Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2008 (Vol. 76, No. 22))
The prolific Stolarz (Blue is for Nightmares, 2003, etc.) here launches the new Touch series. Three months ago a handsome boy saved Camelia's life; now he's enrolled at her school, followed by rumors that he killed his girlfriend. As if that's not excitement enough, Camelia seems to have attracted a secret admirer, and her lively first-person narrative is interrupted by passages from the perspective of this prospective suitor. Is it new boy Ben? Jock John? Ex-boyfriend Matt? Or even Camelia's young boss at the pottery studio and shop? Whoever he is, he's determined to win Camelia at any cost, and the tension ratchets up until the action-packed ending. Meanwhile, Ben reveals his ability to sense the future through touch, a power he only partially controls and which failed to save his ex. Camelia can't help being drawn to Ben even when he warns her to stay away. CW-worthy dialogue, quirky secondary characters, romance and suspense: a winning combination. 2008, Hyperion, 256p, $15.99. Category: Paranormal romance. Ages 13 up. © 2008 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Aimee Cole (KLIATT Review, November 2008 (Vol. 42, No. 6))
It all begins with a near-death accident. A mysterious boy saves Camelia from an out-of-control car in the school parking lot, and then speeds off on his motorcycle before she can thank him. She is left wondering who he is. Her friends think she’s overreacting, or that she needs a boyfriend, or that she should forget him. But when Ben Carter starts school in the fall, she’s interested in him. Best friend Kimmie may think that she should go back to her ex-boyfriend and good friend Matt, but Camelia can’t shake the feeling that Ben is special, even if he was with his girlfriend the night she died. Scattered throughout the story are what seem to be journal entries of a boy watching Camelia. He’s obviously fallen for her, but he’s lying low. He is willing to do whatever it takes to get Camelia to notice him and keep her away from everyone else. From Camelia’s point of view, life is increasingly more disturbing. Someone is leaving her gifts, calling her on the phone, pounding on her door, and breaking into her room. Camelia needs to know who to trust before it is too late. This is an engaging, eerie tale about the darker side of relationships--when it becomes a matter of life and death to know who your friends are. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: JS--Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2008, Hyperion, 288p., $15.99. Ages 12 to 18.

Sarah Applegate (Library Media Connection, August 2009)
Sixteen-year-old Camelia is saved from an oncoming car by Ben, the mysterious new boy at school, who was supposedly accused of killing his last girlfriend. But, she doesn’t believe it. When she starts to receive scary packages, her friends are sure Ben is the stalker. She learns that Ben can sense what is going to happen and that she is in danger. This leads up to Ben saving Camelia after she is kidnapped. This book will definitely please fans of the Twilight series, though it is nowhere as rich and authentically written. Some of the scenes will seem corny to teens, and some of the teenage banter is out of date, but the suspense will keep them reading. Additional Selection. 2009, Hyperion Books for Children/Disney Publishing Worldwide, 256pp., $15.99 hc.

Karen Coats (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, December 2008 (Vol. 62, No. 4))
Up until now, Camelia’s problems have been small, just the weirdness of her health food–obsessed, yoga-instructor mother and the taunts of her boy-crazy best friend, Kimmie, who thinks Camelia should get back with her ex, Matt. Then a new boy, dark and mysterious, enters her world, followed by the rumor that he killed his former girlfriend. Camelia is irresistibly drawn to Ben, but he is forcefully resistant to her, explaining later that when he touches her he senses that she is in great danger. Meanwhile, she’s getting messages and gifts from someone who obviously has an unhealthy obsession with her; interpolated chapters in a disheveled font reveal a stalker who at first appears innocently infatuated but soon becomes paranoid, jealous, and out of control in his desire to possess Camelia. Stalker fantasies rarely fail to titillate, and this one adds the lure of psychometry to the dark-wish-fulfillment-from-the-safety-of-one’s-armchair mix. The development of Camelia’s relationship with Ben is closely—really closely, in fact—reminiscent of Bella and Edward in Meyer’s Twilight (BCCB 12/05), so there’s guaranteed uptake with readers from that angle, and the concomitant development of the stalker plot plays out all the self-conscious earmarks of the horror film: don’t tell parents or the authorities, answer the phone when you’re alone in the house, puzzle over who’s left both the window and the screen open in your room, still don’t tell the parents, never suspect the nice boy, redeem the bad boy through a daring rescue, etc. It’s a formula as old as classic Coke, but it’s one that works, so why not? Review Code: Ad -- Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2008, Hyperion, 288p.; Reviewed from galleys, $15.99. Grades 7-10.