History Literature / SecretSeries

The ''Secret Series'' is a series by Pseudonymous Bosch (real name [[spoiler:Raphael Simon]]), a mysterious LemonyNarrator, about two children who are not named Cass and Max-Ernest. Cass is a [[CrazyPrepared survivalist,]] while Max-Ernest has a condition [[AmbiguousDisorder (though no one knows quite what his condition is)]]. One day, they are swept into the dangerous world of the [[SdrawkcabName Terces]] Society and the Midnight Sun...and the Secret.

* ''The Name of This Book is Secret''
* ''If You're Reading This, it's Too Late''
* ''This Book is Not Good for You''
* ''This Isn't What it Looks Like''
* ''You Have to Stop This''

** [[spoiler: The Homunculus in the second book. Half of his dialogue consists of "I'm hungry!"]]

%%* {{Brainwashed}}: [[spoiler: Benjamin Blake, briefly, in the fourth book, by the Midnight Sun, no less.]]
* ButtMonkey: Max-Ernest. His "best friends" [[{{WithFriendsLikeThese}} constantly make fun of him]], his parents hate each other to the point of ignoring each other, and he suffers many {{Amusing Injuries}}. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

%%* GiveHimANormalLife: [[spoiler: Possibly the reason Cass was put on her grandfathers' doorstep.]]

%%* IdiotBall: You just ''had'' to [[spoiler: eat that chocolate]], didn't you?

%%* ThinkOfTheChildren: The reason Max-Ernest's parents, despite their divorce, remain in the same house [[spoiler: and the reason they eventually split up.]]

** [[CassandraTruth Cass]], done purposely, and {{Lampshaded|Trope}}.
** Max-Ernest [[spoiler:[[FunWithAcronyms, or should we say]] [[AuthorAvatar M-E?]].]]
*** WordOfGod in ''Write This Book'' says that it reflects how Max-Ernest tries to be funny, but strikes people off as highly serious. [[DontExplainTheJoke In other words, he is earnest to the max]].

* ArtisticLicenseLinguistics: In the third book, Barcelona native Señor Hugo's "lisping Spanish accent" is said to be indicative of his Catalonian origins. Not only are Catalan and Castilian completely different languages, decidedly refuting the former's designation as a mere accent, the voiceless dental fricative /θ/ does not even exist in the Valencian and Balearic varieties, let alone Hugo's native one, making the assertion that said natives pronounce the name of their hometown "Barthelona" a case of CriticalResearchFailure.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Max-Ernest. He is stated to have an unidentifiable disorder where the main symptom is endless talking. He is extremely indecisive, always insisting on a compromise between two choices (a trait instilled in him by his parents), talks constantly and goes off on tangents, and has a hard time conveying humor.

* AlphaBitch: Amber comes up in the first books as well-intentioned although misguided, but later is revealed to be clearly this.

* ArchEnemy: Dr. L to Pietro.
* AristocratsAreEvil: Lord Pharaoh. Although not a real Lord (nor a real Pharaoh). The rest of the nobility aren't particularly noble either.
* ArtificialHuman: The Homunculus in the second book.

* BigEater: [[spoiler: The Homunculus in the second book. Half of his dialogue consists of "I'm hungry!"]]
** The {{Lemony Narrator}} is this when it comes to chocolate.
* {{Brainwashed}}: [[spoiler: Benjamin Blake, briefly, in the fourth book, by the Midnight Sun, no less.]]

* CatchPhrase "How 'bout that?"
* {{Cannot Tell a Joke}}: Max-Ernest. The only times that he's funny in-universe is when he isn't trying to be.

* DoorstopBaby: [[spoiler:Cassandra.]]
* DragonRider: Clay is this is in ''Bad News'', this as described just above, it's really more "Dragon Rides You."
* DrivenToVillainy: Dr. L.
* EvilChef: Señor Hugo.
* EvilMentor: Ms. Mauvais for Dr. L. [[spoiler: and Amber, by the end]] and Itamar to Ms. Mavuais.
* EvilTwin: [[spoiler:Dr. L is Pietro's twin. And the Skelton Sisters, both of whom are evil.]]
* FootnoteFever
* GenreSavvy: Cass, survivalist and danger specialist, strives for it.
* GiveHimANormalLife: [[spoiler: Possibly the reason Cass was put on her grandfathers' doorstep.]]

* HurricaneOfPuns The Jester is the very incarnation of this trope.
* ILied: The LemonyNarrator ''always'' does this whenever he promises to reveal the Secret.

* IdiotBall: You just ''had'' to [[spoiler: eat that chocolate]], didn't you?

** Glob, introduced in Book Four, is a [[FatBastard pretty huge one as well]]. And unlike Cass, he's [[HateSink devoid of any redeeming qualities]].
* KnifeOutline: Used for intimidation in the third book.

* LongLostRelative: [[spoiler: Dr. L for Pietro.]]

* MadScientist: Most of the Midnight Sun, and their founder.

* TheMole: [[spoiler:Benjamin Blake, briefly.]]
* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: Dr. L.
* MotorMouth: Max-Ernest. Also Cass (briefly) in the first book.
* MyBelovedSmother: Both of Max-Ernest's parents, in competition with each other.
* NarratorAllAlong: ''This Isn't What It Looks Like'' suggests that [[spoiler:Max-Ernest is actually Pseudonymous Bosch when he was young.]]
** [[spoiler:Confirmed in the epilogue of ''You Have to Stop This''.]]
* NephariousPharaoh: Lord Pharaoh is a prime example of this: evil, single-minded dedication to living forever and quite possibly taking over the world someday.

* PlatonicLifePartners: Cass and Max-Ernest.

* RedRightHand: All of the members of the Midnight Sun have gnarled, ancient hands that they hide under gloves.

* TheSpeechless: Max-Ernest, while [[spoiler:Cass is in a coma.]]

* SurpriseParty: [[spoiler:Clay is given one at the end of ''Bad Magic'' to signify his having discovered real magic.]]

* ThinkOfTheChildren: The reason Max-Ernest's parents, despite their divorce, remain in the same house [[spoiler: and the reason they eventually split up.]]

* ThoseTwoGuys: Daniel-not-Danielle and Glob in the fourth book.
* TotallyRadical: "Yo" Yoji's entire character revolves around this trope.
* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: Although [[spoiler: the narrator is an adult Max-Ernest]], the story of the books seems to take place during the time they were published, implying this of the author.
* TwoGuysAndAGirl: Cass, Max-Ernest, and Yo-Yoji.

* WholesomeCrossdresser: [[spoiler:Owen in book 4.]]

* WriteBackToTheFuture: [[spoiler:The trunk in book 4.]]
* VillainousBSOD: Dr. L when he realizes [[spoiler:His brother Pietro is still alive.]]

* ArtisticLicenseLinguistics: In the third book, Barcelona native Señor Hugo's "lisping Spanish accent" is said to be indicative of his Catalonian origins. Not only are Catalan and Castilian completely different languages, decidedly refuting the former's designation as a mere accent, the voiceless dental fricative /θ/ does not even exist in the Valencian and Balearic varieties, let alone Hugo's native one, making the assertion that said natives pronounce the name of their hometown "Barthelona" a case of {{Critical Research Failure}}.

* CassandraTruth: Played with. Cass is a survivalist that always predicts disasters, but they rarely come true

* {{Darker and Edgier}}: The first book is very morbid in tone compared to the later books. It dealt with a mysterious death, a brain removal attempt by the villains, and much harsher and less "contemporary" dialogue, while the later books balance out the stakes with quirky, often goofy humor, from both the series' universe ''and'' its {{Lemony Narrator}}

* EvilChef: Señor Hugo
* EvilMentor: Ms. Mauvais for Dr. L. [[spoiler: and Amber, by the end]] and Itamar to Ms. Mavuais

* {{Jerkass}}: Cass can be very snotty and rude to her mother and especially Max-Ernest with little to no remorse, and has a pretty big [[{{SmallNameBigEgo}} ego]].
** Glob, introduced in Book Four, is a [[{{FatBastard}} pretty huge one as well]]. And unlike Cass, he's [[{{HateSink}} devoid of any redeeming qualities]].
* KnifeOutline: Used for intimidation in the third book

* MeaningfulName: [[CassandraTruth Cass]], done purposely, and is lampshaded.
** Max-Ernest [[spoiler: [[FunWithAcronyms , or should we say]] [[AuthorAvatar M-E?]]]]
*** WordOfGod in ''Write This Book'' says that it reflects how Max-Ernest tries to be funny, but strikes people off as highly serious. [[DontExplainTheJoke In other words, he is earnest to the max.]]

* TheMole: [[spoiler: Benjamin Blake, briefly.]]

* NarratorAllAlong: ''This Isn't What It Looks Like'' suggests that [[spoiler: Max-Ernest is actually Pseudonymous Bosch when he was young.]]
** [[spoiler: Confirmed in the epilogue of ''You Have to Stop This''.]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: ''This Book Is Not Good For You'' could've been done differently if [[spoiler: Cass didn't open her big mouth regarding the Tuning Fork.]]

* TheSpeechless: Max-Ernest, while [[spoiler: Cass is in a coma.]]

* ThisIsAWorkOfFiction

* {{Totally Radical}}: "Yo" Yoji's entire character revolves around this trope.
* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: Although [[spoiler: the narrator is an adult Max-Ernest]], the story of the books seems to take place during the time they were published, implying this of the author.

* WholesomeCrossdresser: [[spoiler: Owen in book 4.]]

* WriteBackToTheFuture: [[spoiler: the trunk in book 4.]]
* VillainousBSOD: Dr. L when he realizes [[spoiler: Pietro is still alive.]]

* {{I Lied}}: The {{Lemony Narrator}} ''always'' does this whenever he promises to reveal the Secret.

The ''Secret Series'' is a series by Pseudonymous Bosch (real name [[spoiler:Raphael Simon]]), a mysterious LemonyNarrator, about two children who are not named Cass and Max-Ernest. Cass is a [[CrazyPrepared survivalist,]] while Max-Ernest has a condition (though no one knows quite what his condition is). One day, they are swept into the dangerous world of the [[SdrawkcabName Terces]] Society and the Midnight Sun...and the Secret.

* BigEater: [[spoiler: The Homunculus in the second book. Half of his dialogue consists of "I'm hungry!"

* BigEater
* {{Brainwashed}}: [[spoiler: Benjamin Blake, briefly.]]

* ButtMonkey: Max-Ernest.

* HurricaneOfPuns The Jester is the very incarnation of this trope

[[quoteright:341:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_name_of_this_book_is_secret.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:341:This is a very dangerous book.]]

!!Tropes featured in this seriesl:

The ''Secret Series'' is a series by Pseudonymous Bosch, a mysterious LemonyNarrator, about two children who are not named Cass and Max-Ernest. Cass is a [[CrazyPrepared survivalist,]] while Max-Ernest has a condition (though no one knows quite what his condition is). One day, they are swept into the dangerous world of the [[SdrawkcabName Terces]] Society and the Midnight Sun...and the Secret.

* GiveHimANormalLife: [[spoiler: possibly the reason Cass was put on her grandfathers' doorstep.]]

* TheReveal: [[spoiler: The Secret itself, surprisingly, at the end of the last book. While it may seem to be just a joke at first "Why did the ibis cross the road? To get to the other side.", it's established that "the other side" literally means just that - as in, the afterlife]]

* DoorstopBaby: [[spoiler:Cassandra.]]