C. J. Omololu
Author of Dirty Little Secrets
About the Author
Cynthia Jaynes Omololu was born in New Jersey on July 14, 1966. She received a degree in English from the University of California Santa Barbara. Before becoming a full-time author, she worked for a San Francisco weekly newspaper in advertising and was a stay-at-home mom. Her first book, When it's show more Six O'clock in San Francisco, was published in 2009. Her young adult novels include Dirty Little Secrets, Transcendence, Intuition, and The Third Twin. She died of cancer on December 31, 2015. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by C. J. Omololu
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Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Cynthia Jaynes Omololu
- Other names
- CynJay, C.J. Omololu
- Gender
- female
- Birthplace
- New Jersey, USA
- Short biography
- Born in New Jersey, but grew up in San Diego, Omololu was almost 6 feet tall by the time she was twelve. Except for a book called How the Rabbit Got His Hop that she wrote in third grade, she didn't write anything unless she had to. Every diary she ever had stops on or about January 21st because she got bored writing about her own life.
She met her husband when working for a San Francisco weekly newspaper (in advertising, not writing).
She became a stay at home mom for a few years and then noticed that there weren't enough biracial kids books and so she decided to write one. "When it's Six O'clock in San Francisco" came out in July of 2009.
Then she decided, even though it would be really hard, she would try her hand at writing a novel. She met her agent, Erin Murphy, in an elevator at a writer's conference and when she finished her first novel, they signed together. Her young adult novel Dirty Little Secrets came out with Walker Books in February of 2010.
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Reviews
On the one hand this didn't become the worst aspects of a love triangle like I feared it would. Omololu handles the emotions and confusion well. The ending felt...cut off though. I was not a fan of Drew, but things felt unresolved and while I love Griffon, things felt too pat.
Lucy would do anything to have a normal life. She would like to have sleepovers with her new best friend, Kaylie, in her own house and maybe invite her crush and perhaps interested boyfriend, Josh over. But she has a secret that she must keep from the world – her mother hoards stuff. Her mother’s mental illness is so bad that she does not smell the odor of rancid garbage or see the towering piles of books, newspapers, and magazines all over the house. Because of this, Lucy and her older brother and sister have never had friends over and Phil and Sara escaped as soon as they could. Then the unthinkable happens and Lucy has to figure out how she can keep the family secret. The ending raises more questions than it answers for this reader but students will learn about the real mental illness of compulsive hoarding.… (more)
I could not put this book down! Heartwarming and heartbreaking, this book about keeping secrets and the impact of family on all aspects of growing up kept me riveted.
The book takes place within 24 hours, but it feels like a lifetime by the time the novel finishes. A grand, sweeping, all encompassing look at the disease of hoarding and the toll it takes on the family.
A must read!
The book takes place within 24 hours, but it feels like a lifetime by the time the novel finishes. A grand, sweeping, all encompassing look at the disease of hoarding and the toll it takes on the family.
A must read!
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Statistics
- Works
- 7
- Members
- 921
- Popularity
- #27,852
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 76
- ISBNs
- 29
- Languages
- 1
I wanted to know about the connection Cole had with the Italian girl, with the Lady at the Tower of London, why she felt insta-connection to Griffon. I wanted to know why Griffon was so reluctant to get involved with her despite his actions speaking to the contrary. It was kind of annoying that Cole staunchly believed Griffon wanted nothing to do with her at all and his continued presence throughout the first half was him merely being 'nice'. I'm not sure why she had so little self-confidence, or why she clung to that belief so hard for so long.
For his part Griffon's early reluctance is given context later in the book, though it doesn't excuse all of the bad behavior. Griffon did show a maturity that male heroes in YA seem to lack lately; he has some valid points about the difficulty in having a relationship with someone when he can remember all the other relationships he's had. He isn't going into a high school romance as a 17 year old guy--not really. He's going into it with the knowledge of having grandkids, watching spouses die, of living that same moment dozens of times.
That's just not fair to a person who is experiencing everything for the first time (at least as far as they're concerned its the first time).
There's a few red herrings along the way about how Griffon and Cole are connected, as well as Cole and the person hunting Cole for a past transgression she can't remember fully. And I'm not particularly pleased with the very last revelation involving a separate past life of Cole's and the present. For me I was happy with the resolution to Cole and Griffon's feelings, I don't need this to be a series.
I don't need to read another book or two or three about Cole's jumbled feelings and uncertainty. Trust me she did that enough this time around. But that's just me. I recommend this book with the caveat that the ending really isn't an ending and to be prepared for this to not be a stand alone.… (more)