Can You Keep A Secret?

Can You Keep A Secret? is the fourth book in the Rockett's World series. It was written by Lauren Day.

Back Cover Synopsis

 * Welcome to Whistling Pines Junior High School, where new girl Rockett Movado's figuring out who's who and what's what. She has to make some big decisions. Like who might be a friend for life and who's a full-time phony? And is it safe to trust everything she hears? Rockett's choices really count. She's learning who she is and where she fits in -- and any move she makes could change everything.
 * Miko's been acting strange lately. She's avoiding her best friends and spending a lot of time with a certain popular boy. Only Rockett knows what's going on. And even Rockett doesn't know the whole story.

Summary
Miko has been skipping extra credit work to watch school sports, spacing on giving the correct answer in class, and spending lunch in the library. Nakili and Dana think something is seriously wrong with Miko and ask for Rockett's help in reaching their increasingly distant friend. The three girls agree on throwing a surprise party for her to celebrate Miko's latest chess championship and haiku poetry contest victory.

Rockett eats lunch with the CSGs later that day and an egg gets thrown across the cafeteria, landing and cracking on Dana's head. Her screams summon the teachers. Miko and Rockett were in the ideal spot to see who threw the egg so the two are brought to the principal's office to name the offender. At the same time, both of them say it was Ruben Rosales. However, Ruben assumes Rockett would never tattle on him and he puts the blame of his punishment solely on Miko, and Rockett lets him think that's what happened.

Rockett later sees Miko hanging out with big man on campus Cleve Goodstaff and wonders why the two are together. It turns out that the principal asked Miko to privately tutor Cleve. Despite their initial bad assumptions about each other, Cleve and Miko grow to be good friends during the tutoring. Cleve’s charisma draws out Miko’s daring side, and she starts making more adventurous choices in fashion and makeup. Miko is annoyed that her friends think something must be wrong just because she’s dressing up and spending less time with them. She's so depressed by being labeled as a brainiac that she intentionally flunks her next big test, but it only makes her feel worse.

When Rockett successfully gets Miko to the surprise party that celebrates her latest academic accomplishments, Miko starts crying; the party is just reinforcing that everyone only expects her to be smart. She wants to be seen as something other than a brainiac who always does the responsible thing. Rockett points out to Miko that she has friends who care about her so much that they threw a party in her honor - why should Miko care what everyone else thinks about her? She can grow into her own person without growing apart from the CSGs. Rockett also confesses to Miko about letting Ruben think she was the only one who gave him up to the principal, and Miko understands her reasons and forgives her. Miko rejoins the party and has a great time with everyone in the eighth grade in attendance.