The Secret Tree is a sweet, thought-provoking book about the secrets one small town holds—secrets that seem an awful lot like they could belong to somebody you or I know. Natalie Standiford does an excellent job of capturing preteen Minty’s voice, creating a story that is both readable and eloquent. The Secret Tree is a book that will appeal to preteens but also to adults who have a few secrets of their own.
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Scholastic
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language:
***
Violence/Gore:
***
Sex/Nudity: Characters flirt; a teenaged couple is seen kissing.
Mature Subject Matter:
Divorce, friendship troubles, foster care, runaways, unfit parents.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
A humorous tall tale is told about a boy who “smokes a corncob pipe” at the age of five. A woman is said to smell like alcohol.
