Review | How to Draw a Secret

Summary: How to Draw a Secret

Cindy is a 12-year-old Taiwanese-American girl trying hard to hide her family’s secret that her dad no longer lives with them and has moved back to Taiwan. She lives with her mom and two older sisters in San Francisco, has two besties, and is crushing on a boy named Miles. She also likes to draw and is pretty good at it. So when her teacher announces an art contest with the theme of What Does Family Mean to You? Cindy is torn about what to share without revealing her family’s secret. Then her Nai Nai dies, and she and her mom and sisters travel to Taiwan for the funeral, where they meet her dad and discover an even deeper secret. Cindy must now find a way to share her emotions and come to terms with what’s happened and the current face of her family.

The Good

I adored the art and storytelling in this book, and even more, the strong plot with mystery, suspense, and emotions. It’s obvious from the start that Cindy’s mother is harboring a family secret, and the author teases that mystery for the perfect amount of time before readers find out what the big secret is about halfway through the book.

Cindy loves art, and I enjoyed seeing how she finally learns to be honest about herself and her family in her art. There are more books encouraging young readers to explore their passion for the arts and I love that. Cindy is another protagonist to add to your list of middle grade books about art.

Cindy has two older sisters, and we also get their reaction to the family secret, so there’s a bit more angst from them. I loved seeing the sweet relationship — despite being different from each other — they have with Cindy. Finally, this book features one of my favorite things: on-page travel. It was fun to see Cindy and her family visit Taiwan and explore a new city together.

Content Notes

Here are some specifics to know about the content.

Content Warnings

• Death: None on the page, but references to Cindy’s Nai Nai’s death and brief descriptions of a cremation ceremony
• Alcohol/substance abuse: None
• Sexual content: None; reference to parental marital infidelity
• Violence: None; 2-3 scenes with heated arguments between characters
• Religious content: None
• Language: None
• Other: Mentions of periods and pads and tampons

Diversity

• Ethnic: Cindy and her family are of Asian descent
• Sexual orientation: None

Recommended for ages: 9+

Good for kids who like:

• Graphic memoirs
• Books by Raina Telgemeier
• Measuring Up by Lily LaMotte
• Rule of Threes by Marcy Campbell

Publisher Details

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