Kearney, Meg. The Secret of Me.

KEARNEY, Meg. The secret of me. Persea, dist. by W.W. Norton. 136p. bibliog, c2005.0-89255-3227 $1795. JS

Lizzie McLane is a 14-year-old in a family created by adoptions: her older sister and brother are also adopted. Yet, no one in the family is able to talk about birth parents. Lizzie's brother tells her it would seem disloyal to their parents, who love them dearly. And yet, Lizzie just wants to know more about who she is, what her birth mother looks like, what ethnic group she is connected to--those sorts of things. Even a classroom assignment to create a family tree makes Lizzie sad. She turns to her book of poetry, writing of her confusion--why does she crave knowledge about her biological parents when her siblings don't seem to need to know? Is she unhappy, dissatisfied with her parents? She doesn't want to hurt their feelings. She knows they consider their children their own. Why is she ashamed to tell people she is adopted, "the secret of me," as the title says?

The novel consists of a series of poems in Lizzie's voice. And it is with her poetry that she finally connects lovingly with her parents, convincing them of her need to know about her birth mother. As is true of all novels told in poetry format, strong feelings are conveyed in few words, carefully chosen for the strongest emotional impact. Kearney includes a long essay about the poetry she uses to tell Lizzie's story, an essay about her own experience being adopted, poetry mentioned by Lizzie, and a bibliography of books of poetry and about adoption. A special book filled with insight into the complexities of adoption. Claire Rosser, KLIATT