Book Review- Tell Me a Secret

I just finished reading Tell Me a Secret by Holly Cupala for an Around the World Tour.

From Goodreads:

Tell me a secret, and I'll tell you one…

In the five years since her bad-girl sister Xanda’s death, Miranda Mathison has wondered about the secret her sister took to the grave, and what really happened the night she died. Now, just as Miranda is on the cusp of her dreams—a best friend to unlock her sister’s world, a ticket to art school, and a boyfriend to fly her away from it all—Miranda has a secret all her own.

Then two lines on a pregnancy test confirm her worst fears. Stripped of her former life, Miranda must make a choice with tremendous consequences and finally face her sister’s demons and her own.

In this powerful debut novel, stunning new talent Holly Cupala illuminates the dark struggle of a girl who must let go of her past to find a way into her own future.
 
First off, let me say that I think this would be an interesting book for teens to read.  I think it could be a semi-accurate portrayal of being pregnant while being a teen.
 
That being said, I didn't really feel any connection from Miranda.  I don't know if it's that I found her personality boring or that she was a downer, but I just didn't really care for her.  Or any of the characters for that matter.  Her new friend, Delaney, was just a witch and I have no idea why Miranda would have chosen to be friends with her.  And her old friend, Essence, wasn't any more pleasant.  And her mother--my god, it makes me glad that my own mom is as great as she is.  While I get that it could be reality for a mother to be so unaccepting of her pregnant teenager, it horrified me to read it.   And then Kamran was not the guy I wanted him to be (once again, I realize that this is reality and many guys freak when they find out a girl they slept with is pregnant).
 
I did however really like Shelley.  What a sweet, understanding character.  It was nice for Miranda to have someone to look up to and have take care of her.  And I felt bad for Miranda's dad.  You could tell he cared about Miranda and wanted to care about the baby, but was intimadated by his wife. 
 
I think the pregnancy leading up to the birth could be pretty accurate, but after the birth was another story.  There is no way that the hospital would let Miranda sleep there, and even if she was hiding, it wouldn't last that long. 
 
Anyways, I think that this could be a good book for teenagers to read and possibly even parents of pregnant teenagers.
 
I gave this book a rating of 3.5/5.
 
Tell Me a Secret will be released on June 22, 2010.
 
This book fulfills items in the following challenges:

2010 100+ Reading Challenge: 51
2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 37
2010 Debut Author Challenge: 14
ARC Reading Challenge 2010: 36

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.