The Secret Year

In a small town where social circles define one’s identity, two teenagers find themselves entwined in a secret forbidden romance—until tragedy strikes.

“A moving portrait of grief and the sharp societal lines that divide.”—Publishers Weekly

Colt and Julia were secretly together for a year . . . and nobody knew.

Not that anyone would suspect—Colt and Julia were from two different crowds: Julia in her country club world on Black Mountain and Colt down in the flats. They’d meet in secret by the river—their chemistry electric, exhilarating, intoxicating.

Until everything came to a screaming halt.

Julia is pronounced dead from a car accident, and suddenly Colt’s memories come flooding back. One about the fight they’d had on their last night together . . .

When Julia’s diary falls into Colt’s hands, it gives him the chance to learn all her hidden thoughts, private details she refused to share with him. It might even answer his questions about what happened on the night she died.

Julia’s words have the power to mend Colt’s broken heart, or they can reveal a web of secrets that threaten to shatter his entire world.