationship with her brother and her parents was explored more. I feel like we got to Norway, and that aspect of the book was put aside so we could focus on the exchange student portion of the narrative. In my experience, the turmoil that you feel internally when living in a situation like hers doesn’t just go away when you leave your house. In the reality I live in, her relationship with her brother and her parents would have informed every interaction she had in Norway, and I just didn’t get that from the writing.
Additionally, as much as I loved Espen, it did frustrate me that he was *so* central to her Norway experience. I wish that she had friends (with names!) that lived in her immediate area. Acquaintances were mentioned in passing as schoolmates, but we don’t learn their names and they don’t interact with the narrator outside of school. She jumped from an emotionally abusive hellscape into a serious, committed relationship with a foreign guy, and I personally would have liked to see her form more of a local support system before jumping into that. The friendships that were highlighted in the book were all long distance, which makes my heart sad for her.
Then, there’s the Allison of it all. Her character arc seemed completely out of left field for me. She was the normal, girl-next-door best friend, then she gets to Rome and immediately becomes the victim of misogynistic writing. She hooks up with everyone, she has no boundaries, she would betray her friends if it meant getting a man… like, seriously? Then, all of that is brushed past at the end anyway. So, what was the point? My assumption is that the author needed to create emotional conflict between Espen and the narrator, and didn’t know another way to do it— which just seems like lazy writing, to be honest.
Overall, I feel like the book ultimately suffered from a bad case of that thing I do where I have an idea for a writing project, so I draft out what I want to happen, then never go back and fully flesh out anything. I end up with a pile of half-written scenes, good sentences, and jotted down ideas in a Google Doc, and I’m not unsure that some of them would read like this book. It needed to be developed more!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 25, 2026
I don’t know anything about verse, so in that sense, I cannot give an adequate review on the writing/format. However, the story, ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL. this was simply beautiful. While technically young adult, I think adults can connect with this as well. It beautifully touches on big, sensitive topics in a way that connects so deeply with the reader. This was a really special novel.
Read
September 16, 2026devoured this. Very good
September 21, 2026
Very charming.
October 4, 2026
This book was amazing. I read it too fast!
I should’ve slowed down.
I should’ve slowed down.
September 19, 2026
First Thoughts:
You must know who you are to discover where you belong!
Meaningful Quote:
“It turns out, the secret to belonging has nothing to do with family or duty or guilt. The secret to belonging is to love and stay loyal to myself. Integrity. Fidelity. Truth.”
Freeman has created another beautiful and inspiring read that will leave a lasting impression on your heart!
Megan Freeman has a unique way of creating authentic, meaningful characters whose experiences will impact her targeted age group.
As a secondary educator, I was impressed by the characterization of Freeman’s main character; a teenager who feels invisible, overlooked, and who desperately wants to belong. Unfortunately, these themes capture the daily experiences that shape the life of a current teenager, making The Secret to Belonging especially meaningful for young readers.
The beauty and distinctive nature which Freeman intentionally chooses for the narration, from an authentic point of view, creates a deeper emotional connection. One of the highlights for this novel was Freeman's ability to address such an important topic of belonging with sensitivity and compassion; while maintaining a fast paced plotline. The themes of self-worth, acceptance, and belonging create thought provoking reflection, which creates meaningful conversations inside the classroom.
The Secret to Belonging is more than an enjoyable young adult read. It's a meaningful novel in verse which reminds the reader that sometimes teenagers who seem the quietest are the ones longing to be seen. I highly recommend this compelling novel to middle grade readers, educators, and anyone who understands the importance of making others feel seen. The Secret to Belonging is my favorite read from Megan E. Freeman. Five well-deserved stars!
Thank you Megan E. Freeman, Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, and NetGalley for the opportunity of an Advanced Readers Copy. I am voluntarily leaving my personal review.
#TheSecrettoBelonging
#Meganefreeman
#reluctantreaderreads
#NetGalley
You must know who you are to discover where you belong!
Meaningful Quote:
“It turns out, the secret to belonging has nothing to do with family or duty or guilt. The secret to belonging is to love and stay loyal to myself. Integrity. Fidelity. Truth.”
Freeman has created another beautiful and inspiring read that will leave a lasting impression on your heart!
Megan Freeman has a unique way of creating authentic, meaningful characters whose experiences will impact her targeted age group.
As a secondary educator, I was impressed by the characterization of Freeman’s main character; a teenager who feels invisible, overlooked, and who desperately wants to belong. Unfortunately, these themes capture the daily experiences that shape the life of a current teenager, making The Secret to Belonging especially meaningful for young readers.
The beauty and distinctive nature which Freeman intentionally chooses for the narration, from an authentic point of view, creates a deeper emotional connection. One of the highlights for this novel was Freeman's ability to address such an important topic of belonging with sensitivity and compassion; while maintaining a fast paced plotline. The themes of self-worth, acceptance, and belonging create thought provoking reflection, which creates meaningful conversations inside the classroom.
The Secret to Belonging is more than an enjoyable young adult read. It's a meaningful novel in verse which reminds the reader that sometimes teenagers who seem the quietest are the ones longing to be seen. I highly recommend this compelling novel to middle grade readers, educators, and anyone who understands the importance of making others feel seen. The Secret to Belonging is my favorite read from Megan E. Freeman. Five well-deserved stars!
Thank you Megan E. Freeman, Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, and NetGalley for the opportunity of an Advanced Readers Copy. I am voluntarily leaving my personal review.
#TheSecrettoBelonging
#Meganefreeman
#reluctantreaderreads
#NetGalley
September 29, 2026
Beautifully told story through novel-in-verse! Highlights the importance of found family, setting boundaries, and learning that your self-worth is not determined by your family. I fully enjoyed this story and truly felt the FMC's emotional journey! Highly recommend!
🩷World building: 5⭐️s
💜Plot: 5⭐️s
💚Characters: 5⭐️s
🩵Ending: 5⭐️
🩷World building: 5⭐️s
💜Plot: 5⭐️s
💚Characters: 5⭐️s
🩵Ending: 5⭐️
September 15, 2026
Richie’s Picks: THE SECRET TO BELONGING by Megan E. Freeman, Simon & Schuster/Atheneum, September 2026, 336p., ISBN: 978-1-6659-8840-7
“What can I say, my dear, to make it clear
I need you badly, badly, Madam Librarian, Marian
If I stumbled and I busted my what-you-may-call-it
I could lie on your floor unnoticed
'Till my body had turned to carrion, Madam Librarian”
– “Marian the Librarian” from one of my favorite musicals growing up, The Music Man
I had a grandfather who really made a difference in my life. So I appreciate how, in THE SECRET TO BELONGING, the unnamed main character, a high school senior and eldest sibling, has received a couple of significant presents from her now-deceased grandfather: his vinyl collection of musical soundtracks, that she frequently listens to, and a college fund.
BUT:
“later, your mother calls everyone to dinner
she’s made your brother’s favorite
(Crock-Pot tuna noodle casserole with crushed potato chips)”
your father sits at his place at the table
you slide into yours
your brother comes up from his room in the basement
fills a plate, grabs a Coke, and goes back downstairs
your mother stands in the middle of the kitchen
a serving spoon in her hand
dinner is eaten sans conversation
Forks click against plates
bottled water gurgles in the Sparkletts dispenser
potato chips grind between teeth
Your parents finish their meals and wipe their mouths
then they speak
we needed it for rehab, your father says, because we already
refinanced the house and our credit is maxed
we’re still paying off the card your brother
borrowed last summer, your mother says
we needed it for rehab and we’re still going to have to cash out our 401(k), though we’ll have to find a way to pay the taxes and penalties on the early withdrawal and we don’t know how we’re going to do it
but that’s not your problem, honey, so please don’t
worry about that
we needed it for rehab because the judge said it’s either probation and an in-patient program, or jail. and we can’t let him go to jail
he would never survive in jail
but this time is different
he’s ready this time, he swears
he’s really going to try
this time is different. he’s turning a corner.”
Without any input on her part, her parents have withdrawn and spent HER precious college fund, gifted to her by her grandfather, on enrolling her little brother in a drug addiction rehab!
This little brother has been a serious disaster since forever. This latest kick to the gut leads to her applying for a foreign student exchange program which, in turn, leads to her living with a family in Norway. Here she will get together with her first serious boyfriend. But even halfway around the globe from her home in Glendale, California, her addict brother will further decimate her year.
A verse novel told in the second person, THE SECRET TO BELONGING is a stay-up-late, can’t-put-it-down, gem. It’s a book that I guarantee eighth- and ninth graders will be fighting over; a don’t-miss-it purchase for middle- and high school collections.
I’m dying to hear young readers debate about the degree to which they either applaud or condemn the parents’ decisions. And it would be quite interesting to have them converse or write about addiction issues and observations from their own young perspectives.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
richiepartington@gmail.com
“What can I say, my dear, to make it clear
I need you badly, badly, Madam Librarian, Marian
If I stumbled and I busted my what-you-may-call-it
I could lie on your floor unnoticed
'Till my body had turned to carrion, Madam Librarian”
– “Marian the Librarian” from one of my favorite musicals growing up, The Music Man
I had a grandfather who really made a difference in my life. So I appreciate how, in THE SECRET TO BELONGING, the unnamed main character, a high school senior and eldest sibling, has received a couple of significant presents from her now-deceased grandfather: his vinyl collection of musical soundtracks, that she frequently listens to, and a college fund.
BUT:
“later, your mother calls everyone to dinner
she’s made your brother’s favorite
(Crock-Pot tuna noodle casserole with crushed potato chips)”
your father sits at his place at the table
you slide into yours
your brother comes up from his room in the basement
fills a plate, grabs a Coke, and goes back downstairs
your mother stands in the middle of the kitchen
a serving spoon in her hand
dinner is eaten sans conversation
Forks click against plates
bottled water gurgles in the Sparkletts dispenser
potato chips grind between teeth
Your parents finish their meals and wipe their mouths
then they speak
we needed it for rehab, your father says, because we already
refinanced the house and our credit is maxed
we’re still paying off the card your brother
borrowed last summer, your mother says
we needed it for rehab and we’re still going to have to cash out our 401(k), though we’ll have to find a way to pay the taxes and penalties on the early withdrawal and we don’t know how we’re going to do it
but that’s not your problem, honey, so please don’t
worry about that
we needed it for rehab because the judge said it’s either probation and an in-patient program, or jail. and we can’t let him go to jail
he would never survive in jail
but this time is different
he’s ready this time, he swears
he’s really going to try
this time is different. he’s turning a corner.”
Without any input on her part, her parents have withdrawn and spent HER precious college fund, gifted to her by her grandfather, on enrolling her little brother in a drug addiction rehab!
This little brother has been a serious disaster since forever. This latest kick to the gut leads to her applying for a foreign student exchange program which, in turn, leads to her living with a family in Norway. Here she will get together with her first serious boyfriend. But even halfway around the globe from her home in Glendale, California, her addict brother will further decimate her year.
A verse novel told in the second person, THE SECRET TO BELONGING is a stay-up-late, can’t-put-it-down, gem. It’s a book that I guarantee eighth- and ninth graders will be fighting over; a don’t-miss-it purchase for middle- and high school collections.
I’m dying to hear young readers debate about the degree to which they either applaud or condemn the parents’ decisions. And it would be quite interesting to have them converse or write about addiction issues and observations from their own young perspectives.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
richiepartington@gmail.com
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you NetGalley and Atheneum Books for Young Readers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
If you’re looking for a quick read that still hits hard emotionally, “The Secret to Belonging” by Megan E. Freeman is one of those books you’ll probably finish in a sitting and then keep thinking about afterward.
First off, the structure is super unique. It’s written entirely in verse, in second person POV, so the main character is just “you.” No name, no traditional narration—just your thoughts, your feelings, your story. On top of that, there’s barely any capitalization or punctuation, so it reads like this raw stream of consciousness. The verse flows really easily and actually makes everything feel more personal and emotional.
The story itself is pretty heavy. “You” grow up in a family where your older brother’s addiction basically consumes everything, like your parents’ time, money, and attention. They’re so focused on trying to save him that you end up feeling invisible. And it’s not sugarcoated; you’re allowed to feel angry about it. The book does a really good job showing how complicated that kind of family dynamic is, where you can love people but also feel completely neglected by them.
Things start to shift when you get the chance to go to Norway as an exchange student, and this is where the book really shines. The setting is gorgeous. The descriptions of the landscape, the culture, even the weather; it all feels so vivid that you kind of fall in love with Norway right alongside the main character. It’s not just a backdrop either; it represents this fresh start where you finally feel seen.
In Norway, everything is new: new language, new family, new friendships, first love, first heartbreak. It all happens pretty fast, but that actually works because it mirrors how intense and overwhelming those “firsts” feel as a teenager. There’s this constant tension between wanting to stay in this new life where you belong and feeling pulled back to your old life out of guilt and obligation.
That’s probably one of the strongest parts of the book—the way it handles that question:
Do you owe your family everything, even if it’s hurting you?
The emotional payoff toward the end is rough in the best way. There’s a major turning point that forces the main character to finally confront everything she’s been avoiding, and it leads to a really powerful arc about self-worth and choosing your own life. It’s definitely a tearjerker, but not in a manipulative way. It’s more of a “this feels real” kind of way.
Overall, this book is simple but really impactful. It tackles big themes like addiction, family, identity, and independence without feeling overwhelming, and the verse format makes it feel intimate and immediate.
It’s short, emotional, and quietly powerful. If you like character-driven stories, unique writing styles, and books about finding where you truly belong, even if it means leaving things behind, this one is absolutely worth picking up.
If you’re looking for a quick read that still hits hard emotionally, “The Secret to Belonging” by Megan E. Freeman is one of those books you’ll probably finish in a sitting and then keep thinking about afterward.
First off, the structure is super unique. It’s written entirely in verse, in second person POV, so the main character is just “you.” No name, no traditional narration—just your thoughts, your feelings, your story. On top of that, there’s barely any capitalization or punctuation, so it reads like this raw stream of consciousness. The verse flows really easily and actually makes everything feel more personal and emotional.
The story itself is pretty heavy. “You” grow up in a family where your older brother’s addiction basically consumes everything, like your parents’ time, money, and attention. They’re so focused on trying to save him that you end up feeling invisible. And it’s not sugarcoated; you’re allowed to feel angry about it. The book does a really good job showing how complicated that kind of family dynamic is, where you can love people but also feel completely neglected by them.
Things start to shift when you get the chance to go to Norway as an exchange student, and this is where the book really shines. The setting is gorgeous. The descriptions of the landscape, the culture, even the weather; it all feels so vivid that you kind of fall in love with Norway right alongside the main character. It’s not just a backdrop either; it represents this fresh start where you finally feel seen.
In Norway, everything is new: new language, new family, new friendships, first love, first heartbreak. It all happens pretty fast, but that actually works because it mirrors how intense and overwhelming those “firsts” feel as a teenager. There’s this constant tension between wanting to stay in this new life where you belong and feeling pulled back to your old life out of guilt and obligation.
That’s probably one of the strongest parts of the book—the way it handles that question:
Do you owe your family everything, even if it’s hurting you?
The emotional payoff toward the end is rough in the best way. There’s a major turning point that forces the main character to finally confront everything she’s been avoiding, and it leads to a really powerful arc about self-worth and choosing your own life. It’s definitely a tearjerker, but not in a manipulative way. It’s more of a “this feels real” kind of way.
Overall, this book is simple but really impactful. It tackles big themes like addiction, family, identity, and independence without feeling overwhelming, and the verse format makes it feel intimate and immediate.
It’s short, emotional, and quietly powerful. If you like character-driven stories, unique writing styles, and books about finding where you truly belong, even if it means leaving things behind, this one is absolutely worth picking up.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, and Megan E. Freeman for the opportunity to read The Secret to Belonging in exchange for an honest review.
This novel is written in a poetic verse style and is uniquely written in the second-person perspective, addressing the reader as "you." This places you into the shoes of the narrator and forces you into living the story, the fourth wall break making the reading experience unique and immersive. While the character is viewed as a teen girl, her name is never given, so it gives the reader an even more interesting opportunity to insert themselves into the story.
The narrator (you) feels unseen. With her brother battling addiction, her parents only seem to have time and worry for him. They have even had to deplete your college fund to help him. When an opportunity to do your senior year in high school abroad comes about, you know its the escape and new start you need.
While in Norway, you live with a family, learn their language and customs, and explore new educational opportunities that are different than what you know in the United States. When you get mail from your parents or call them, it seems half-hearted, if that. Their only worry or care seems to still be your brother. They don't seem to miss you as much as one might think their parents would miss their daughter who is studying abroad for thirteen months.
You get to have so many experiences and find a new family, boyfriend, and culture that makes you believe this new place to be home. When a call from home makes for a devastating return to California, it takes a push from a good friend to show you that you can take charge of your own life.
The message about trying new experiences and starting anew is universal. Sometimes it takes an opportunity to experience another culture or get out of your comfort zone to find who you really are and where you truly belong. The message about family dynamics is strong and a bit off-putting. The parents always seem to choose the drug addict brother in the end, even when he causes mas destruction making meth, or finally going to jail; they still tend to choose him. While many people care about and value family, this book is relatable to teens who may be experiencing something similar, who feel like they do not belong.
This novel is a powerful work for teen readers that shows that sometimes is scary to start anew, but its what you need for yourself and your own future. It is absolutely not selfish to aim to take care of yourself and find where you belong, even if that means distancing yourself from family or leaving everything you know behind. Your place to belong is out there, it just may take a leap of faith and some worldly experience to find it.
This novel is written in a poetic verse style and is uniquely written in the second-person perspective, addressing the reader as "you." This places you into the shoes of the narrator and forces you into living the story, the fourth wall break making the reading experience unique and immersive. While the character is viewed as a teen girl, her name is never given, so it gives the reader an even more interesting opportunity to insert themselves into the story.
The narrator (you) feels unseen. With her brother battling addiction, her parents only seem to have time and worry for him. They have even had to deplete your college fund to help him. When an opportunity to do your senior year in high school abroad comes about, you know its the escape and new start you need.
While in Norway, you live with a family, learn their language and customs, and explore new educational opportunities that are different than what you know in the United States. When you get mail from your parents or call them, it seems half-hearted, if that. Their only worry or care seems to still be your brother. They don't seem to miss you as much as one might think their parents would miss their daughter who is studying abroad for thirteen months.
You get to have so many experiences and find a new family, boyfriend, and culture that makes you believe this new place to be home. When a call from home makes for a devastating return to California, it takes a push from a good friend to show you that you can take charge of your own life.
The message about trying new experiences and starting anew is universal. Sometimes it takes an opportunity to experience another culture or get out of your comfort zone to find who you really are and where you truly belong. The message about family dynamics is strong and a bit off-putting. The parents always seem to choose the drug addict brother in the end, even when he causes mas destruction making meth, or finally going to jail; they still tend to choose him. While many people care about and value family, this book is relatable to teens who may be experiencing something similar, who feel like they do not belong.
This novel is a powerful work for teen readers that shows that sometimes is scary to start anew, but its what you need for yourself and your own future. It is absolutely not selfish to aim to take care of yourself and find where you belong, even if that means distancing yourself from family or leaving everything you know behind. Your place to belong is out there, it just may take a leap of faith and some worldly experience to find it.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
The Secret to Belonging is a YA coming-of-age novel set during the 1980s. The book follows an unnamed female teen narrator in California on the cusp of adulthood as she navigates a turbulent home life. Her older brother has an active drug addiction, and her parents spend all of their time and resources devoted to trying to help him, while neglecting her needs. Our narrator dreams of escaping her family and attending college, but her dreams are quickly crushed when her parents tell her that they have drained the college fund created by her grandfather in order to pay for another round of rehab for her brother. Feeling trapped and desperate, our narrator takes the first opportunity she can to escape by signing up for a Rotary Club foreign exchange scholarship that will allow her to stay with a family in another country. She ends up being placed in Norway, and upends her entire life in order to start over. While there, our narrator finds that she doesn’t have a hard time adapting to this new culture, from picking up Norwegian to starting a new school, to falling in love with a local boy from a nearby town. Just as our narrator feels like she’s found a new home, surrounded by a host family that expresses nothing but love and kindness toward her, she receives devastating news from home that has her questioning where and how she should move forward with her life. The main character and cast present as white.
While this beautiful story included a lot of pain, it also contained a lot of love and hope in its verses and I found myself still thinking about the story long after I turned the last page. It covered a lot of heavy content, but I was most drawn to the addiction storyline running through it. The narrator describes her brother receiving second chances from her parents, yet continuing to choose drugs over a relationship with his family. She also recounts multiple instances of her brother stealing, pawning, and damaging her belongings, such as an antique silver spoon given to her by her boyfriend, Espen. I loved reading about the narrator’s growth in Norway, and how she was able to form an identity as a fiber artist through her work on looms at her new school. I also thought the weaving in of 80s references helped to anchor the story as a work of historical fiction, without becoming too overt. Little details, like the narrator and her friend listening to Irene Cara, and the narrator’s hobby of listening to Broadway musical soundtracks on vinyl, along with mentions of important cultural figures like Ronald Reagan, really gave the piece a historical period feel. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...
While this beautiful story included a lot of pain, it also contained a lot of love and hope in its verses and I found myself still thinking about the story long after I turned the last page. It covered a lot of heavy content, but I was most drawn to the addiction storyline running through it. The narrator describes her brother receiving second chances from her parents, yet continuing to choose drugs over a relationship with his family. She also recounts multiple instances of her brother stealing, pawning, and damaging her belongings, such as an antique silver spoon given to her by her boyfriend, Espen. I loved reading about the narrator’s growth in Norway, and how she was able to form an identity as a fiber artist through her work on looms at her new school. I also thought the weaving in of 80s references helped to anchor the story as a work of historical fiction, without becoming too overt. Little details, like the narrator and her friend listening to Irene Cara, and the narrator’s hobby of listening to Broadway musical soundtracks on vinyl, along with mentions of important cultural figures like Ronald Reagan, really gave the piece a historical period feel. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Diving deep into a girl's thoughts and difficult situation, these pages show there's always a ray of light to be found.
A girl has watched her family struggle while growing up, mostly trying to cushion every mistake her brother makes. His constant problems drain their attention, resources, and almost everything from her life. Even her college fund. When all hope seems lost, a friend introduces her to the chance to study abroad and the possibility of gaining a scholarship to pay for it. When a carefully crafted essay...a carefully woven lie...wins the money, the girl takes off to Norway for the year, far from her family and her friend. There, everything is different, but it might be exactly what can turn life around.
This book is written in free verse and flows very smoothly to create a meaningful, deep, and quick read. The entire thing feels like a mix between a journal and a tale with a looser plot. The first chapters take time quickly with a general sweep over the girl's life growing up all the way until high school. While various points in life are mentioned, this concentrates on broader problems to give readers an overview with understanding and emotional depth. The entire tale dances back and forth between more direct scenes and a broader time flow. So, it isn't a strict plot with event after event. Rather, it lets the general problems and impressions come across with highlighted moments that really dig in. The girl's cynical views drop in to give her personality a dash of bite, too.
The style allows the emotions to come across clearly and gain a connection with the main character. The other characters float more in the fog, but the problems surrounding them and the impacts the make on the girl are very clear. Good and bad. It's easy to sympathize with the issues surrounding her family life, and it's heart-lifting to accompany her as she experiences the changes in Norway. There is a romance involved with mentions of intimate relations, and this entire thing takes a very wholesome twist at the end to leave hope and satisfaction. But the tale isn't about the romance. Rather, it concentrates on the girl's journey to find a new life and hope.
The author also works in quite a bit of Norwegian facts, culture, life, and even some of the language. For anyone curious about the country, this read dives right in and brings it across with a touch of warmth, community, satisfaction, and more. This weaves nicely in with the rest of the tale and gives it another layer of richness.
A girl has watched her family struggle while growing up, mostly trying to cushion every mistake her brother makes. His constant problems drain their attention, resources, and almost everything from her life. Even her college fund. When all hope seems lost, a friend introduces her to the chance to study abroad and the possibility of gaining a scholarship to pay for it. When a carefully crafted essay...a carefully woven lie...wins the money, the girl takes off to Norway for the year, far from her family and her friend. There, everything is different, but it might be exactly what can turn life around.
This book is written in free verse and flows very smoothly to create a meaningful, deep, and quick read. The entire thing feels like a mix between a journal and a tale with a looser plot. The first chapters take time quickly with a general sweep over the girl's life growing up all the way until high school. While various points in life are mentioned, this concentrates on broader problems to give readers an overview with understanding and emotional depth. The entire tale dances back and forth between more direct scenes and a broader time flow. So, it isn't a strict plot with event after event. Rather, it lets the general problems and impressions come across with highlighted moments that really dig in. The girl's cynical views drop in to give her personality a dash of bite, too.
The style allows the emotions to come across clearly and gain a connection with the main character. The other characters float more in the fog, but the problems surrounding them and the impacts the make on the girl are very clear. Good and bad. It's easy to sympathize with the issues surrounding her family life, and it's heart-lifting to accompany her as she experiences the changes in Norway. There is a romance involved with mentions of intimate relations, and this entire thing takes a very wholesome twist at the end to leave hope and satisfaction. But the tale isn't about the romance. Rather, it concentrates on the girl's journey to find a new life and hope.
The author also works in quite a bit of Norwegian facts, culture, life, and even some of the language. For anyone curious about the country, this read dives right in and brings it across with a touch of warmth, community, satisfaction, and more. This weaves nicely in with the rest of the tale and gives it another layer of richness.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Secret to Belonging by Megan E. Freeman is a young adult verse novel book, and to be completely honest, when the listing mentioned poetry, I just thought that it would be included, not the whole thing; that is my bad. It's also in second person, and you never know the female main character's name. But the FMC is invisible in her own family, while her family spends all their time and money on the FMC's older brother, who is a felon, drug addict, and thief. This is because of his drug usage. Then, when the FMC has a way out in the form of her college fund left by her grandfather, but that is until her parents use it to pay off her brother's problems. At least, that is until she is offered a scholarship for an exchange student in Norway.
I don't care for second person at all, and if this would have been something I quit reading right off the bat if it was prose novel, to be honest, but I found it readable because it was a verse novel. The prose is really the star of this book more than what is happening in it; the quote "you're not homesick, but thinking of home can make you sick," really makes me feel deeply, and it feels so heavy. I couldn't dislike anyone in this book more than I did Alison, and with everything Alison said she did, I was surprised that the FMC was surprised at what she did to her. I can understand why the FMC compares what Alison did to her brother, but personally I don't. What he did was under his addiction, and he was sick to an extent, while Alison knowingly set out to hurt others. I'm not saying the FMC should forgive, only that they weren't comparable for me, but personally I'm more mad at the FMC's parents than her brother, though I am still mad at him for sure. I loved the ending; I cried.
This isn't really a book that I can compare to anything else; the only thing similar I read would have been Beowulf, but that is only because they are both stories in the form of poetry. The FMC is very relatable in her story and her struggles, and I think that it could resonate with teen readers, and those into YA fiction, but I do see the verse novel format as a barier for teen readers, and this isn't an insult but I would not have read this as a teen, as an adult I can appreciate it, but as a teen that would not have been the case.
Thanks to Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for the ARC.
I don't care for second person at all, and if this would have been something I quit reading right off the bat if it was prose novel, to be honest, but I found it readable because it was a verse novel. The prose is really the star of this book more than what is happening in it; the quote "you're not homesick, but thinking of home can make you sick," really makes me feel deeply, and it feels so heavy. I couldn't dislike anyone in this book more than I did Alison, and with everything Alison said she did, I was surprised that the FMC was surprised at what she did to her. I can understand why the FMC compares what Alison did to her brother, but personally I don't. What he did was under his addiction, and he was sick to an extent, while Alison knowingly set out to hurt others. I'm not saying the FMC should forgive, only that they weren't comparable for me, but personally I'm more mad at the FMC's parents than her brother, though I am still mad at him for sure. I loved the ending; I cried.
This isn't really a book that I can compare to anything else; the only thing similar I read would have been Beowulf, but that is only because they are both stories in the form of poetry. The FMC is very relatable in her story and her struggles, and I think that it could resonate with teen readers, and those into YA fiction, but I do see the verse novel format as a barier for teen readers, and this isn't an insult but I would not have read this as a teen, as an adult I can appreciate it, but as a teen that would not have been the case.
Thanks to Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for the ARC.
September 30, 2026
This free verse novel, which is written from a second-person POV, follows an unnamed girl on her journey as an exchange student in the 1980s. She wants to escape the tension in her home, since her parents are constantly bending over backwards for her drug-addicted brother while ignoring her and her needs. Unrealistically, these problems seem to fade into the background once she's in Norway. Getting out of the house wouldn't be enough. After the environment she was raised in, it doesn't seem realistic that she would feel so transformed by just a change of scenery and new experiences.
Although this novel is at a middle school reading level, the content is upper YA. There is a lot of foul language and sexual content, and there is also an ENTIRE ASSAULT that is never acknowledged as such. (Spoilers follow.) The main character's best friend, Allison, is a one-dimensional character who has sex with inappropriate men, including the father of the host family she stays with during the exchange student program. The main character finds that alarming, but the book never acknowledges the depth of how depraved that is, and it seems to promote the idea that Allison is empowered through it. Then Allison assaults the main character's boyfriend. This happens off-page, and the main character at first believes that Allison and Espen cheated. She later learns that Allison climbed into Espen's bed in the dark and kissed him. He thought it was his girlfriend at first, so he kissed back. But then, when he realized that it was Allison, he pushed her away and prevented things from going further.
This event was clearly non-consensual, but the story never acknowledges this, focusing instead on the main character's feelings about how this affects her bond with Allison. There's no room for the actual victim's feelings, even when the main character stops blaming him for the event. This part of the story is all about friendship drama, which I thought was tasteless and inappropriate. The main character's self-absorbed perspective may be realistic to how a teen would experience this, especially in the 80s, a time in which people were so much less informed about dynamics of assault. Regardless, this part of the story was a deal-breaker for me, when assessing the book's value for teens in 2026.
Although this novel is at a middle school reading level, the content is upper YA. There is a lot of foul language and sexual content, and there is also an ENTIRE ASSAULT that is never acknowledged as such. (Spoilers follow.) The main character's best friend, Allison, is a one-dimensional character who has sex with inappropriate men, including the father of the host family she stays with during the exchange student program. The main character finds that alarming, but the book never acknowledges the depth of how depraved that is, and it seems to promote the idea that Allison is empowered through it. Then Allison assaults the main character's boyfriend. This happens off-page, and the main character at first believes that Allison and Espen cheated. She later learns that Allison climbed into Espen's bed in the dark and kissed him. He thought it was his girlfriend at first, so he kissed back. But then, when he realized that it was Allison, he pushed her away and prevented things from going further.
This event was clearly non-consensual, but the story never acknowledges this, focusing instead on the main character's feelings about how this affects her bond with Allison. There's no room for the actual victim's feelings, even when the main character stops blaming him for the event. This part of the story is all about friendship drama, which I thought was tasteless and inappropriate. The main character's self-absorbed perspective may be realistic to how a teen would experience this, especially in the 80s, a time in which people were so much less informed about dynamics of assault. Regardless, this part of the story was a deal-breaker for me, when assessing the book's value for teens in 2026.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
In her first YA novel, Megan E Freeman (Alone, Away, Snakebit) uses 2nd person perspective and an NIV format to draw readers into the life of a high school senior who has always felt invisible in a family focused on her older brother and his battle with addiction.
Unnamed, this sister and daughter has always tried to keep a low profile, not cause a fuss and basically fades into the woodwork amid the chaos that her brother always seems to generate-meetings with the principal, bailing him out of jail, court hearings, rehab after rehab. But when her parents spend the college fund started for her by a grandfather in order to, once again, dig her brother out of another hole, she decides something has to change. With her best friend Alison, she is accepted, granted a scholarship and will complete her senior year in Norway. Afraid to hope for a family where she is seen and cared for, she is amazed to find not only that, but a community spirit and culture that encourages and begins to heal a heart that has been yearning to belong.
The Secret To Belonging is not an easy book to read and those who do will ache over the main character’s trauma and neglect but then rejoice when her Norwegian host family takes her in, loves her and guides her to find a niche where she begins to realize her self-worth. Much like real life, just as all seems to be coming up roses, tragedy and betrayal happen, but Freeman ends her story with the joy of found family.
Excellent choice for readers in grades 8 and up.
*Profanity: infrequent and while mostly the milder variety, there are a handful of F-bombs
*Violence: a devastating fire caused by the drug-addicted brother
*Sexual content: Best friend Alison has sex with several people during her study abroad year, including her host “father,” but the activity is only stated and not described; the main character has sex with her boyfriend but the foreplay is sweet, not passionate, and no details of the sexual encounter are given, more of a “fade to black” situation.
*LBGTQ+: none
Thanks for the eARC, Edelweiss and Simon & Schuster/Atheneum.
Unnamed, this sister and daughter has always tried to keep a low profile, not cause a fuss and basically fades into the woodwork amid the chaos that her brother always seems to generate-meetings with the principal, bailing him out of jail, court hearings, rehab after rehab. But when her parents spend the college fund started for her by a grandfather in order to, once again, dig her brother out of another hole, she decides something has to change. With her best friend Alison, she is accepted, granted a scholarship and will complete her senior year in Norway. Afraid to hope for a family where she is seen and cared for, she is amazed to find not only that, but a community spirit and culture that encourages and begins to heal a heart that has been yearning to belong.
The Secret To Belonging is not an easy book to read and those who do will ache over the main character’s trauma and neglect but then rejoice when her Norwegian host family takes her in, loves her and guides her to find a niche where she begins to realize her self-worth. Much like real life, just as all seems to be coming up roses, tragedy and betrayal happen, but Freeman ends her story with the joy of found family.
Excellent choice for readers in grades 8 and up.
*Profanity: infrequent and while mostly the milder variety, there are a handful of F-bombs
*Violence: a devastating fire caused by the drug-addicted brother
*Sexual content: Best friend Alison has sex with several people during her study abroad year, including her host “father,” but the activity is only stated and not described; the main character has sex with her boyfriend but the foreplay is sweet, not passionate, and no details of the sexual encounter are given, more of a “fade to black” situation.
*LBGTQ+: none
Thanks for the eARC, Edelweiss and Simon & Schuster/Atheneum.
April 12, 2026
Thank you to Atheneum Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I first want to say Megan Freeman is immensely talented. I’ve read both Alone and Away and was equally enthralled by both books. The Secret to Belonging is no different. It’s written in verse and the writing style is beautiful.
The Secret to Belonging takes place in the 1980’s, following an unnamed narrator as she goes to Norway as an exchange student for her senior year of high school. The narrator is desperate to get away from her highly dysfunctional family. Her brother is an addict, and her parents spend all their time and resources trying to help him get clean. As a result, our narrator feels like an invisible child in her family. She makes the decision to go to Norway when she finds out her parents have spent her college fund on another stint in rehab for her brother.
The majority of the book takes place in Norway as our narrator is immersed in the culture there. Her host family is kind, loving, and attentive, and in many ways the opposite of her family back home. She makes new friends, falls in love, learns a new language and culture, and finally finds a place that truly feels like home.
I enjoyed seeing the narrator’s growth throughout the story. The book explores themes of addiction, family dynamics, guilt and obligation, and the quest for independence. There are some tragic, dark elements in this book, so I’d recommend it for older teens. If you don’t consider yourself a fan of poetry, this book is still for you. It’s easy to read and understand. The story flows and moves quickly, making it possible to read this book in one or two sittings. Overall, this is a well-written, emotional story that will have you rooting for the narrator from the first page, and I look forward to reading more from Megan Freeman in the future.
I first want to say Megan Freeman is immensely talented. I’ve read both Alone and Away and was equally enthralled by both books. The Secret to Belonging is no different. It’s written in verse and the writing style is beautiful.
The Secret to Belonging takes place in the 1980’s, following an unnamed narrator as she goes to Norway as an exchange student for her senior year of high school. The narrator is desperate to get away from her highly dysfunctional family. Her brother is an addict, and her parents spend all their time and resources trying to help him get clean. As a result, our narrator feels like an invisible child in her family. She makes the decision to go to Norway when she finds out her parents have spent her college fund on another stint in rehab for her brother.
The majority of the book takes place in Norway as our narrator is immersed in the culture there. Her host family is kind, loving, and attentive, and in many ways the opposite of her family back home. She makes new friends, falls in love, learns a new language and culture, and finally finds a place that truly feels like home.
I enjoyed seeing the narrator’s growth throughout the story. The book explores themes of addiction, family dynamics, guilt and obligation, and the quest for independence. There are some tragic, dark elements in this book, so I’d recommend it for older teens. If you don’t consider yourself a fan of poetry, this book is still for you. It’s easy to read and understand. The story flows and moves quickly, making it possible to read this book in one or two sittings. Overall, this is a well-written, emotional story that will have you rooting for the narrator from the first page, and I look forward to reading more from Megan Freeman in the future.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
In the 1980s, the narrator (who is unnamed, since the book is told in second person point of view) dreams desperately about going to college, since her home life is centered around her brother, who is addicted to heroin. Her parents always make excuses for him, and blame others for his actions. Finally, he gets himself in trouble that they can't solve without taking the college fund the narrator was left by her grandfather. Realizing that she won't be able to break free, she decides to become an exchange student, and gets matched with a family in Norway. She goes to the country in the summer, takes some intensive language courses, then goes to live with a family with two younger children. They are happy and supportive, and she does well in school. She has a boyfriend, and is glad to be away from her family. There is some drama with her friends from back home, and her relationship with the boyfriend also has its ups and downs, but when she is called back to California suddenly, she realizes that her family doesn't care as much about her as she needs them to, and she must decide where her place in the world is.
This novel in verse is very compelling, but also very much a young adult book. There is more mature language, a little drinking, and more than several mentions of sex. The author spent a year on exchange in Norway in the 1980s, and this is crystal clear. The emotions of going away on one's own, and the casual way in which teens during that era were allowed to solve their own problems, made me nostalgic, since I spent a year in college in Greece. High School readers will be amazed at the differences, but will also enjoy this story about finding one's path. I won't be buying it for my middle school library, but would buy it for a high school library where verse novels are popular.
In the 1980s, the narrator (who is unnamed, since the book is told in second person point of view) dreams desperately about going to college, since her home life is centered around her brother, who is addicted to heroin. Her parents always make excuses for him, and blame others for his actions. Finally, he gets himself in trouble that they can't solve without taking the college fund the narrator was left by her grandfather. Realizing that she won't be able to break free, she decides to become an exchange student, and gets matched with a family in Norway. She goes to the country in the summer, takes some intensive language courses, then goes to live with a family with two younger children. They are happy and supportive, and she does well in school. She has a boyfriend, and is glad to be away from her family. There is some drama with her friends from back home, and her relationship with the boyfriend also has its ups and downs, but when she is called back to California suddenly, she realizes that her family doesn't care as much about her as she needs them to, and she must decide where her place in the world is.
This novel in verse is very compelling, but also very much a young adult book. There is more mature language, a little drinking, and more than several mentions of sex. The author spent a year on exchange in Norway in the 1980s, and this is crystal clear. The emotions of going away on one's own, and the casual way in which teens during that era were allowed to solve their own problems, made me nostalgic, since I spent a year in college in Greece. High School readers will be amazed at the differences, but will also enjoy this story about finding one's path. I won't be buying it for my middle school library, but would buy it for a high school library where verse novels are popular.
Review of advance copy
Novel in verse, written in second person, main character unnamed. Set in 1984. The main character is heading into senior year of high school, is an excellent student and star tennis player. Her family, however, knows none of this. Her parents are uber-focused on her hot mess older brother, who is addicted to drugs, in and out of rehab, often arrested, destructive, thoughtless, etc. The main character can't wait to get away, setting her sights on college--until her parents use her college fund to pay for her brother's rehab. Then someone at school suggests a year-long foreign exchange, which is how she ends up going to a tiny town above the Arctic circle in Norway. Though adapting is hard, especially the language, she is surprised by the loving family hosting her, which has two elementary-school-aged kids. Is this how it was always supposed to be? Plus she finds an insta-first-love perfect boyfriend, and everything seems to be going her way. Until the phone call.
I liked this one a lot. The depiction of a family that can only function (for certain loose values of "function") in utter destruction and chaos is heartbreaking but unfortunately believable. It's amazing that the main character ended up as whole as she did, and capable of learning to trust a new family and friends. I was a little side-eyeing the insta-perfect-boyfriend, who really had no flaws (a misunderstanding notwithstanding), but it was nice for the main character. I loved the descriptions of Norway and the handwork the main character is doing, though I was a bit confused about how spending a year doing just arts would qualify her for graduating from her California high school. And setting it in 1984, the year I graduated from high school, did give me more of a connection to it! Thanks to Libro.FM for a free educator copy of the audiobook.
I liked this one a lot. The depiction of a family that can only function (for certain loose values of "function") in utter destruction and chaos is heartbreaking but unfortunately believable. It's amazing that the main character ended up as whole as she did, and capable of learning to trust a new family and friends. I was a little side-eyeing the insta-perfect-boyfriend, who really had no flaws (a misunderstanding notwithstanding), but it was nice for the main character. I loved the descriptions of Norway and the handwork the main character is doing, though I was a bit confused about how spending a year doing just arts would qualify her for graduating from her California high school. And setting it in 1984, the year I graduated from high school, did give me more of a connection to it! Thanks to Libro.FM for a free educator copy of the audiobook.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This was such a beautiful and thought-provoking read. At first, I thought the verse would keep me from extracting any connection to and emotion from the storyline, especially since the structure made it so I read it in a hour or so’s time. That was clearly a mistake in thinking, for the verse was what cultivated the connection in the first place.
While the themes of addiction, familial obligation, and the desire for independence and happiness are nothing new, Freeman’s choice to have the protagonist’s strife so clearly established at the very beginning (without creating a sense of guilt or remorse) made her conflict all the more pronounced. Thus, I was a bit thrown towards the end when she felt compelled to assist her family simply because they were family. The trepidation she felt at each turning point, wondering if she was going to resign herself to a life she did not want to lead or escape it entirely alluded to the conundrum each of us face in our own lives. What was most striking, however, was the fact the protagonist remained nameless, while those around her did not (though one assumes the story was autobiographical). Was this Freeman’s way of giving the reader a sense of ownership in the story— that we all could be/could have been her too?
I do find it interesting that the style changed from verse to standard prose in the last chapter and assume there are a myriad of reasons why this occurred. My own interpretation is that the protagonist found peace and stability in her life and thus, did not feel as disjointed as the style of verse can be (story wise at least).
Thank you to Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, and NetGalley for the privilege to read this ARC!
While the themes of addiction, familial obligation, and the desire for independence and happiness are nothing new, Freeman’s choice to have the protagonist’s strife so clearly established at the very beginning (without creating a sense of guilt or remorse) made her conflict all the more pronounced. Thus, I was a bit thrown towards the end when she felt compelled to assist her family simply because they were family. The trepidation she felt at each turning point, wondering if she was going to resign herself to a life she did not want to lead or escape it entirely alluded to the conundrum each of us face in our own lives. What was most striking, however, was the fact the protagonist remained nameless, while those around her did not (though one assumes the story was autobiographical). Was this Freeman’s way of giving the reader a sense of ownership in the story— that we all could be/could have been her too?
I do find it interesting that the style changed from verse to standard prose in the last chapter and assume there are a myriad of reasons why this occurred. My own interpretation is that the protagonist found peace and stability in her life and thus, did not feel as disjointed as the style of verse can be (story wise at least).
Thank you to Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, and NetGalley for the privilege to read this ARC!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Megan E. Freeman is an auto-read author for me--and The Secret to Belonging shows, once more, why she is. A poignant novel-in-verse following a girl breaking free from generational trauma and a toxic family, The Secret to Belonging is filled with hope, vivid imagery, and healing. While I wasn't sure about the second-person narration, one line from the novel made it clear this was intentional and that--if my predictions were right--would not remain the case as the main character grew into her character arc. I won't tell you if she *did* or not (spoilers!), but the main character comes from a deeply toxic family--her parents constantly enable her older brother, a drug addict, and have done so since he was a small child. When they steal her college fund, she is devastated. How will she escape her family now? But then, an incredible opportunity opens up: the chance to be an exchange student. Despite her parents telling her it will break her father's heart because he always wanted to be an exchange student (talk about another example of toxicity!), she applies and goes to Norway, where she slowly but surely discovers more of herself and the secret to belonging. Megan's poetry, incorporation of Norwegian language and culture, and heart shines through this novel (though if you do not like books with cursing, be warned that this book does indeed have cursing, [as well as non-explicit sex, but both characters are over eighteen and consenting adults]). I highly recommend this novel for people who enjoy novels in verse, like books that explore complex family dynamics and what it means to break free of toxic family members, and enjoy books that explore new countries and places and how those places impact our identities.
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