MY SECRET ADMIRER by Carol Ellis

PUBLISHER: Scholastic, 11/1989
GENRE: Young Adult Fiction/Horror
SETTING: Somewhere in the USA
SERIES: Point Horror
PURCHASE: link
MY GRADE: B

FROM PUBLISHER: Jenny is new in town. Her parents go away, leaving her all alone in an isolated house. The mountains surrounding the town loom ominously, guarding the secret of what really happened the day of Diana Benson's accident. Then the phone calls start...

Jenny has a secret admirer, who courts her with sweet messages and flowers. But she also has an enemy, who chases her on a lonely road. Does she know too much about the 'accident' on the cliffs? And is there anyone she can trust?

Jenny has no one to turn to. Except her secret admirer... But who is he?

MY THOUGHTS: This was pretty darn good throughout but the ending stunk. Time span is about a week, maybe less. Jenny's a likable sixteen/seventeen year old soon-to-be junior in high school. The author made a point to tell us three different times that Jenny was wearing white shorts and once a white robe. White usually represents purity and innocence and you'll see that Jenny's none too bright either. She meets a group of kids her age shortly after moving to an unnamed town and state in August and makes friends with Sally. We didn't really get to know any of the other characters. And of course there was no backstory on anyone.

The actions of The Admirer were pretty sinister, especially where Jenny's dog Peaches was concerned. I find it a bit bizarre that Jenny was excited by The Admirer and didn't wonder how he happened to call and leave messages while she wasn't home or was away from the phone and couldn't hear it ring. It's not really understandable to me how she could be receiving both good and bad anonymous gifts at the same time and not realize they must be from the same person or even wonder about it.

Here's the first call Jenny got from her admirer. The message was left on her answering machine: "You're going to think I'm crazy, Jenny. And I guess I am. Crazy about you, that is. Don't laugh. This isn't a joke. You're really incredible. Maybe someday I'll be able to tell you face to face. Until then, I'll just keep my eye on you. And believe me, that's one spectacular view. Bye Jenny. For now."

The ending was not good. No one would have gone to that location to meet a total stranger yet Jenny did. No one really could have figured out where Jenny went and who she was with, period, yet someone did. We were left hanging with what happened legally with The Admirer.