The Tin Box Secret

The Tin Box Trilogy, Book 1

By: Theresa Dodaro

Narrated by: Laura Jennings

Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

"It’s not the scars on your body that really matter. It’s the ones that are left on your soul. They are the ones that don’t go away."

Teenagers Julie, Heather, and Petra are grappling with the choices they face growing up amid the social revolution of the late 1960s. Julie struggles to be heard in an unsympathetic home. Heather feels that she is a burden to the people in her life, especially her single mother. Petra moves with her family to a town where she finds she is not quite welcome because of an unknown past.

When the girls find a tin box filled with letters from Petra’s great grandmother, Charlotte, detailing events from 1912, secrets from Petra’s family’s past begin to be revealed. As they learn of Charlotte’s tumultuous life, the girls are confronted with their own demons.

This is a haunting tale that touches your heart and makes you think twice about decisions you may have made. What if you could reach through time itself to guide your loved ones through difficult situations?

The first in a trilogy, The Tin Box Secret is a fascinating look at friendship, family, the challenges we face, and the choices we make to deal with those challenges.

©2015 Theresa Dodaro (P)2018 Theresa Dodaro

Stick with it!!

I gave up on this one twice before sticking with it the third time, and I'm so glad I did because I ended up really enjoying it. The first few times I gave up after 20-30 minutes because it seemed more of a YA story...it isn't, though! There's plenty of adult subject matter and heavy issues in this book. After about an hour, I couldn't stop listening. I finished it in one day. The narrator did a great job, too. I can't wait to listen to the next 2 books in the trilogy!
I received a review copy at my request and voluntarily reviewed.

Wonderful story

The Tin Box Secret by Theresa Dodaro is an extraordinary story about a young girl navigating her way through life and an intriguing mystery in the turbulent 60's. The writing is captivating, with a few surprising twists.

The narration by Laura Jennings is also well done.

The Tin Box Secret

The Tin Box Secret
: Theresa Dodaro

Oh My!!!

This is one of the best books I've listened to for a long while. The three main characters, young girls are getting ready for high school. The plot flows continually, in an ever changing way. It does not get lost or bogged down along the way. We get mysteries, historical fiction, coming of age, dysfunctional families, romance / obsession, and even a bit of paranormal. I'm excited to see where the rest of this series goes, as it did leave a bit of a cliff-hanger.

The narration was well done. The characters were well portrayed. Laura Jennings brought these characters to life!!!



I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Needed a better ending to get five stars

This was a very special listen dealing with growing up and what comes of our decisions when emotions get involved. However, there was no real ending. We waded back and forth through generations and then, no resolution.

The narration was well-done and was easily the best part of this adventure.

If you are okay with no real ending, then there are some really good things about this story, including the narration.

Not just a YA book. A Great Read!

What did you love best about The Tin Box Secret?

This book really irritated me in the beginning, I really didn't want to finish it. As I got further into this book the story quickly went into more adult topics. I found that I had gotten thoroughly sucked in and engrossed in the story needing to know what happened next and even though there were times that I knew what was coming I had to see it unfold. There were several times I really wanted to tell Julie how stupid she was being but I had to remind myself she was 15 and sadly didn't have the most helpful parents. It's a great coming of age book with a look into how different life was in the 60's. I would highly recommend this one, just be prepared to struggle in the beginning in getting into the story - it will be worth the effort and you'll want to read the others in the series as well.

Have you listened to any of Laura Jennings’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Laura did an amazing job with the voices, acting and narration. She was one of the reasons I kept listening in the beginning, I could tell she was good and knew the story had to have attracted her to narrate it and I wanted to find out why.

Any additional comments?

I would caution parents that there are some heavier adult topics - abuse, date rape, drugs, and situations that friends need outside help on. This is a good book to read with your teen to help bring up some of these talking points.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Nice historical fiction...

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The mystery and overall plot line were severely lacking. While the general plot itself carries a lot of promise, it was underdeveloped causing the story to miss the mark.

Was The Tin Box Secret worth the listening time?

Not really. Again, with an underdeveloped plot the story could've easily been cut by at least a third, if not more.

Any additional comments?

Narration was excellent, soothing voice that didn't distract from the story. The book itself has a lot of potential, but I felt the characters and storyline were underdeveloped. Additionally, the lack of mystery in the "mystery" was a bit disappointing. There was more teen drama than anything else. ***Tin Box Secret was enjoyable with a bit of historic intrigue. I was expecting more of a mystery, and while there was a touch of mystery, this was more of a teen drama than anything else. The story was well-written and the characters were well-developed. The plot line was somewhat lacking, in that there wasn't much to keep me reading (listening in my case). It was, however, an easy listen and would be a great read for those seeking more women's fiction/young adult fiction. ***