More Than Just A Book: Deadly Little Secret

Deadly Little Secret (Touch #1) by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Release Date: December 23, 2008
Publisher: Hyperion Publishing
Source: Bought
Summary*:

Some secrets shouldn't be kept... 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 the best-selling author of Blue is for Nightmares comes a story of paranormal romance that's sure to be a thrilling and chilling teen favorite.

My thoughts:

To begin with, I cannot tell you how relieved I am to have read this book in the privacy of my own home with no people other than my family starting at me every time I laughed out loud, seriously. The dialogue was that funny. Of course, there was plenty of suspense and mystery, but the quirky dialogue between Camelia's friends ( Kimmie and Wes) is a good reason alone to have to read this book.

Comedy aside, this book also has enough creepy moments that you will immediately want to make sure your blinds/curtains are closed. Adding to said creepiness, are the various chapters written as a diary entries from the mysterious person that is stalking Camelia. That person is seriously mentally disturbed.

But the mystery took front stage throughout the novel. Everyone was a suspect, and I kept studying the diary entries and studying the characters to see if they fit the criteria. Of course, I came up with a possible culprit, and I was so sure I was right. But surprisingly I wasn't, and the turn of events just were very unexpected. Even though my conclusions were far from what really happened, the whole "investigator" thing was fun to do.

The characters, both main and secondary, really came to life the more I read on. Though sometimes Kimmie, Camelia's best friend, seemed kind of annoying and sort of mean, she made up for it by being a quirky and very animated character. Ben, the mystery boy, was such a sweetheart and even though he kinda looked like the bad guy sometimes, you really hoped he was good.

Sadly have to say though, from all the suspense that was being built up, I would have expected a better conflict at the end. When Camelia seems to have run into some serious trouble, she is out of trouble after about 11 pages. I mean really? That was sort of disappointing, while I really wanted Camelia to be safe, I was sort of hoping for more of a "WOW" factor, while all I got was a "meh" factor. That will affect my rating of the book in general, sine the conflict is such a big part of a book. Sorry for my vague wording, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone who will read it in the future.

I also noticed there was some Twilight-ism through the book. Meaning, that there was some Twilight-esque scenes going on. Like when Camelia is saved by Ben while a vehicle is rushing wildly towards her. Or how she gets Ben as a Lab Partner in a science class. Also, how he flinches away from her touch and seems to have a secret, and yet Camelia is attracted to him. Those are some things I noticed, but maybe I am just being paranoid. Still thought I should mention it, it didn't really affect the story so much as it took some originality away from it.

Yes, there was some things that could have been different in the story, but I really did enjoy the romantic tension between Camelia and Ben, the quirky dialogue between Kimmie and Wes, and how the author mixed the contemporary and mystery/thriller with some paranormal.

Rating: