The Perfect Secret is a follow up to The Perfect Score, and from the start, this is a follow up that works well as part of a series, but will leave the reader with a lot of questions if they haven't read the first book. Buyea takes no time to provide any backstory aside from the fact that The Recruits were thrown together as punishment for something they did (although from one character's perspective I got the sense that it wasn't something entirely bad.)

The story picks up where the last left off, so I just went with it, and once you've suspended the questions you have about some of the storylines, it is a fun and engaging read. The story is told from multiple perspectives, which always puts an interesting spin on the story as it unfolds. The Recruits are now 7th graders (and having a 7th grader myself) captures well the feel of being wiser in the ways of middle school, and the complexity of crushes that break out between friends in tight-knit groups. They are good-hearted kids on a mission to bring Coach, Mrs Magenta, and Mrs Woods back together and patch up their distant relationship.

The story is age appropriate (although I'm not entirely settled on my thoughts of how he handled the issue of Gavin's mother as an undocumented immigrant.) It's a good middle school read for a kiddo who has read the first in the series. ( )

This is a great middle level book that has very relatable topics for students from grades 5-8. Each section of a chapter is told from a different character's point of view, which would be great to be used to teach perspective as well. This was a sequel to the book prior, but easy to still follow. You find out at the start of the book that in the previous books, the Recruits (what the group of friends call themselves) get caught cheating on a test, and now must help out a nursing home, which they are actually excited about so they can visit with their friend's grandparent and his friends. You also follow them as they try to secretly figure out why Mrs. Woods and Mrs. Magenta, a mother and daughter pair, no longer speak to one another, and how to bring them back together. At the same time you follow the main characters as they encounter bullying, rising above negativity, and how to handle bumps in a friendship without losing one another. Definitely a book I would recommend to my students and to other students in these grades. It has a plot that is easily followed, even with the switching between the characters! ( )

Gav, Natalie, Scott, Trevor, and Randi are back in this spirited sequel to The Perfect Score. The group's plan to reunite Mrs. Woods and Mrs. Magenta is sidelined by personal issues each character has to face and a major issue that impacts them all.

Buyea has an uncanny ability to spin a tale from various perspectives while intertwining multiple storylines that all seem to come together brilliantly at the end. This was a great story that touches on some truly pertinent topics and themes. ( )