Donna M. Zadunajsky

This was an enjoyable book. I almost wrote "fun book"; not fun in the sense of witty dialogue or situation comedy, but rather in the sense of watching a horror movie. You know scary things or bad things are going to happen, and that plot twists are just around the corner, but anticipating that is fun, and it is fiction after all, right?
Twin girls are separated shortly after birth, and grow up to the age of fifteen under completely different conditions. One in a foster home in an undesirable Chicago neighborhood, with a drunkard who will burn a foster child with a cigarette when displeased; a house where nothing is ever cleaned up and cockroaches abound; where even a decent meal is never guaranteed; and where love is non-existent. The other in a quite small Ohio town with a single mother, a household filled with love, home cooking, and the almost daily support of an unmarried aunt. Neither twin has been told of the other, or for that matter anything about their past.

Then the first twin discovers a document which leads her to believe that answers can be found in that small Ohio town. Using the small amount of money she has, she travels there from Chicago by bus. It only takes a few days before the girls spot each other, stunned at first but soon figuring out that they must be sisters. At this point in real life the story probably ends here with introductions, hugs and living happily ever after, but of course that doesn't make a book. So as the reader would expect, there follows a series of events that keeps one turning the pages to find out what happens next, happenings that do not need to be disclosed here. Let's just say that things are not always what they seem, to use an overworked cliche.

A mild warning: this is the second in a series of (I think) three books. I have not read the first book, but it wasn't necessary to enjoy this one. However, this second volume leaves us with some loose ends unexplained. The author promises that all secrets will be revealed in the coming third volume.… (altro)

As I received a free copy as part of the Early Reviewer program, I feel obliged to submit this review.
The premise of Buried Secrets is intriguing. The blurb tells of a 15-year-old girl in foster care who finds a document that points to a potential connection to her parents in a small Ohio town. She is determined to find out who she really is.
Then there’s the prologue: A girl is burying another girl she apparently just murdered!
All this invites you to read on. I was expecting some sort of emotional, psychological drama, perhaps with a bizarre twist. What I found instead was more like a Young Adult adventure novel. (To LibraryThing: It would help both author and reviewer if the genre/target audience was clearly identified in the Early Reviewer listing.)
In this novel, the reactions and thoughts of the characters at key moments are not credible, which distances the reader from the characters. Then there's the series of unlikely, coincidental events which are so contrived as to make your eyes roll.
All the plot twists are telegraphed, often multiple times, and with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. I generally like dual first-person narrative novels, but the writing style here is so distanced that it is difficult to feel any emotion for either of the two main protagonists.
On the positive side the premise is intriguing, and the story structure well done.
In summary, too much ‘telling’ and not enough ‘showing’ made for an unsatisfying read for me, but it might appeal to some teen readers.… (altro)