An amazingly addictive read, the creativity of the author is the core of this novel. It focuses on a boy named Reuben living in a bleak urban city, where an evil force led by a man referred to as “the smoke” has the authority, overpowering even law enforcement. However, Reuben discovers an antique watch with a secret property allowing its user to turn invisible. With the assistance of the watch and the friends he gains along his adventure, Reuben fights the smoke in an attempt to drive the dark force away. You’ll need to read the book to find out if he succeeds. I enjoyed this book mainly because of the author’s smooth usage of the concept of invisibility, which was an interesting topic to read about. Even when the novelty of the concept wore off, I found the character developments interesting, and the novel was so packed with action I was hardly ever distracted. I would recommend this book as it is truly worth experiencing the author’s depiction of invisibility.
Age rating: 9 and up for reading level

I enjoyed this kids book. The characters are amazing. Rueben has to try to save the city from "the Smoke" who controls the city. He finds a mysterious watch that the Smoke wants very badly. As he learns how to use it he meets new challenges. His friends are by his side helping him all the way.

I would rate this four out of five stars. This is an amazing mystery-style book for tweens in which a kid named Reuben finds an old-fashioned clock watch with mysterious properties. This was one of my favourite books as a kid. The writing style is amazing and a big influence on how I write to this day, and the characters are very compelling, especially in how they react to the world around them. The dystopian city of New Umbra is the perfect canvas on which the story of Reuben and his magical clock watch can play out. I would recommend this to anyone who likes Trenton Lee Stewart’s other work such as The Mysterious Benedict Society, as well as basically anything with mystery and low-fantasy elements.
@red_sky_in_the_morning of the Teen Review Board at the Hamilton Public Library

This is a great mystery-like novel that kids from 8-teens would like. The book takes place ina dystopian like city, where the main character(s) ;) have to accomplish some sort of mission regarding something the main character(s) found.

All in all, this was a great book to read, and took maybe 3/4 days to finish, reading it on and off.

Well done Trenton Lee Stewart! You should check out his other books as well, the description and stories are quite vivid.

WARNING: big plot twist ahead!

If you like The Mysterious Benedict Society, you will love The Secret Keepers.
Reuben, who was on an adventure as always, finds a beautiful watch. He pays a visit to Mrs. Genevieve, a watch maker, and figures out that the wearer can turn invisible for 15 minutes!! Reuben is totally excited. But will he be fine when he is getting followed by "The Smoke", who wants that watch to have eternal youth?
I recommend it to fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society.

The Secret Keepers by Trenton Lee Stewart was an AMAZING book! There were some slow parts in the very beginning, but by the middle, it was hard for me to put down! I would recommend it to any tweens and teens (between the ages of 11 and 14) that enjoy fiction.

Great read!

I normally don't like books that aren't realistic, but this was an exception! Being a fan of the Mysterious Benedict Society books, i decided to give this one a try and I wasn't disappointed!

this is an awesome book!

Long but exciting children’s novel by the popular author of *The Mysterious Benedict Society* and its sequels.

12-year-old Reuben Pedley lives in an odd city run by a mysterious villain known as “The Smoke”, his front man, “the Counselor”, and his henchmen, “The Directions,” who run a protection racket against the merchants in town. Reuben’s father is deceased and Reuben lives with his mother who works two jobs. In the summer Reuben is left to his own devices, so he learns resourcefulness as he explores his part of the city.

One day he finds a mysterious antique watch hidden in a hard-to-see place. He thinks that selling this might be a key to helping his mother get out of poverty. Eventually he discovers that The Smoke has been looking for this watch for years and will stop at nothing to get it. After some careful and patient fiddling with the watch, Reuben discovers that it has the power of making the watch holder *invisible* for 15 minutes at a time. It also makes the watch holder effectively *blind* for that time; but a smart person can learn to cope with that.

The book is 500 pages long, which is pretty long for most for 12-year olds. There is a bit of a slow spot in the middle of the story but then the second half is full speed ahead. It’s a clever book with many surprises and Reuben is a fully developed character, with believable skills and failings.