Title: The Art of Secrets
Author: James Klise
Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Publication Date: April 22, 2014
Format: ARC
Hardcover; 272 pages
Rating: 3.5/5

Saba Khan and her family’s apartment burned down. That’s how it all started. It could have been a hate threat from somebody else, but it could be their own fault too. With friends helping them, they lived in a luxury apartment and Saba studied in a prestigious high school in Chicago. The school started a fund-raising for Saba’s family but then one artwork was revealed to be the work of a famous artist which went missing. Does Saba’s family deserve to have the money after this? James Klise reveals secrets that each character has; and splendid twists that will capture us.

I actually liked this book, contrary to what I expected. At first I was really hesitant about this book since I didn’t like the narration, but it turned out pretty well. The narration wasn’t really my type since I found it hard to understand who was narrating in the first few pages. Throughout the next pages, I understood what the author was trying to do; to have each family member have their own point of view, not just Saba and other people. Even though the narration was new to me since I haven’t read a lot of books that have multiple point of views, it just didn't work for me. I had a hard time understanding the book, because of this writing style.



The writing style aside, I LOVED the plot development of the story. I was intrigued until the end and couldn't put the book down, even finishing it in one sitting. I only had one small problem about the plot. Even though I liked the twist in the ending, I found the reveal to be done in such a fast way that it wasn’t really clear to me. But all in all, the book was a great read. This book never failed to impress me and rather kept me wanting more. I have to applaud the author for being so creative in writing this book, and exploring it in different ways. Never have I encountered a story similar to this, and done in such a manner as well.

However, after reading this book, I didn’t really have a connection with the characters. Even if I loved how quirky Saba is, I wasn't drawn to the characters of the book as a whole and found it difficult to find a connection with them.

Before I go, I’d just like to share to you guys that there was a word that just popped out of my head while reading this. Schadenfreude.
scha•den•freu•de (n.) - pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune.
I'm not really sure why that came to mind (LOL).

Have you read The Art of Secrets? What did you think about it? Leave a comment!