Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu Review

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From Goodreads: Everyone has a secret. But Lucy’s is bigger and dirtier than most. It’s one she’s been hiding for years—that her mom’s out-of-control hoarding has turned their lives into a world of garbage and shame. She’s managed to keep her home life hidden from her best friend and her crush, knowing they’d be disgusted by the truth. So, when her mom dies suddenly in their home, Lucy hesitates to call 911 because revealing their way of life would make her future unbearable—and she begins her two-day plan to set her life right.With details that are as fascinating as they are disturbing, C. J. Omololu weaves an hour-by-hour account of Lucy’s desperate attempt at normalcy. Her fear and isolation are palpable as readers are pulled down a path from which there is no return, and the impact of hoarding on one teen’s life will have readers completely hooked.

Rating: 3.5/5

Plot: 4/5

Characters: 4/5

Ending: 3/5

There was a lot of buzz about this book and I understood why but I hesitated reading it because it seemed so disgusting and like I'd feel dirty reading it. And I did, but I kept going. I felt like something huge was going to happen before and while I was reading this book. I assumed it would be focused in the present, with Lucy dealing with her mother's disease and not much of a plot outside of it.

I've yet to decide if I liked that I was wrong. Because it was such a new topic in YA fiction and fiction in general, I was hoping for a clear focus. I was happy with the rest of the story, although I felt it could have been more developed, for I didn't understand all Lucy's actions. Overall, I think it was a good story, well-written, but just need more development. 50 more pages would have even helped tremendously.