Can You Keep a Secret?

by Elizabeth Van Steenwyk

Jennifer is invited to join the exclusive P.M.P. Club (Parties Minus Parents) and learns that being in the popular crowd has its price.

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Elizabeth Van Steenwyk is the award-winning author of more than seventy published books for young people. After graduating from Knox College, she went on to spend ten years writing for radio and television with a concentration on children's programming. She lives in California.

Reviews

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was about how Jennifer is going to her sixth new school since her parents move a lot. She is a shy person and plans to break out of her old shy self. What she doesn't expect is to be invited to cool parties, a secret club called The P.M.P, parties minus parents. Since it's secret she can't tell her parents, which means her mom. She has a hard time lying to her mom about these parties and instead tells her that she's going to her friends house to study.Trouble comes when the next party is scheduled at her house. She knows her parents are going to be out, she's miserable that her BFF can't come, and when her parents come home early because of their anniversary, she might get into trouble or kicked out of the cool club.She spills the beans about the club and is relieved that she doesn't have to keep the secret longer, she becomes friends again with her BFF, says bye to the P.M.P,but she still has good friends that decided to stay. Life goes on.
I thought this book was pretty amazing since the girl was closed to her mom and still managed to get away with party, until of course she decided it was time to put a stop to lying. I felt that she was being brave telling her parents considering the punishment she could have got. It was cool of her to actually throw a party while her parents were out and to still be cool even though her parents knew.It was a great book to me.

[Tawana]

Omg I LOVED this when I was a child and have been searching for it for the LONGEST!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's amazing to think it now, but reading did not come easy to me as a small child. My kindergarten and 1st grade years were spent avoiding books as much as possible (I still remember getting in trouble as a 1st grader during class reading time for pretending to read- how did the teacher know? I was holding my book upside down). I 'believed' all the adults that told me reading was fun in much the same way I 'believed' the doctor when they told me this wouldn't hurt.

Then second grade came around and I had an amazing teacher who encouraged my mother to get me some tutoring. I don't know what those teaching wizards did, but they turned my academic life around. What's amazing, more than twenty years later, is I remember the first book I ever read where I truly discovered the joy of reading. I can't remember what this book is about, but I remember being absolutely enthralled by it. My mother had to sit beside me and help me or explain some of the words, but I remember being so addicted to this story that I would drag it out at every opportunity until finally I'd struggled my way to the end of it.

I think this book was just in the right place at the right time, but it doesn't stop me from being grateful for this book and this author. I can still remember the amazed joy I felt while reading this and how it opened up a lifetime of reading for me. I haven't looked back since. Thank you Elizabeth Van Steenwyk! Maybe you'll see this sometime and know that your book made a difference.

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favourite book when I was about 10 years old, I read it over and over again. I would love to fine a copy now.

[Kacey Hayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved this! Read it many times over as a kid.