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When Your Youth Comes Back To Haunt You

Book Review: The Secret by Gemma Rogers

We all did things in high school which, when we look back on it, we wonder how we ever had the guts for it.

Back in Windhoek, Namibia in 1981, we lived in the suburbs, and about half a kilometer from our house was the drive-in, of which we could see the back of the screen. As teenagers, we frequently roamed the streets, just walking and talking, and the word spread that there was a footpath through the bushes where you could sneak into the grounds of the drive-in.

You know what happens in a group, right? Peer pressure wasn’t really a thing back then (or I never experienced it as such) but we warmed each other to the idea of sneaking out at night to go to the midnight show.

I think I did it about ten times — sneaked past my parents’ bedroom, out the front door, and met friends down the street, and all of us walked to the drive-in. And, of course, I had to sneak back inside again. My parents never caught me and I only confessed those midnight adventures to my mom many years later.

Those actions abruptly stop when one night I slept over with my friend next door. She and I sneaked out of their house, not to go to the drive-in, but for mischief. We threw stones on roofs, let air out of tires, and giggled all the way like only teenage girls could.

Then a car drove towards us — it was the wee hours of the morning — and stopped right where we were hiding. It turned out her mom needed to go to the loo, checked in on us and found us gone!

Good memories!

But sometimes, we never talk about mischievous high school adventures, like what happened in The Secret.

The second book

This is the second book of Gemma Rogers I read, and I have to say, I really like her writing style. The stories are easy to listen to, and the twists in the stories are believable.

Where The Teacher gave me uncomfortable feelings, The Secret made me think back to my own high school years, and the things I did. It wasn’t only the sneaking out, but also ‘spin the bottle’, prank calls, and, of course, enjoying the interest boys showed in me.

You can find more information about Gemma Rogers by following the embedded link at the end of this article.

Keeping a secret

When Sophie White was a teenager in 1997, she and her three girlfriends decided they wanted to lose their virginity before school starts again after the summer holidays.

Gareth was Sophie’s childhood buddy, and he and his three friends agreed to come to Sophie’s defloration party. However, the night didn’t go as planned.

Sophie stole a key from her father — a realtor — for a house that would soon be occupied again. They sneak in through the back and Sophie assigned each couple a room. When they were all done, one couple was missing.

Now, twenty years later, Gareth dies in a car accident, which brings the group back together. Then Sophie receives a threatening message, and soon strange accidents happen. Was Gareth’s crash really an accident?

Who wants payback for what has happened at Sophie’s party?

A good read to spark memories

I enjoyed this story for its suspense, and the author putting me on the wrong foot on who is behind the threats, but it was also great to be transported back to memories of my teenage years, before I became a mom.

Good times, good stories!

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