Like Sana, Jamie finds community with other students of her background, but her relationship with race is vastly different than Sana’s. Likewise, Jamie’s experiences (and therefore Sana’s experiences with her) are colored by the fact that she’s Hispanic. The conflicts in the novel arise from these principals meshing poorly with Sana’s new world. She was raised on the dual principals of gaman (endure the unendurable with grace and dignity) and unselfishness (keep your head down and don’t demand individuality, which is a selfish, American construction).
Sana is a Japanese-American, and her experience is deeply affected by that. Identity is central to It’s Not Like It’s a Secret. This novel is a perfect example of how diversity enhances storytelling, because it would lose a lot-and might honestly be a little boring-if Sana and Jamie had been white and if Jamie had been a male love interest. The cover is absolutely adorable, but it makes the book look like quick, easy, cheesy story.
I mean, I did buy it, so I was expecting to like it… but it’s deceptively good. I’m actually surprised by how much I liked It’s Not Like It’s a Secret. As Sana navigates her new life, she is forced to continually assess her own identity as an Asian teenager, as a lesbian, as a daughter, and as a friend to determine when to keep a secret and when to be honest. There’s also Jamie, the beautiful cross-country star that Sana falls for. For the first time ever she has Asian friends who understand her in ways that her white peers never could. Parental-affair-awkwardness aside, California is good for Sana. When her family picks up and moves to California, she knows that it’s to be closer to her father’s mistress, but she doesn’t know how to handle it. Sana knows a secret: her father is having an affair. I’d never heard of either it or the author, but the cover is cute, the synopsis seemed promising, and it was on the “ Angie Thomas recommends” shelf at Barnes and Noble so I figured… why not? I read It’s Not Like It’s a Secret by Misa Sugiura on a whim.
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