The Secret Keeper

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When Asha travels with her mother and sister from Delhi to her father's ancestral home in Calcutta, it is supposed to be a temporary measure only; as soon as her father finds work in distant America, they will join him. In the meantime, there's plenty to keep her busy: overcoming the stultifying conservatism of the extended family; becoming friends with her cousins; keeping her mother's depression at bay; teaching a lesson to the neighbourhood boys who don't think girls are 'good enough'; fending off her sister Reet's unsuitable would-be suitors; and so on. Overwhelmed by the things happening around her, Asha escapes to her rooftop hideaway every day and pours her heart out into her diary, her secret keeper. It is here that she encounters Jay, her reclusive neighbour – a brilliant artist who makes her heart beat faster. But soon, disaster strikes, putting at risk Reet's future. And it is up to Asha to save her family and escape their prison, even if it means courting heartbreak for herself…

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Mitali Perkins was born in Kolkata, then lived in Cameroon, Ghana, Mexico, London and New York, before settling in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she studied at Stanford University and U.C. Berkeley. Her books include The Not-So-Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen, Rickshaw Girl, Extreme American Makeover and Bamboo People. She now lives in Newton, Massachusetts and ruminates about life, writing and books between cultures at www.mitaliperkins.com.