The Secret Place

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, bullying, and cursing.

“‘Get one thing straight,’ she said. ‘This is my show. Got problems taking orders from a woman?’”

As this scene demonstrates, Antoinette takes on an assertive persona to navigate her male-dominated field. Because she encounters prejudice and discrimination every day, she knows that she has to exude a presence that is just as tough as her that of her male colleagues, and she does not back down from conflict. Here, she establishes a firm boundary with Stephen in order to let him know that she will not tolerate insubordination from her second-in-command.

“Joanne has always been the kind of person who doesn’t have to hate you to be horrible to you.”

Joanne is one of the novel’s key antagonists. A student at St. Kilda’s, she is the unofficial ringleader of her fashion-focused clique, which is collectively known for smugness, superiority, and cruelty. Although the group is not always overtly hostile to Holly’s friends, there is a distinct antipathy between the groups. Joanne is also capable of being cruel to her friends, and in this scene, she manipulates Orla into asking out a boy who is obviously not interested in her and who viciously mocks her advances.

“Girls want to tell their secrets.”

This novel is in part an examination of the impact of secrets and lies on individuals and groups. The author’s nuanced engagement with secrecy can be seen in the narrative’s exploration of the seemingly contradictory idea that those who keep secrets also harbor a desperate need to reveal them.