Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols

Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols

Publisher: MTV Books    

Publication date: July 16th 2013

Bailey wasn’t always a wild child and the black sheep of her family. She used to play fiddle and tour the music circuit with her sister, Julie, who sang and played guitar. That ended when country music execs swooped in and signed Julie to a solo deal. Never mind that Julie and Bailey were a duet, or that Bailey was their songwriter. The music scouts wanted only Julie, and their parents were content to sit by and let her fulfill her dreams while Bailey’s were hushed away.
Bailey has tried to numb the pain and disappointment over what could have been. And as Julie’s debut album is set to hit the charts, her parents get fed up with Bailey’s antics and ship her off to granddad’s house in Nashville. Playing fiddle in washed-up tribute groups at the mall, Bailey meets Sam, a handsome and oh-so-persuasive guitarist with his own band. He knows Bailey’s fiddle playing is just the thing his band needs to break into the industry. But this life has broken Bailey’s heart once before. She isn’t sure she’s ready to let Sam take her there again…

I was so happy when I heard Jennifer Echols is writing a book about music. She's been one of my favorite authors since I read Going Too Far three years ago. You can never go wrong with her books. They are perfect beach reads, even if you're not really anywhere near the sea/ocean. 

Bailey and her younger sister Julie have spent their whole childhood playing as a duo when Julie, who sings and plays guitar got offered a contract, which left Bailey all alone. Her parents moved cross the country to help Julie out and Bailey went to stay at her grandpa's house because she was acting out. 

Who would blame her. If my parents completely deserted me while they ran around my brother or sister I would be mad too. Bailey's parents raised her to fight for her music but they turned their backs on her as soon as she did something appropriate. Something that might hurt Julie's image. What kind of parent would do such a thing? Not a good one, that's for sure. 

Bailey's torn up with following her dream and listening to her parents. When she meets Sam everything changes. He invites her to play with his band and Bailey slowly opens to performing again. They also have unmistakable feelings to one another which makes playing in a band even more difficult because Sam is a known ladies man. But he is not your guy who dates a lot of girls. 

What I loved about this novel is it sends out a great message to never give up on your hopes and dreams. You need to work hard before you get everything you wanted. 

I would recommend Dirty Little Secret to people who love to read more realistic YA contemporary novels with interesting characters. And it's Jennifer Echols we're talking about here!