Booktober – Can You Keep A Secret Review

So, I reviewed the movie but everyone knows that the book is better than the movie. ‘Can You Keep a Secret?’ by Sophie Kinsella is a perfect example of that. Considering I’ve already reviewed the movie and outlined the plot there, I’ll keep this review brief. The book offers so much more depth to the characters of Jack and Emma and we are reminded of all those wonderfully embarrassing things Emma told Jack on the plane as they become relevant which makes for better comedic timing.

Set in London instead of the US, the key plot points between the movie and book are the same but there are some things that a book can do much better than a movie like a disastrous first date that, if it had appeared in the movie, would have made male protagonist Jack look like a jerk. The book has more subtle ways of showing us that Jack genuinely does care about Emma which is why without a doubt I prefer the book.

We learn that Jack is, in fact, from the US and coming to London to assess the UK Branch of the Panther Company where Emma works. It’s only after meeting Emma properly (i.e not on the plane) and starting their relationship that he decides to suddenly change the location of meetings to London and the UK. He’s still as hesitant as ever to share his secrets but the Jack that we get to know in the book is more loveable and more human as well. He messes up the first date trying to make it exactly the way Emma thought she wanted it to be, which in his mind is her perfect date, but it leaves no room for her to make her own choices. So, to remedy this, he then asks for a second chance and brings her something she genuinely wanted from the restaurant they went to: the pink drink she’d been dying to try. Plus, we also learn how invasive his work life is on his personal life. We learn that Jack has flaws.

Like I said, I’m keeping this short since a majority of the plot was covered in the movie review; the book was published in 2003 so finding physical copies in your local bookstore may be tricky but you can of course find digital and physical copies online. Overall, the book is better than the movie in my opinion and well worth a read. It’s easier to relate to Emma, you understand her relationship with her room-mates better and how they tie into the story and you can see Emma’s growth as a character more clearly as well. There were scenes in the story that were skipped over entirely and Emma actually has a whole family that was skipped over in the movie that makes for a nice sub-plot in the novel. So if you like romantic novels or maybe you liked the movie, the book is well worth a read especially since it’s Booktober.