The Secret

By R.L. Stine

In the second novel of a terrifying trilogy, R.L. Stine takes you back in time, finally telling the awful truth of what happened to the cursed Fear family…and why their evil lives on. Simon Fier meets an old gypsy who tells him his family will all die in a terrible fire. Terrified, he changes the family name to Fear, but he can’t escape the curse.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon Pulse
• Release date: Oct 27, 2009
• ISBN: 9781442407411

R.L. Stine

R.L. Stine invented the teen horror genre with Fear Street, the bestselling teen horror series of all time. He also changed the face of children’s publishing with the mega-successful Goosebumps series, which went on to become a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. Guinness World Records cites Stine as the most prolific author of children’s horror fiction novels. He lives in New York City with his wife, Jane, and their dog, Lucky.

Book preview

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Reviews for The Secret

[nlpolak · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such a great book! Very timely, informative, and thought provoking. I can already see it shift my life around just in the time it took to read this!

[fufuakaspeechless_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Positive thinking does work. However, blaming people for the bad things that happen to them is disgusting.

[jcloke_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The author takes the reader on a journey through the advantages of positive thinking. Byrne introduces various people who have applied this techniques to different aspects of their life. This is both inspiring and interesting and could potentially be a life changer.

[crazy4reading · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Secret was recommended to me by a friend on Facebook because of something very difficult I am going through. He just kept going on how the book changed his life and that how what you are thinking and feeling is what will happen. I went into reading the book with skepticism. The basis of the book is the Secret to living a wonderful life and being able to receive everything you want and deserve. As I was reading the book I noticed how my emotions were influencing the things around me. I started to tune into my feelings and try to think positive thoughts. I noticed myself starting to feel better and getting happier as I read the book. I know that I will use this book as a reference when ever I feel negative feelings or thoughts. I am not going to try and persuade anyone that this book is the meaning to life. I will tell you that The Secret is a great book to help you find the real you and to discover the positive energy from with in you. So I would recommend reading The Secret for some great soul searching and healing.

[paulstuffy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book helped me changed my whole outlook. I am on a new path and happy. You have to read it and watch the DVD to really understand it.

[tom7gsgc · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Puh-lease!!!! The idea that we can control the outcome of Universal events by simply believing it is so is ridiculous. Especially since the writer clearly has no understanding of quantum physics and completely misuses the theories of the subject. Terrible book for which, thankfully, I never payed a cent and would never recommend to anyone. I would have preferred to give it a score of zero stars.

[fluffyblue_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Quite inspiring really. It's quite scary to think how what you think you can have and I suppose it's helped me question my negativity - what if what the book says IS true? What if everything I ask for I get - good or bad? Eeek.

[helenaharper_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The 'secret' that this book is about is the Law of Attraction (LOA) and, if you know nothing about the LOA, then this book is a good starting point. It explains what the LOA is (you get what you focus on) and then goes on to illustrate how you can apply this 'secret' to achieve what you truly want with regard to money, relationships, your health and the world. The LOA is based on the energy vibrations we are emitting (and these are determined by the types of thoughts we have). Gratitude is a powerful process for shifting our energy onto higher planes and bringing more of what we want into our lives and when we feel love, we are emitting the highest vibration of all. What I liked about the book are the summaries at the end of each chapter and the stories that are told to illustrate the points that are being made. One of the most astounding is the story about Morris Goodman, 'The Miracle Man'. He was completely paralyzed after he crashed his aeroplane and could only blink his eyes. The doctors said he would remain like that for the rest of his life, but nine months later he walked out of the hospital on his own two feet. These are inspiring stories, but there is more to the LOA than is covered in this book. However, it is a good introduction to the whole topic and, if you have an open mind, it will most definitely broaden your horizons about what is possible and achievable in life.

[selwyncluster09 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Rhonda has pooled a lot of ideas from others, some from earlier centuries.There are very clear practical ideas for incorporating a more positive approach to life and therefore benefiting from the law of attraction.

[annthatcher · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Secret... "You are God in a physical body" she writes "...and now you know The Secret". It is always good to have any positive energy...I feel. This book has helped many people to embrace what we should already Know. Many people may have missed out on "Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich". With same messages - the laws of attraction - your thoughts determine your destiny. I believe in the self believing, positive thinking, creative visualization, a Higher Power, universe, The Divine... GOD. I feel, with these beliefs they are my Truth "I found a Truth" and that works well for me.

[stevetempo_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very uplifting and inspirational in it's presentation and packaging, but this information is nothing new. The idea of using visualization, affirmations, good attitude, etc. to transform your life is a very old idea and a most popular strategy in many self-help books. None the less, I still enjoy revisiting these ideas and they have already impacted on my current life and outlook. I see the idea (or secret) as it was presented very useful on two levels. If you change your outlook to one of optimism and certainty, you will begin to see and act on opportunities (connected to your goals) that are all around you. People will also begin to respond to you in a more favorable mode as well. Some of the latest mind/brain research shows that much (or most) of the actions we take are below our conscious level (within our unconscious brain.) So through visualization and believing something we want already exists we set the direction of our unconscious mind. That mind then begins to take action (effortlessly) to bring reality into existence. What is not provable (or is a conjecture) in the book is the idea that the universe is personal and your thoughts are the key ingredient that affects (or attracts the changes in your life.) There is a bit of talk about quantum physics in the book and if you subscribe to the mulit-verse model of the quantum universe (our realities are forever splitting into alternate universes) then perhaps our consciousness flows to universes that favor the outcomes we believe are real. I took this book in via audio as I took my morning walks you might consider this mode.

[pghdragonman · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Psst! Wanna know a secret? The Secret is a money making scam based on a lot of information you’ve heard before . . . for free. “Keep a positive image and it will come to be. Imagine what you want, imagine you already have it and it will come to be. You attract what it is you really want.” There. That’s it. And I won’t even charge you for it, like Rhonda Byrne wants to.While I have no objection to self help books or trying to change anyone’s life for the better, I do object to the money making scam the author has turned this idea into. There’s a website for the book. Nothing new here. Want to watch the trailer for the movie? That’s free. Want to see the movie? Show her the money! Want to get positive reinforcement messages daily to your phone? Show her the money! If this message is so good and so important for everyone to know, why not take a page from your own playbook and share it with people for free!Redfield’s first Celestine Prophecy book at least had an entertaining story to help keep your interest. After Disc 1, I gave up on The Secret, despite the author’s vibrant voice and the endless endorsements. In the beginning, I thought this was going to be a mocumentry of the author finding some long lost manuscript that changed her life overnight. Even the name of one of the experts providing an endorsement, Bergman, conjured up images of Procter and Bergman, the core of the quintessential audio comedy team known as Firesign Theater, reinforcing my expectations of a mocumentry.You know, though, Rhonda Byrne is correct. I did not expect anything serious and I did not get anything serious. Excellent use of the audiobook medium and technical recording earns this recording a full star. I give it a zero for content.

[geertwissink_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rhonda Byme has a irritating way to write in short sentences with lots of exclamation marks (Now you The Secret you know!) but still, I was seduced by some of her (and others) ideas to make more of your own life. The main message is that you whatever you think about, you will attract. So control your thoughts, put them in the right direction and off you go! That's actually a good message. In the last years I've read a lot of works of spiritual leaders, followed some personal development course and talked with a body language expert and basically they have said the same things. Do the things you like, avoid to think about the things you dislike and live in the now. So that's it for this review, I'm going back to the now in the real life! :-)

[seph_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The five stars I give this book aren't for brilliant writing or ground-breaking research; they're for providing an intense spark of inspiration, hope and joy. I was fortunate enough to have wise parents who required I read the likes of Napoleon Hill, Og Mandino and Norman Vincent Peale as part of my early education. It's taken me a long time to pick up this new book because the title put me off. I guessed, from all I heard about it, that "The Secret" is simply the law of attraction, which is no secret at all. Even after I finally decided I should read "The Secret", just to make sure I wasn't missing anything, I found myself reading the first chapters thinking that it was just the same old stuff. The problem with "the same old stuff" though, is we tend to let it slip from our minds, so reminders and fresh perspectives on the most important things in life are always a good thing. Even if you are quite familiar with the law of attraction, this book is a lovely and joy-filled reminder that the course of your life really is all up to you. This isn't heavy reading, but it is happy reading, and happy is very important.

[kellyoliva_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a wonderful tool for anyone who wants to begin to learn about the law of attraction. It's easy to follow and shares many different people's experiences with the law of attraction. I recommend listening to the book on CDs.

[dianemb_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Nothing new here. Just in a different package. A bit too much of a sales job for me.

[aznstarlette · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

At the very basic level, this book did achieve one of its purposes for me, which was to inspire. I've always been a positive thinker, the eternal optimist, but this book also made me aware of something equally true for me: people do have a tendency to dwell on the negative and what they do NOT want in life - ie, I do NOT want debt; I do NOT want people to be disrespectful to me. I've never viewed this as negative thinking, but I suppose, in its own way, it is.That being said, this book is no masterpiece. Please save your hard-earned money on something more meaningful. By all means, read it, but borrow it from a friend, the library, or acquire it (legally!) without having to fork over money. The Secret is not so secret - think positively!! There, I've saved you the trouble. This book was written on an elementary school level, with plenty of short sentences, and !!!! unnecessary amounts of exclamation points. It was also quite repetitive, so much so that I eventually began skipping pages. I give it a fair rating because the book did connect with me on some level, though certainly nothing earth-shattering.

[griggit · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The emporer has no clothes.Yes it's true, positive thinking will bring positive results - I get this, but this book is just plain silly and maybe a little sick and twisted. At one point the author talks about asking the universe for a new Mercedes. Doesn't the universe or God have more worthy requests to fill?

[karenirelandphillips · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

A pig in a fur coat. Smarmy, to boot. A collection of quotations "explained" and summarized by the author. Honestly, any good book of quotations without commentary would give you better brain food.

[leena_duncan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I wish I could give this book a higher rating as it did have a good message, but the ideas here are a collection of those found elsewhere throughout history. The author isn't presenting something new and bold. I have read lots of religious, spiritual and new age books and already had heard of the 'secret' presented here. I know the book was extremely popular, but the fact that the secret really wasn't a secret makes me less inclined to give it a high mark.

[aeromaxtran-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Let there be abundance.
Oh it's already there.

[mark_oszoli · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing, Interesting, Engaging, and definitely Thought Provoking. I can see why so many have read this book. The principle behind the secret makes sense. One of our favorites at home.

[willow1972 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This is a guide for being a nicer sociopath. Rarely I have I seen such utter greed and desperation masked as 'spirituality'. This is a disgusting book that panders to the weak minded.

[jhedlund_7 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A little bit too focused on the material aspect of the Law of Attraction for my taste. I hope that most people picking up a book like this are looking to attract more than a new car and a good parking space. It would be a good introduction to the concept of the Law of Attraction for people without any previous exposure.

[bastet_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Everyone wants to bash this book, but it's been working for me. It's basically a screenplay of the movie, so don't expect any more than that.I find its message inspirational.

[quixotic2creator · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, other than there was alot of hype and buzz, and I must say it was a HUGE disappointment. Certainly the main principal/theme/philosophy being proposed is not a new one - it has existed for thousands of years, but the delivery stinks. The book is categorized as Mind-Body-Spirit but it comes across as campy and highly commercial. Although the book is easy to read as the ideas are presented in blocks and bites, there is little substance; it's a bit like someone telling a suicidal person to look on the bright side of life because the sun is shining. I think there are far better re/sources for this type of material.

[wyvernfriend · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Firstly, I've read this sort of idea before. Positive belief will make the world rosy and pleasant and cause the universe to give you stuff and negative belief causes you to attract negative stuff, and I do believe that a positive mental attitude is a good thing and that being negative isn't always a good thing.But, I'm sorry, this could lead you to believe that you're responsible for all your own woes, and spiral you into a deeper fug than you already were in. Although it is an interesting concept, it also reinforces the idea that it's not random chance or just plain bad luck that makes you have accidents but your own mental attitude. That weight issues aren't down to eating too much but by believing that you're fat.Yes, for some people it's a great book, for some people it will help, for some people it could cause great things to happen to them but for others it could increase their depression or add to their feelings of self-worth. The book is full of US motivational speakers and their positive ideas. Maybe some people would benefit from sometimes reading the quotes. I'm also sure that there are people out there that have found new hope and faith in the world from this book, but this is not the first of it's kind (it's one of the thinner of it's kind) and it won't be the last.

[ladyblossom · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

If you wish to change your life read this little book, it is very inspiring and positive.

[volvomom_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I totally went into reading this as a skeptic. I thought it was going to be another Oprah-esque book. The Secret does have wonderful things to say. I very much recommend it!

[kidrah_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I know the concept has great potential behind it (positive thinking), but the book is terribly written - it's just a collection of quotes without any explanation - it treats it's position as dogma. The whole book can be boiled down to three points: 1) think about your wants, not your "don't wants"; 2) assume and act like you already have what you want; 3) be open to receiving the changes that come. I'm going to try some of the other books that talk about this "Law of Attraction" - hopefully, they'll speak to me in a more intelligent way