NADEZHDA’S TRUTH
Book 2 of The Secrets Series was an entertaining and quick read, great for everyone to escape into Nadezhda’s thrilling adventure; Family Secrets by Ellie Jay could easily be a standalone novel since you don’t have to have read book 1, Secrets of the Volkovs, to enjoy it. But I did read book 1, so book 2 had a layer of depth that made my reading experience more enjoyable than if I hadn’t. The most amazing part is how interesting it was jumping into the story about the Moroz family, sixteen years later. Since Nadezhda, the protagonist, is 16 years old, the book also has a young adult thriller aspect to it. Add that with the crime, action, and science fiction, you definitely have a gripping page-turner for all ages!
As for my in-depth review, it was hard to narrow it down since there was so much good stuff that happens throughout the book, like the shocking twists and turns that compel you to keep reading. So, to not spoil all the cool stuff like the science fiction, the most impressive part I can share is how Jay uses the family aspect to make you care. It’s amazing because this book series, when it comes down to it, is about family. It’s downright heartbreaking to read about a sixteen-year-old girl who thinks she has no biologically familial connection to anyone. Even though she has an adoptive mother, there’s this frustration Nadezhda feels when it comes to living her entire life feeling as if she doesn’t have a loving parent. Her only salvation is the love she feels from her aunt and uncle. This is why the family element in Ms. Jay’s book is so strong and why it makes the reader compelled to read until the end. She does this by introducing the inciting incident right away, using the incident to reveal information that magnifies it, and this leads to the final push that sends Nadezhda on her heroine journey.
LONGING FOR PARENTAL LOVE
To capture your heart so you care about Nadezhda, the author doesn’t waste time because the first moment of this happening is on page 2. After the third person omniscient narrator sets up the compelling circumstance with a quick backstory about Nadezhda, it’s the next moment when her mother’s backstory is brought up that solidifies the strength of the family angle; it happens when you learn that Nadezhda’s mother “had never fallen in love with someone she could start a family with, but had always wanted a child, so she had chosen [Nadezhda]. That always made her feel happier on those days when [her mother] worked late and she was at home, lonely. She had been chosen” (2). Additionally, by the next paragraph, the impact of feeling chosen is also shown to help Nadezhda’s psyche “whenever she saw other kids with their more affectionate parents and the moments when she wanted to find her real parents or know more about her true heritage but was denied every time she asked.” Having this revealed by the novel’s second page pulls at your heartstrings since it’s heartbreaking to know Nadezhda has such a sad life, and this compounds once she discovers the photo that makes her freeze because it’s “a photo of a young man and woman, newlyweds by the look of it…The woman in the picture…was her mother” (2-3). If this doesn’t hit you in the feels, you may be a member of the Volkov family. Personally, this made me all-in to read what happens after this inciting incident.
WHO ARE MY PARENTS?
However, if discovering a photo that shatters your reality isn’t riveting enough, Jay continues the impact of this photo by connecting it to Nadezhda’s emotions. These emotions are immensely heart wrenching because it shows what it is to be a child with an unknown origin. Once she fully confirms her adoptive mother is her biological mother, her attention is drawn “to the man. He had the same light brown hair, blue eyes and pale skin that she was so used to seeing when she looked in the mirror” (3). For those who’ve been fortunate enough to know their parents, you’re lucky you never had Nadezhda’s next thought. As the epiphany hits her, Ellie Jay uses this moment to show Nadezhda’s imagination, like many children in her situation, created a fantasy to fill in the mystery since she always understood “she had birth parents” (3). Even though she understands she has biological parents, “knowing anything about them was a strange concept. She had daydreamed about what they might be like…But that was childish, dreaming that the father she had never known was a hugely powerful man, or that her real mother was a gorgeous and rich movie star…Now, she was staring at them” (3). This evocative realization could solely be produced by someone with some type of connection to it. I don’t know how Ms. Jay knows, but she definitely knows. For all the people that know, thank you, Ellie, for letting us feel seen.
SEEKING HER TRUTH
This opening section is so poignant I have to talk about the next moment. After realizing the people in the photo are her biological parents, Nadezhda begins her search for the truth. Like many children in this situation, their truth is priceless. But unfortunately, she has to seek this information from her aunt. This moment also brilliantly shows the importance of family members when a child grows up being emotionally neglected. This is evident when the narrator brings up the backstory for Nadezhda and her aunt’s relationship. During Nadezhda’s childhood, she received “the affection her mother hadn’t been able to give from her doting Aunt” (4). Then, when Nadezhda shows her aunt the photo, it shocks her aunt, opening the moment for the narrator to fill you in with some backstory between the mother and the aunt, revealing the mother was afraid for Nadezhda to know what happened after the photo was taken. This notion of fear ignites Nadezhda’s hunger for her truth and makes the story very compelling, since she now knows her father was murdered.
BEFORE SHE RUNS AWAY
By this point, the notion that 16-year-old Nadezhda runs away to learn the truth about her origin combined with all the twists and turns happening afterward makes the read enthralling until the last word. This crime thriller has everything like action, betrayal, mystery, adventure, and some creepy science fiction. If you’ve read book 1, there will be some wonderful Easter eggs that only you’ll understand, and this heightens the entertainment factor as though it’s a gift from the author. However, the great part about Jay’s novel is that reading book 1 isn’t a must since book 2, Family Secrets, is easy to enjoy without having read it.
Overall, this was a beautiful story about a daughter and mother coming to terms with a secret that caused dysfunction within their relationship. But then you add in the crime thriller element with the sci-fi mafia angle, and you’ve got a bona fide page-turner that’ll make you want to read past the time you planned for reading. For instance, all the action scenes were so immersive, I lost track of time. The family angle is phenomenally strong and touching. It goes beyond the Moroz family in this one. To tell you anymore, it would be disrespectful toward the author’s hard work she put in to create this wonderful tale. All I’ll say is: you don’t want to miss the epic showdown and how it leads to the shocking denouement. Family Secrets by Ellie Jay is an engrossing story about a 16-year-old girl’s dangerous quest seeking the truth about who she is, where she comes from, and why she was never told.
Thank you for reading our in-depth book review about Family Secrets by Ellie Jay. We are not affiliated with the publisher, but here’s the link to pick up a copy.
If you’d like to find out more about The Secrets Series, here’s the link to our in-depth review about book 1, Secrets of the Volkovs, and here’s the link to our in-depth review about book 3, Secrets in The Flames.
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E. R. Sanchez is the author of Fried Potato Press’ first young adult thriller, Petaco Dreams, which will be released Fall 2024 after the rewrite, new title, and new cover. He also has poems and stories published online and in print. If you’d like to read his work that was published online, please click here to go to his Stories and Poetry Section.