LOST ART OF KEEPING SECRETS, T(保守秘密的艺术)

Book Description
This story is about what happened to me after I met Charlotte, and what happens when you say yes to everything, and how awkward it is when everyone falls in love with the wrong people.

It all started on a perfectly ordinary afternoon in November. Charlotte invited me home to tea with Aunt Clare and Harry, and from that moment on, everything changed. At first I don't think I knew it - after all, when I went to bed that night I was still living with my mother and brother in perpetual chaos in a crumbling estate we couldn't afford to keep, Magna - but the next day, I began to realize that for the first time ever, I had my own life.

You see, meeting Charlotte made everything possible. Even being kissed by Johnnie Ray and hanging out with a movie producer named Rocky and believing my brother Inigo could be the next Elvis Presley. And missing people before they've even gone.

This story is what happened when we war babies grew up and needed answers. When we got them, they weren't what we expected at all.

Book Dimension
length: (cm)23.3 　　　 　　　　　 　　　　　 width:(cm)16.1

Book Description
This story is about what happened to me after I met Charlotte, and what happens when you say yes to everything, and how awkward it is when everyone falls in love with the wrong people.

It all started on a perfectly ordinary afternoon in November. Charlotte invited me home to tea with Aunt Clare and Harry, and from that moment on, everything changed. At first I don't think I knew it - after all, when I went to bed that night I was still living with my mother and brother in perpetual chaos in a crumbling estate we couldn't afford to keep, Magna - but the next day, I began to realize that for the first time ever, I had my own life.

You see, meeting Charlotte made everything possible. Even being kissed by Johnnie Ray and hanging out with a movie producer named Rocky and believing my brother Inigo could be the next Elvis Presley. And missing people before they've even gone.

This story is what happened when we war babies grew up and needed answers. When we got them, they weren't what we expected at all.

From Publishers Weekly
An impulsive taxi ride with a stranger in 1950s London indelibly changes Penelope Wallace's life in Rice's sparkling debut. At 18, Penelope lives with her younger brother, Inigo, and her terribly glamorous, young widowed mother in a drafty, rundown, English estate house in the countryside. With the loss of the man of the house, financial pressures mount, threatening sheltered Penelope's family manse—and what's left of her family's place in society. She finds a kindred spirit in the outspoken posh Londoner, Charlotte Ferris, who has a "great gift for circumnavigating normal behavior," when they both reveal their passion for American singing sensation Johnnie Ray. After agreeing to accompany Charlotte's aspiring magician cousin, Harry Delancy, to his former girlfriend's engagement party to make her jealous, Penelope begins her journey through a world of smart parties, fashionable teas and simmering romance. With élan and insight into human foibles (and postwar Anglo-British relations), Rice, daughter of lyricist Tim Rice, ties the Wallace and Delancy families together with a surprising, bittersweet plot twist. Rice's remarkable gift for creating singular characters in this memorable story underscores her presence as a fresh new voice in fiction. (Apr.)

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–Rice's third novel cannot quite make up its mind whether it is a true coming-of-age story or a comedy of manners. The story centers on the friendship between Penelope and Charlotte, two teens in post-World War II England. Penelope lives in a crumbling mansion with her mother and her rock-and-roll-loving brother, Inigo. Charlotte and her cousin, Harry, quickly draw the pair into the London social scene. When Penelope reluctantly agrees to pose as Harry's girlfriend to make the American socialite who broke his heart jealous, it comes as no surprise that the two end up developing real feelings for one another. The rise of the rock-and-roll era serves as a backdrop to the romantic goings-on, and readers get a thorough education in Elvis Presley precursor Johnnie Ray. The champagne flows freely. This glimpse into the high society of a bygone era is charming and witty enough to gain a following among lovers of British literature.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　–Kim Dare, Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA

Book Dimension
length: (cm)23.3 　　　 　　　　　 　　　　　 width:(cm)16.1

EVA RICE is a writer and young mother living in London.