Introduction

Twenty-five years ago, Liza Gold and her friends celebrated high school graduation with a party on the beach. It should have been the best night of their lives, only one of them never came back out of the ocean. Now Liza is a recently divorced working mom struggling to connect with her standoffish teenager daughter Zoe when history repeats itself. Another young woman has drowned at Beach Week, and this time the victim is Zoe’s secret best friend. Set in the upscale DC private school scene, where silence can easily be bought, All the Dirty Secrets asks how far you would go to protect your status and your family, and if some secrets should ever be revealed.

Editorial Review

No Editorial Review Currently Available

Excerpt

CHAPTER ONE
LIZA
If your friends won’t lie to you, who will?

“Seriously, Liza. You do not look a day over thirty.” Shelby takes a big swig of her whiskey sour and crunches down on an ice cube. “I mean, you still got it.”

“Uh-huh.” I blink. I look every day of my forty-six years, and she knows it. Shelby has been my personal cheerleader since we met at Washington Prep in sixth grade, and I don’t know what I’d do without her slightly deluded optimism. Especially this past year. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1)The annual rite of Beach Week is at the center of All the Dirty Secrets. Did you have a graduation ritual? And do you think it’s a good idea for teenagers to celebrate their graduation in this way? What are the pros and cons?

2) Liza and Shelby have been best friends for more than 25 years but a devastating secret destroys their friendship. Do you have a best friend from childhood? And are there secrets that you've never told anyone?

3) Part of the book takes place in the 1990s, when Liza and her friends were teenagers. How do you think our culture has changed since then -- especially in regards to teens, drinking, and sex? And in what ways has it stayed the same?

4) Liza struggles with parenting Zoe, her teenaged daughter. Zoe keeps a lot of secrets from her, and uses her phone and technology as a way to do so. What challenges do parents face raising teenagers today because of phones and technology that you did not face growing up? How much freedom should parents allow teenagers to have? And is there ever too much oversight on the part of concerned parents?

5) The issue of privilege is woven throughout the book. In what ways are Liza and her friends privileged? In the end, Shelby moves to Florida and starts a new life. Do you think she will ever be brought to justice for what she did?

Weblinks

»	Author's website

Book Club Recommendations

Recommended to book clubs by 1 of 1 members.

Member Reviews

Rate this book