The Secret Winners Club

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Author(s)

Donna Galanti

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

March 03, 2026

ISBN13

978-1736316290

ISBN10 or ASIN

1st Rule of The Secret Winners Club: Do whatever it takes.

Thirteen-year-old Sunny Whitlock has alopecia, an autoimmune condition that's made her lose her hair-and she's desperate to be seen as more than just the bald kid. But how? By setting an epic goal: win her school's junkbot club competition. Andif she's #1, then other kids will have to see beyond her disease ... and she'll finally fit in.

Sunny's immune-deficient best friends are also tired of looking different and achieving second place in their school competitions. With a bold plan, Sunny bands with them to create The Secret Winners Club, a club devised to win-at any cost-and push them outside their comfort zones.

They promise to trust no one else. It's all classified! And in total secrecy they aim to help one another become #1 before this middle school year is over. But as they start to succeed, they quickly discover that crossing the line and hurting others can make them even more visible and even more an outsider.

Editor review

1 review

Competing with the support of good friends.

January 05, 2026 (Updated: June 24, 2026)

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

In Brownsville, New York, we meet three students whose lives intersect even though they are very different and have varied interests. Sunny, who has alopecia, lives in a manufactured home park with her single father who runs a scrapyard, and is determined to win the school Junkbot competition. Her friend and neighbor Trev lives with his waitress mother, and his father who has left the family for a while but has returned. Both Trev and his father suffer from varying degrees of psoriasis. Their friend Vee is active on the swim team and has vitiligo. Trev, who is a big Frank Sinatra fan, wants to win a role in the school production of Grease so that he can hang out with his crush, Elliott, a big baseball star. The three friends put together a club to help them get motivated to make their dreams become reality. They make up a list of rules, challenge themselves to take risks, and call their group "The Secret Winners Club". They all need to consult someone who excels in their field to get advice to help them. Sunny talks to former Junkbot champion Chrissy, who works at the same diner as Trev's mother. Chrissy shares some of her expertise, but refuses to talk to Sunny after Sunny appears to be stealing her ideas. Trev talks to fellow dancer Jake, who agrees to help Trev practice for the audition. Vee looks up the record holder for her swim event. Ruby Janik set the record in 1963, when she was Vee's age, and agrees to talk to Vee, inviting her in for cocoa, and even agrees to coach her. Sunny has a partner in the competition, Jolie, who is very quiet. She lives in a nicer neighborhood adjacent to the shed where the club meets, and is caught eavesdropping on them. She tells them that she struggles with celiac disease, and would like to join their club. She is also a talented wood worker, although Sunny is reluctant to use her skills in constructing their Junkbot. The group meets regularly and celebrates their successes with the delicious (and gluten free) treats that Sunny's Dad makes. Trev wins a role in the play, and Jake admits that he has a crush on Trev, but Trev doesn't respond well. Trev also makes peace with a boy who has bullied him after Will, his understudy, admits that his father is in the Navy and never gets to see him perform. Sunny gets in trouble for copying someone else's design, and must finally rely on Jolie's help. Vee's swimming improves, and she breaks Ruby's record, although the victory isn't as sweet as she had hoped. Jolie has a fall in her workshop that imperils the Junkbot competition, and the mobile home park floods at a critical juncture. Will The Secret Winners Club be able to reach their goals despite the many setbacks they face?

Good Points

A note at the end of the book shares that the author deals with several autoimmune disorders, and felt it was important to represent these in her book. My cousin's son had alopecia, and there were few books that showed a tween dealing with that condition, although there is a more recent book, Wilson's Sparkle. There are good details about how Vee's vitiligo is commented on by mean girls on her swim team, how Sunny covers her head with scarves of her own design, and how Trev manages his psoriasis. This will allow readers to gain some empathy, but none of the children's conditions are the main point of the story. I'm a big fan of books where Kids Do Things, and the members of The Secret Winners Club are very invested in their various activities.

Jolie's storyline has a bit of a twist to it, which added another level of interest to the book. Something about the cover made me think that this would be a story about kids investigating mysteries. It wasn't, so I was glad that Jolie was at least a bit enigmatic!

This is a somewhat longer middle grade book with smaller print, but that's because there is so much going on! Not only is there a lot of detail about the production of Grease, as well as Trev's relationships, but characters like Ruby have complicated back stories that are sometimes quite surprising. There are also a lot of pop cultural references, including more information about Frank Sinatra than I have seen in a middle grade novel.

I loved that Sunny and her friends supported each other in working towards their goals. Fans of novels with well developed group dynamics like Konigsberg's The View From Saturday, Jahn's Rocky Road (Team Canteen #1), and Korman's Swindle series, will enjoy following the exploits of The Secret Winners Club.