Thought this was such an interesting concept but I wasn’t completely sold on the execution - did just find myself getting frustrated at times.

Advanced Reader copy - Enjoyed this book, really opened my eyes and made me seek out other similar books to read.

I FLEW through this! I was immediately hooked and couldn’t stop turning the pages. I absolutely adored Jemma and her foster siblings and their story alone would have been lovely but the added mystery/thriller was great! 👀

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

This was absolutely heartbreaking and I know for a fact that I will want to reread this sometime in the future. Something about Jemma and her story really touched my heart and I found myself tearing up on multiple occasions. To read what Jemma went through was such a journey and I'm glad I went on that journey with her.

Jemma has severe cerebral palsy. She is not only unable to move her arms or legs, but also unable to take care of herself or even speak a word. She's looked after by her foster parents and her career Sarah - her foster siblings Olivia and Finn live with them too.
Sometimes people think she's stupid but she's not. Just because she can't speak doesn't mean she has nothing to say. But it does make people tell her secrets. Like Sarah, who's dating Dan but hasn't broken up with her old boyfriend Richard.
Dan has secrets too. Ones he whispers to Jemma when they're left alone in the living room. Ones about Ryan from over the road, who was found dead.
"They're never gonna catch me!"
With no way to tell anyone and worry building for Sarah, can Jemma do the impossible and get someone to listen? Or is Dan right - is she powerless to stop him from killing again?
Oh. My. God. I just have no words to explain how absolutely utterly and truly fantastic I Have No Secrets is. It is a thriller - a mystery, but one like no other I've read. It is told by a truly unique and wonderful protagonist, a girl trapped in her own body, begging someone to hear her but unable to say a word - unable to warn anyone about the danger. I am all for diverse books - especially diversity regarding characters with physical disabilities. For those that know me, they'll get that this cause is something very near to my heart - I want wheelchairs and crutches and prosthetics to be more visible in kids and teen books because growing up there wasn't anyone like me to read about, no one who had neurological issues with their legs, no main character who was in a wheelchair. And so, for me, I Have No Secrets is a book I've been wanting and waiting for for years - a book that acknowledges the struggles of Jemma's life but doesn't focus on it. The focus is more on Dan and how badly Jemma wants to tell his secret and her frustration and hopelessness that she just can't. And o just loved it. So so much. I couldn't stop reading - I was hooked to every twist and tien, every bump in the road, every moment where we saw just how strong Jemma is. I just... I loved it.
Jemma was just the most wonderful, inspiring, brilliant character. She was so strong even when she didn't think she was, even when she felt like the whole world, life itself, was just a struggle. I loved seeing the world through her eyes and felt like everyone could benefit from reading and understanding her.
The supporting characters were brilliant. Mum and Dad were so amazing - a little frazzled at times, understandably so, but so caring and loving and amazing. I loved Finn, even though he never said a word. Sarah was amazing - and so lovely. Jodi to begin with reminded me of friends I'd had after I was on the wheelchair - who didn't really know what to say or do around me, which was not a nice feeling. By the end though I loved her.
As for Dan... well he made my blood boil. To me, he was very dick who's ever looked at me like I don't have a brain or said something bad about disabled people - and so much moe so much worse. He was awful! Just so cruel - and what made it so much worse was only Jemma knew and she had no way of doing anything to stop him.
I know what it's like to have people think you're brainless because of a disability. And I can't imagine not having a voice to prove I do, in fact, have a brain and just because my legs don't work doesn't mean my mind doesn't work too. But all children or teenagers have felt like Jemma, myself included - like we're not being heard or adults don't value our opinions. What makes Jemma's case all the more heartbreaking is that she physically can't make her voice heard - something that I just can't begin to comprehend the awfulness of.
For me, I Have No Secret resonated so strongly - o don't know if it's because I'm in a wheelchair and totally related with some of the rings Jemma said (I also love being up high - it's nice after always being lower than everyone!), but I think it's actually because Penny Joelson just wrote everything so beautifully, so easily relatable and just made Jemma do so real and alive. Plus the story was goosebump-raising and utterly addictive - I couldn't stop reading even if I tried, warning my boyfriend I would be ignoring his existence until I found out what happened and had finished the book because I had to know what happened.
I just... I am in love with this book. Penny Joelson is a new favourite author and I simply can't wait for her to write more - if this is her debut, o need to know what she can write next because it will very likely blowing mind. And I can't wait. Until then, I'm going to give my copy of I Have No secrets to as many people as possible (firstly my aunt: she called dibs) because people need to read this. It's unmissable. So everyone, go and pick it up. You've never read anything like this before, I guarantee. It is unique, it is wonderful, it is one of my favourite books now. And that is no secret - I'd shot it from the rooftops if I could.
But since that seems complicated and possibly very dangerous, ill settle for blogging and tweeting nonstop about it. Safer - and probably more effective really.
Thank you, Penny, for giving Jemma a voice. I hope she's heard all over the world. She deserves to be.

Unfortunately I didn't finish this book, as I couldn't get into it - nothing against the author or book, just not to my personal taste. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

My goodness I LOVED this book!
It was such an addictive thriller ride for someone who has no voice.
I think this idea was very clever and it definitely makes you think more about people who can't speak or who are paralysed that they can understand. It teaches us to treat everyone the same.
A powerful message comes with this book and I adored it.

I Have No Secrets by Penny Joelson (Electric Monkey) is about the importance of having a voice. Jemma's cerebral palsy means she can't communicate but Joelson has written her character beautifully. The focus is on her thoughts, wishes and personality, making her a rounded character, rather than focusing on her cerebral palsy or using it as a plot device. She feels real and believable and we want her to succeed.

This is a fast-paced, easy to read book filled with fab supporting characters. Jemma's foster family were particularly intriguing and I'd love to get to know them more. It was refreshing to see the foster parents - who were coping with children with autism and a wide-range of emotional and physical difficulties - show their flaws and their own emotional ups and downs. They were immensely believable and I applaud Joelson's decision to not sugar coat and to show them making mistakes and struggling.

Although this is billed as a YA read, I would suggest it's more suited to a younger teen audience.

Unfortunately the book wasn't my cup of tea and therefor didn't finish it.

Told from the POV of Jemma, who has Cerebral Palsy and cannot communicate with anyone but has full brain function, this story is a fascinating one. I can't begin to imagine what it is like not to be able to talk to anyone, or even gesture to let them know what you need, but I think Penny Joelson has done a brilliant job of capturing the struggle.

The fact that Jemma knows someone is a murderer, yet can't tell those closest to her they may be in danger makes this a tense and exciting read. There are some very emotional moments too.

I highly recommend this book.

Jemma is fourteen years old. She loves reading crime novels, painting her nails and her favourite band: Glowlight. Jemma is a normal teenage girl, aside from the fact that she also happens to have Cerebral Palsy, and cannot communicate with her family or anyone else around her.

Because of her disability, people around Jemma find her to be a pretty good listener, often confiding their secrets and innermost thoughts in her, which must get both pretty irritating and extremely boring. One day her carer's boyfriend, Dan, confides something in Jemma that leaves her reeling: he says he's committed a shocking and violent crime. How can Jemma warn the people that she loves that Dan is not the man everyone thinks he is, and how can she possibly protect herself from Dan in a world where she doesn't have a voice?

I Have No Secrets is a clever and eye-opening book, which demonstrates very clearly what life is like for Jemma without feeling condescending. With the current political and social landscape as bleak as it is for people with disabilities in the UK, this book provides an insight into the day to day struggles of living with a disability, as well as commentary on the way that able bodied people can often view disabled individuals. I don't identify as having a disability, so I can't speak from an own voices point of view, but I felt as if the representation was realistic without being bleak, and uplifting without being saccharine.

The author also touches on themes such as adoption, foster care and family constructs through some of the other characters, who include Jemma's adoptive Mum and Dad, a foster brother with autism and a new foster sister who is prone to throwing tantrums. Jemma also has a strong bond with her carer, Sarah, who lives with the family. The straightforward prose and Jemma's strong and witty narrative voice made it easy to become absorbed into the ups and downs of day to day life in a busy and often complicated household, where each member has extremely different needs. It was really great to read about an 'unconventional' family who, regardless of DNA, supported and cared for each other in whatever ways they could. I especially warmed to Jemma's Dad, with whom she had a lovely relationship.

I really enjoyed 'I Have No Secrets', which I felt was a good blend of the contemporary and mystery genres. Although it was pretty obvious who had done the deed from the beginning of the book, Jemma's voice and her journey to being able to communicate are what makes the book compelling. I felt like the book leaned a little more towards the lower end of the young adult spectrum in terms of age suitability (possibly even middle grade in some places), but ultimately, this is a well-written mystery featuring a brilliantly written narrator and an uplifting and hopeful story line.

This was such an interesting story! It made me want a Miss Marple style detective story about a detective who's in a wheelchair tends to overhear things from people around her because people just assume she doesn't understand and then she could use it to her advantage. I think it would be cool if this turned into a series with Jemma at the center, but I don't think it would happen.

It was so interesting to see things from the point of view of a person with no way to communicate at all. It really opened my eyes to the feelings of humiliation that can come from being stuck like that. Jemma was such an amazing character and she had so much going on in her mind and yet people around her couldn't do anything but just guess at her needs. And even the most kind and sensitive person in the world would never be able to get that right for her.

I love this book most because it really made me think of things from a different viewpoint and I hope to find more books like this.

Jemma has to be up there as one of those teenage characters in a story that you can't help but fall a little in love with. We are given unrestricted access to her thoughts, as we watch her and her family go about their lives. This is no cosy drama though...Jemma has been told that someone she knows is responsible for the murder of one of her neighbours. She was told this by the person himself, her carer's smarmy boyfriend, Dan - a rather caricature villain, but one I took great delight in disliking. While we might find it unusual for a murderer to confess to someone - he only does this because Jemma has severe cerebral palsy and cannot communicate with anyone. Dan's secret - like so many secrets revealed by characters close to her - is safe with Jemma, at least for a while.
I did think the ending was a little too neat, but it makes sense within the narrative and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

This book is wonderful. Yes, it overreaches in it's plot arcs, yes, Jemma's communication appears instantly and is a poor representation of this part of her condition, but for a tween look at disability this is great. Jemma is smart, kind, funny and fully three dimensional. As a character she is a triumph and as an "issue read" for severe cerebral palsy this is sensitive and well researched. No one pitied Jemma or even underestimates her, except the police officer who blames it on her teenagehood! The lost-twin plot is poorly done and underexplored, although it's function, to show a healthy Jemma, just about works, although we never learn much about Jodi and her life. That said, this is a great, great book.

I Have No Secrets is a character-driven YA thriller, made unique by its wonderful first person perspective of Jemma, a teenager who cannot effectively communicate to those around her. We join Jemma at a point in her life where she has trialled various communication devices but none have been suitable for her. She describes herself as 'happy to watch', until suddenly there is something she so desperately needs to say. She has the understanding and ability to help solve the mystery, but not the means to do so.

Whilst this is a mystery, and does a fantastic job of keeping you on edge, desperate for it to be solved, the focus of the story is very much Jemma. We see the frustration of not being able to express herself in tandem with the joy she experiences through the love of her family and the things she enjoys doing. It can feel quite uncomfortable at times as you realise how vulnerable Jemma can be, relying on others so much to understand her wants and needs. But it also very clearly shows how much she has to offer.

There was also a few brilliant scenes which challenge the assumptions people make about those who are non-verbal or have different ways of communicating. Jemma's perspective is so important and one that needs to be heard. It's definitely worthwhile putting yourself in her shoes for a while!

Recommended for YA fans looking to diversify their reading with a powerful, engaging protagonist who interacts with the world in a different way.

Jemma is 14 and suffers from cerebral palsy; her family know she is smart, but she is completely unable to communicate with anyone. People often confide in her because they know she can never reveal their secrets; this becomes dangerous when Dan, her carer's boyfriend, taunts her with the knowledge of a violent crime he claims he has committed...

A gripping thriller and a sensitive, empathic look at life from a different perspective, this is a page-turner that makes you think.

Perfect for fans of Wonder and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.

This was a really terrific read that encompassed many things - but the best thing about it was Jemma who's character voice shone through the entirety of the story and kept you on her side from the very opening pages.

So she has cerebral palsy - she cannot communicate but has an active and intelligent brain, misses nothing going on around her and is also somewhat of a deep thinker. Living in a family of fostered children, all with their own issues, one day somebody tells her a secret. A murderer. Thinking it safe to toy with Jemma, to scare her, they don't realise that she may soon be able to tell..

This was a clever story because it plays with the emotions, shows very clearly what life is like for Jemma but manages not to be saccharine or overly sentimental. Then you have a murder, various snapshots of life within the household and a fairly fascinating study of the new and innovative possibilities opening up for people with disabilities.

It is a compelling and utterly gripping story that is fast and effective, I loved Jemma, I loved all the family even the rather difficult Olivia and you just get absorbed into their lives and their ups and downs, it is almost like living with them for a while. The crime elements are layered into the character drama and its damned addictive I can tell you!

With a strong, engaging and intuitive character voice, I Have No Secrets is a top notch young adult novel that will appeal to all ages.

Highly Recommended