I Can't Keep My Own Secrets: Six-Word Memoirs by Teens Famous & Obscure by Larry Smith and Rachel Fershleiser (Harper Teen, 2009)

GENRE: Memoir

HONORS: none

REVIEW: In this book, the memoir has taken a new form with teens expressing their inner most secrets and memories of their young lives. The memoirs range from the grim, "HIV: We could have saved her.", to the empowering, "Lost my virginity. It was fantastic.", and literary, "Holden caught me in the Rye." A book that is similar and along the lines of Postsecret and Other People's Love Letters, young people will appreciate flipping through the pages and quickly revering in the creatively sporadic expressions of emotion. In this book, teens will be able to relate to the flashed tales, and draw inspiration for themselves.

OPINION: One can't help but try to think about how they would summarize their life in six words, especially after reading this book. The beauty is that the memoirs are not categorized, the writers remain somewhat anonymous, and the pages are bold with each memoir having a different font face and size to show character. The memoirs include some famous young people, which are an added bonus to spot.

IDEAS: A great exercise for a creative writing workshop!