Line #8 Literature/Secrets


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/secrets.png]]
2	''Secrets'' is a children's book by Creator/JacquelineWilson, published in 2002.
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4	"Secrets" is told from the point of view of two pre-adolescent girls, Treasure and India, via their diary entries. Despite their very different backgrounds, the girls strike up a friendship and their stories begin to intertwine.
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6	!!Contains the following tropes:
7	* AbusiveParents: Treasure's stepfather Terry hits her with his belt, ''buckle end'' at the starts of the story. This act is what prompts Treasure's nan to take Treasure away from the household once and for all.
8	** Treasure's mother is also neglectful of her daughter. To an extent of being emotionally abusive towards her, taking Terry's side when he abuses her and spinning the blame on Treasure for angering him. Despite this, she's furious when Treasure tells the press she wants to stay with her nan and declares that she doesn't love her (although she does eventually make it clear she ''does'' love her daughter deep down).
9	* AdultsAreUseless: Zigzagged, as Treasure's nan and most of her family are well aware of what a scumbag Terry is and do their best to protect Treasure from him, but on India's side her parents are chronically neglectful of their daughter and Wanda is more concerned with herself than India's wellbeing, even though that's her ''job.''
10	* AlcoholicParent: India's father has an obvious drinking problem and India admits she's frightened of him when he drinks, even though he's never been violent with her.
11	* AwesomeAussie: Averted with Wanda, who was hired because they ''expected'' this trope of her, wanting an upbeat, efficient, tanned and blonde woman. Instead that got dark-haired, weepy, moody and perpetually-distracted Wanda.
12	* BigBad: Terry is this in Treasure's side of the story. India, after seeing him briefly, admits that while she' sometimes afraid of her dad's temper, he's nowhere near as scary as Terry is.
13	* FictionalFanRealCelebrity: India is an obsessive fan of [[Literature/TheDiaryOfAnneFrank Anne Frank]], which gives her the inspiration to hide Treasure after Treasure runs away from home.
14	* HiddenHeartOfGold: A mild example, Treasure acts tough to protect herself from the abuse from her family, but as India discovers, she's actually a sweet, compassionate person once you get to know her. Also, Willie and Loretta, Treasure's respective uncle (of about her age) and aunt (a 15 year old mum), who, while initially are cold towards her, both do look out for her latterly, even if it involves them doing stuff they'd rather not.
15	* IronicName: When Treasure tells India hers, India comments that her mother must have thought a lot of her when she was born. In truth Treasure is well aware that her mother never wanted a baby in the first place.
16	* NoSocialSkills: Poor India's attempts to befriend the girls in her class come across to them as weird and off-putting. Ditto her attempt to make conversation with a boy at her mother's New Years Eve party.
17	* OlderThanTheyLook: Treasure's nan Rita is very young and glamorous for a woman who has had six kids, to the point Treasure says her mother Tammy looks ''older'' than her mother.
18	* OneWordTitle
19	* ParentsAsPeople: Treasure does love her mother but knows that Tammy can't look after her. She writes in her diary that it feels like Treasure should really be looking after her.
20	** India discusses this at the end, saying that it's not easy to say if a parent is bad or good, and that even the worst parents can be good at some times.
21	* PracticallyDifferentGenerations: Treasure's mother, Nan's oldest child, had Treasure when she was seventeen, putting her somewhere in her late twenties at present time. Meanwhile Nan's youngest child, Patsy, is only seven, making Treasure three or four years older than her aunt.
22	* ReallyGetsAround: India's dad is implied to have slept with most if not all of India's previous au pairs and India speculates he got Wanda, her most recent one, pregnant.
23	* ShrinkingViolet: India is usually this way unless she gets to a subject she's passionate about.
24	* SpoiledSweet: Patsy, Nan's youngest child and Treasure's aunt, is a very sweet girl despite being spoiled rotten by Nan and her father Pete, though she does occasionally have some InnocentlyInsensitive moments.
25	* TeenPregnancy: Loretta, one of Nan's children, is fifteen and has a daughter, Brittany. Treasure mentions that her mother was older than Loretta when she had Treasure but implies that Tammy was also very young at the time.
26	* ThemeNaming: Nan's children, Tammy, Dolly, Waylon, Loretta, Willie, and Patsy are all named after famous country and western singers.
27	* TheUnfavourite: Treasure is this to her own mum, who admitted she didn't even want to have Treasure and denies that her husband whipped her to protect ''him'', not Treasure.
28	** Inverted, however, with Nan, who admits at the end of the novel that while she loves all her children and grandchildren, Treasure is her true favorite.
29	* WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent: India mentions that people are always shocked to learn she's the glamorous Moya Upton's daughter and they expected someone thin, elegant and into fashion, all the things India is well aware she isn't and notes Moya keeps trying to force her into the role regardless.
30	* YesMan: Alice to Maria, the most popular girl in India's class, agreeing with every single thing Maria says and offering no opinions of her own. On the other hand, Alice is the one who starts getting at India about her opinions on lower-income estates (basing it on her experiences with Treasure's family) after Treasure goes missing and the police accuse her neighbour Michael Watkins of kidnapping, and Maria is the YesMan at this point.
31	* YouAreFat: Moya towards India, albeit she never ''says'' it, which causes an incredible amount of strain between them. India herself speculates her mother is anorexic and insists she'd rather be fat than a stick figure.

Context Literature / Secrets