Product Description

Kathy Colton can’t stand her brother, Brett. Her family talks as if he were perfect! All Kathy knows for sure is that Brett is dead. He died of leukemia when he was sixteen and she was only two. But when Kathy turns sixteen, she discovers her brother’s hidden journal – a journal written especially for her - and learns about the brother she never knew. At the same time, Kathy is mortified by an assignment to tutor the popular high school quarterback Jason West, a football jock who, even worse, is a Mormon. Author Kay Lynn Mangum brilliantly weaves the dual stories of a dying brother and a coming-of-age sister who learn the importance of loving our family and our friends and nurturing our faith.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #163485 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-01
• Released on: 2005-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Review
Great for young and young at heart!, July 07, 2005
By Pat

I don't find much time to read novels and very rarely take the time to read them with such a busy schedule. I have focused on non-fiction and things that would help me in the gospel and with my family. THIS IS A GREAT BOOK! I am encouraging everyone to read the book. I have told many others about it and am trying to get my family, and foster children to read it. Two Thumbs Up!

Touching story, August 18, 2005
By Shauna

As a cancer survivor this book was very touching to me. I enjoyed the twists and turns in the book. I cried and laughed.

ONE OF THE BEST I'VE READ IN A LONG TIME, March 18, 2005
By Alicia Williams

It's rare that a book can keep me up until 3 00 in the morning, but that's exactly what this book did. I was completely absorbed by the third chapter. The Secret Journal of Brett Colton was an insightful look into what a family goes through with the incurable illness of one of their own. It was an insightful look into the way a testimony of the Book of Mormon changes us. What I felt while reading the book remained with me long after I finished it. I've already passed my copy on to my own family, what a powerful book about change, family, love, life, and death.

About the Author
Kay Lynn Mangum holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Southern Utah University. She has enjoyed reading and writing stories since her elementary school days, and always dreamed of publishing novels. She works as a legal assistant and loves traveling to the places she wants to set her stories in. The Secret Journal of Brett Colton, her first novel, began as a short story she created at age 15 for a high school writing contest. Kay Lynn lives in Centerville, Utah.

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Customer Reviews

A great uplifting novel
This story was written to appeal to a young adult audience, I read it because it came strongly recommended by a friend of mine. The main characters are in high school, so the story deals with a lot of high school issues - popularity, sports, dating - all entwined in a deeper story of family, love, life and death. The story was original with lots of surprises. I was so touched, I laughed a lot, and yes I cried too. As I read Kathy's story, I related perfectly to her character, it brought back so many memories from high school and I found myself laughing out loud, because I realized I had had similar experiences in high school and just forgotten about them. The story has a lot of good moral lessons. In the beginning, I wasn't sure what to think of the main characters. But as the events unfolded in the story, the author did a great job developing the characters and showing the contrast in the growth and maturity of their personalities as they came to realize what was most important in life. This is a great, wholesome, uplifting story, I couldn't put it down and read it within just a few days - I didn't want it to end. A great gift idea for any young adult, and my husband enjoyed it just as much as I did. It was recommended to me and I would recommend it in a heartbeat.

Book for young AND mature adults
Though this book has a Mormon author and the LDS church certainly is a topic within, this book ought to appeal to young and mature adults of any denomination. For a freshman book (Mangum's first) it is incredibly well written. Like it's main character likes to find in her honors English course, this writing has many layers. One of the best books I've ever read and destined to be a classic.

The most amazing book ever!!
WOW!!! I cannot even begin to describe how much I love reading this book! It was recommened to me by a friend and when I first recieved it I could not put in down! It is a great love story and has an incredible moral to the story. I laughed but mostly cried. It is so sweet and romantic. Brett shows how much he goes through with leukemia and how much having Kathy as a younger sister helped him through his two years and how he would have never gotten through with it without her. Jason is the perfect boyfriend and you immeditaly fall in love with all of the characters. This is my favorite books and I have read a lot of books. I would recommend this to anyone. Be ready for a well written love story and an amazing book.