The Top-Secret Journal of Fiona Claire Jardin

by Robin Cruise

Book Overview

In this humorous, heartbreaking--and hopeful--novel, a young girl struggles to come to terms with her parents' divorce. Funny, poignant, and above all, honest, Fiona's journal entries reveal a roller coaster of emotions as she tries to cope in a world that's been turned upside down. This story is sure to strike a chord with anyone--young or old--who has experienced the comfort and turmoil of family life.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0152023941
• ISBN13: 9780152023942
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 7.5"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

You Can Relate!

My 12 year old and I have both read this book and I know that she has read it more than once. I enjoyed this story because it takes you on an 11 year old's journey through life and makes you realize how we all have problems that we must deal with and gave suggestions on how to overcome them. It also reminded me, as an adult, about some of the "minor" things that were so important to me at that age, and that may be so important to my children now. Although the main issue in this book is divorce, I think children not living this situation would enjoy this book because it is fun to read and everyone seems to know someone with divorced parents. It can help children relate to others and understand.

One of my favorite books

I have very few favorite books, and this one is in my all-time favorite list. I bought this book as a fifth or sixth grader, I can't remember. Anyway, I've read it about 20 times and I love it. I've never had my parents go through divorce, so it was very interesting to find out what it's like to have your parents go through a divorce and live in two different houses through the eyes of a person my age at the time. The book, Fiona's Private Pages, I plan to read because I loved this book so much. I'm now in 8th grade and still read it when there's no other books to read. I highly recomend this book.

Keeps you guessing

I really enjoyed this book. The book is about Fiona. She is about 11 for most of the book. Fiona is told she must keep a diary for her thoughts, especially the thoughts about her parent's recent divorce.I would recommend this book to 5th and 6th grade girls or if there was a divorce in a girl's family.Fiona's life changes a lot after her parent's divorce and it's great to hear how "terrible" her life is now.This book is really fun to read, even over summer vacation.

Refreshingly real

I gave this book five stars, not because I believe it is the greatest book of all time, or because I believe there is anything exeptional about the writing style but because it is so real,vivid and gut-wretchingly-run-over-a-toad-on-the-highway-peanut-butter-and-jelly honest. I confess, one of the things I like best about this book is that Fiona's diary doesn't quote whole conversations. This is something that is very common in the Dear America series. It annoys me very much because I think there are VERY few people who can recall whole conversations and recall exactly what was said. It's not realistic! It also annoys me because people don't really write journals and letters with conversations in context. You might as well be writing from a narrative point of view then. This is the kind of "realism" that I find so delightful in this story. Fiona's tale doesn't stand out as a milestone in literature, or a groundbreaking life lesson. It's about an 10/11 year old who struggles through day-to-day life, someone all girls can really relate to. At the same time Fiona's unique character and busy life brings sparkle to the page. The people in Cruise's book are all wonderfully sketched. They have shape and dimension and just breathe with life. This book is a very good read for adolescents. The story deals a lot with family and the divorce of Fiona's parents. The book can help kids to realize that therapists are okay people, and it's okay to have problems as long as you don't keep them hidden forever. In Fiona's world, many things are not fair and many things are not right but life is never boring. If you read this book and liked it, I recommend Fiona's Private Pages, a sequel which I found equally good. I personally also like the covers on these books, they are collages of little bric-a-brac and objects from Fiona's life.

cool book

this book is very good. i've read it more than 3 times. i reccomend it to any girl with her family that is divorced. If you have a life like that you cAN definatly relate to it. read it!