Deadly Little Secret

The following synopsis of Deadly Little Secret by Laurie Faria Stolarz is from her website's page for the book.

Some secrets shouldn't be kept...

Until three months ago, everything about 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 an art studio downtown. But when Ben, the mysterious new guy, starts junior year at her high school, Camelia's life becomes far from 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 he's trouble, even when her friends try to convince her otherwise. Instead 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.

My Thoughts:

The Cover:

I think this cover is very attention getting and intriguing. The cover is what first attracted me to this book, then the title, I mean, seriously. Deadly Little Secret? That's an awesome name! The next thing was that it says "A Touch Novel" which means only one thing...sequels! And I love books in series. And finally, I read the inside flap and did further digging online and discovered that, yes, this book IS something I want to read.

So, whoever said, "Don't judge a book by its cover" was sort of wrong, if only because the cover is extremely important. It's what GETS the readers' attention at first and often can tell you a bit about the story, whether it's about the plot, the characters, or just the genre.

The Book:

The opening line, "I could have died three months ago.", is an awesome way to start a book. I find that starting a book like that makes the reader want to find out why, how, when, etc. and now, because you're interested, the author has you, and now you can't go back. That's how this book was for me. I simply had to know what she, the character Camelia, experienced; what happened three months, why and how she's still alive, what's going on now and of course as soon as I found out the answer to those burning questions, I was intrigued. I wanted to know more about the mysterious boy and what his deal was.

This story was gripping and suspenseful and while I read I was almost completely unaware of anything around me; I was fully immersed. I was even a little freaked out later on while I wasn't reading.

The entire plot was very well done, the story never revealing too much, or if you're like me (and trying to figure out the sender of the notes and gifts from what was there) enough information. I was trying to figure it out and I went back and forth, and I never really could decide and think, "Yeah, that's who I think it is" She had me trusting no one, suspecting everyone.

I would suggest this to anyone who likes to read paranormal, YA books with a bit of mystery, suspense, romance, and maybe even a little horror.