Book Report: Little Secrets - Playing With Fire

Summary

Little Secrets - Playing with Fire by Emily Blake is about how little secrets can cost you big trouble. Alison Rose thought her life was pretty good except that her family doesn't get along with each other and that her parents pretty much doesn't acknowledge her. One day, however, there was a ring on the door bell and when she opened the door everything happened in a blur and changed her life dramatically.

Alison opened the door to FBI officers who arrested her rich, strong and stylish mom, Helen Rose, and accused her of embezzlement and tax fraud. With her complicated family background, the only person Alison could turn to is her cousin and best friend, Kelly Reeves.

Kelly was secretly overjoyed that Aunt Helen was arrested. She then convinced Alison’s boyfriend (Chad) that Alison is going to dump him and got him to be with her instead. At school, Alison was humiliated she found out that she was betrayed by both her best friend and boyfriend, along with all the gossip about her mother’s arrest. She ran into the bathroom where she came upon old best friend Zoey.

Zoey decided to play along with Alison, furtively planning to abandon her and let her hit the rock bottom when she became most vulnerable. Even Tom thought it was strange for Zoey to suddenly “forgive” Alison and be all friendly with her. He was also jealous that after years of having a crush on Kelly, Chad ends up with her just like that.

Still unsatisfied, Kelly caused malicious drama for Alison and Zoey. Alison wasn’t about to give Kelly the satisfaction of her breaking down so she focused on bouncing back. Eventually, Kelly found out that Zoey had (accidentally) burned her last school down. Kelly told Tom, who was so shocked by what sister had done that he blurted it out loudly to Zoey and they made a big scene in front of everyone.

With some guidance from her tutor Jeremy, Zoey decided to actually forgive Alison since she was probably just influenced by the totally nasty and evil Kelly. Anyhow, Alison was her only friend and they needed each other so they became best friends once again. Back at school, Kelly was furious that rumours and gossip about Alison and Zoey blew over too quickly.

Back at the Diamond estate, Alison and Kelly had a dinner reunion with Grandmother Diamond. That evening, while eavesdropping, Alison discovered a deep dark secret Aunt Christine and the rest of the family had kept quiet about. Then, Alison looked for her grandmother to ask her some questions. She spotted her disappearing into the pool house when suddenly an explosion boomed through the room and giant flames where spreading. The entire pool house was on fire! … (To be continued in the sequel)

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Character Descriptions

Alison Rose - the goody two shoes daughter of the infamous Helen Rose. She thought there were two things she could count on: her best friend and cousin, Kelly, and the fact that everyone else in her family would stop at nothing to destroy one another. However, after being deceived by her best friend, she doesn't know who she can trust.

Kelly Reeves - popular, spoiled and manipulative Kelly is Alison’s cousin and so called “best friend” since they were little kids. She thrived on scandal; watching it, living it, creating it. After the notorious arrest of Alison’s mother, she plans to take down her perfect cousin both at school and in the real world. Her first move is Chad.

Chad - he’s sweet and handsome, Alison’s perfect boyfriend. But lately he feels like his relationship with Alison is drifting apart. Also, seeing an opportunity to hook up with her cousin Kelly, not only will he be dating the hottest girl in the school but all the popularity and money that comes along with her is pretty overwhelming. Just as long as his secrets are safe between him and his best friend Tom, he has nothing to worry about.

Zoey Ramirez - Tough Zoey just returned to Silver Spring and is new at Stafford Academy after being expelled from her 5th boarding school due to a terrible incident. Now she’s back and seeking her long awaited revenge on Alison who betrayed her years ago at the worst possible moment. Will she be strong enough to do it?

Tom Ramirez – Smart and funny Tom is giving his weird and unpopular twin sister, Zoey, the cold shoulder after her return from boarding school. He’s also caught in between tempting a choice that will change his life. Will he stay loyal to his best friend or will he betray him for his girl?

Let the drama begin…

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Book Review

Little Secrets: Playing with Fire.
By Emily Blake
Review by Irene Lai

Fiction


Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be part of a family who owns half the town? Well that's the life of Alison Rose, all the fame and fortune. Yes, being her is pretty awesome but with all the good things, there’s also the bad side. Alison’s parents are always too busy for her, and her relatives only care about getting Grandma Diamond’s fortune. One moment, her life was pretty much alright but then her mother gets arrested, her best friend and cousin Kelly backstabs her and everything else turns another direction. Little Secrets – Playing with Fire is complete with a twist of lies, betrayals, drama, doubts, secrets, revenge, suspense and more drama.

This book was very enjoyable because it made me wonder about how Alison will deal with all her problems and what scheme Kelly is planning next. Alison is one of the reasons why I love this book because she makes me able to imagine the things she sees and feel the way she feels. “How could Kelly do this to her? Why was Kelly doing this to her? What had Alison ever done to Kelly? Alison’s despair turned quickly into rage. She wanted to scream.” It’s very commendable how she stayed strong even in her worst moments and she didn’t lose her pride when everyone at school was gossiping and spreading rumours about her. Emily Blake wrote this book with just the right amount of suspense, it’s a real page turner.

My favourite part of the story was when Alison discovered a huge secret regarding Kelly and Aunt Christine that she wasn’t supposed to know. That secret answered a few of my curiosities from the novel earlier on that had a connection to the secret. It’s also interesting that Alison knows something that even devious Kelly doesn’t, especially since the secret specifically affects Kelly.

If I were to change any part of this story, I would include more of Kelly’s perspective. This book is very stereo-typical, with the popular blonde girl being the mean girl and the “innocent” brunette girl being the one the mean girl’s trying to overthrow. I think it would add more intensity if this book is written in a way that it’s less obvious to decide whose side you should take, making the reader think more.

I rate Little Secrets: Playing With Fire 5 out of 5 stars and I recommend this novel to those readers who love watching television dramas. The story line is alike to “the O.C.” with all the juicy plot twists but is more suitable for a younger audience.