Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu

Synopsis:
For sixteen years, Lucy has kept her mother's hoarding a secret. She's had to -- nobody would understand the stacks of newspapers and mounds of garbage so high they touch the ceiling and the rotting smell that she's always worried would follow her out the house. After years of keeping people at a distance, she finally has a best friend and maybe even a boyfriend if she can play it right. As long as she can make them think she's normal.

When Lucy arrives home from a sleepover to find her mother dead under a stack of National Geographics, she starts to dial 911 in a panic, but pauses before she can connect. She barely notices the filth and trash anymore, but she knows the paramedics will. First the fire trucks, and then news cameras that will surely follow. No longer will they be remembered as the nice oncology nurse with the lovely children -- they'll turn into that garbage-hoarding freak family on Collier Avenue.

With a normal life finally within reach, Lucy has only minutes to make a critical decision. How far will she go to keep the family secrets safe?


Review:
I was fascinated by this book. Told from Lucy's perspective, Dirty Little Secrets is a not-so-fun trip into the life of a compulsive hoarder. The snippets of backstory told as Lucy uncovers mementos from her past are excellently done, and I couldn't put this book down. Omololu obviously did her research when writing this novel, and it absolutely shows. I loved it.

The cover is great, it captures the feel of the book perfectly.

Recommended if you like Hoarders, Story of a Girl