Deadly Little Secret (Touch, #1)By Laurie Faria Stolarz
Publisher: Hyperion Books, 2008
705 pages, e-book (iPod Touch)
Date Finished: 2/9/11
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Coming of Age, Some Mystery, Some Action, Realistic Fiction
Up until three months ago, everything in sixteen-year-old Camelia's life had been fairly ordinary: decent grades; an okay relationship with her parents; and a pretty cool part-time job at the art studio downtown. But when Ben, the mysterious new guy, starts junior year at her high school, Camelia's life becomes anything but ordinary.
Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend's accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia. She's reluctant to believe the rumors, even when her friends try to convince her otherwise. She's inexplicably drawn to Ben...and to his touch. But soon, Camelia is receiving eerie phone calls and strange packages with threatening notes. Ben insists she is in danger, and that he can help--but can he be trusted? She knows he's hiding something... but he's not the only one with a secret.
~from goodreads.com~
~First Line: "I could have died three months ago."
~Last Line: "But then he tells me goodbye anyway."
Leanne's Review: I was looking for books one day on me iPod and came across Deadly Little Games, the third book in the Touch series. I read a sample of it and bought Deadly Little Secret. I immensely enjoyed this novel. The concept is different than most of the books I have read lately. Like all books, some of the characters were likable, some you just wanted to slap, and others you just didn't know why their motives were. That brings me to Camie's stalker. That whole situation confused me to no end. They were VERY wishy-washy, but I'll admit, I was looking forward to their point of view the whole time :). I am definitely buying Deadly Little Lies and Games. Laurie Fairia Stolarz is an amazing writer, and I can't wait to read some more of her work.
Zakiya's Review: WOW. This book was super-ahmazing! Leanne (who I believe is mentioned at least once in about 3/4 of my post:D) recommended that I read this; she had it on her iPod, so why not?!
I'm really glad that I read this, though. The main character, Camelia, is just your average high-schooler, with average friends, and average problems -- except for the fact that she has a stalker. Enter Ben, the new kid, also a supposed murderer. He has a special gift, which, even when unknown, sets him apart from the in-crowd. Everyone thinks that Ben is the one stalking Camelia, but he isn't. He's trying to help save Camelia's life as much as he possibly can.
I have to say, this novel was pretty darn-tootin' good. LOL. I read through it pretty quickly (yes, I remember what I read); the characters' behaviors weren't cliche at all, which I enjoyed. I haven't read a book with a stalker befor e(that I can remember) so it was something new to read about.
There was a little action near the end, and, as always. we had a little romance. Ben doesn something terribly heartbreaking, for Camelia if no one else, at the end of the book. Everything that happened in this book was somewhat different than others, unquestionably. Camelia's best friends, Kimmie and Wes, were ones that I liked. Kimmie was always trying to be a good friend and listen, but gets fed up at the end with Camelia always standing up for Ben -- a guy that she's not even sure she can trust -- and not even take the time to ask about on-going problems in her friends' lives.
But anyway, everything is really awesome at the end. I'm glad that there is a second and third -- and soon to be fourth -- novel after this one. If you haven't indulged yourself in this bovel, you gotta get it sometime! :P
