SuitabookThe secret apartment
Natalie Fast
- Reading
- Try reading a few chapters together, then pause to ask what Jillian wants from her new life and what clues make her and Emily think something is wrong.
- Themes
- A changed family: Jillian resents the move and her new stepsister after her mother remarries; a new home and summer camp form part of her changed circumstances. Jillian’s dissatisfaction with the move and her new stepsister frames the family changes she faces.
- A child-led mystery: While catsitting, Jillian and her new friend Emily watch the neighbours and see something they believe is wrong; they try to help. The plot links observation and friendship to a mystery-solving adventure, with the girls taking an active role.
- Worth knowing
- Jillian is unhappy about her mother’s remarriage and the move, and describes her teenage stepsister negatively. These family adjustments and tensions are part of the setup.