너만 모르는 진실

The story starts out with the suicide of high school student 제갈윤. After her death, four of her friends each mysteriously receive a letter from 제갈윤 with details about their wrongdoings. The letters are shared with the rest of the school. This prompts homeroom teacher 나현진 to investigate the relationship between the students and the events leading up to 제갈윤’s suicide.

I thought it would just be a simple novel, but it ended up being a really thought-provoking piece about of guilt and fault. To what degree are we responsible when we do something that unintentionally ends with negative consequences for others? The author used 제갈윤’s suicide and her friends’ actions before her death to ask this interesting question. I really appreciate the book more once I understood its intended message.

Except for 제갈윤 (who is mentioned only in memories), the characters in this book are very multi-dimensional. I find myself rooting for all of them despite—or because of—their faults.

In terms of difficulty, this book is one of the more challenging books I’ve read so far. I had to look up quite a bit of words, but luckily they would repeat often so I ended up acquiring them easily. It takes place in a Catholic school, so I learned some new words related to school and Catholicism. It is a full YA novel so I’d recommend this book for learners who can read at an upper intermediate level.