View source for The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen

{{infobox1
|title=The Secret of Ella and Micha
|sort=Secret of Ella and Micha, The
|author=Jessica Sorensen
|reviewer=Zoe Morris
|genre=Teens
|rating=3.5
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Maybe
|isbn=978-0751552287
|pages=320
|publisher=Sphere
|date=April 2013
|summary=Best friends have a secret past that binds them, but can they ever move past it to become more than friends, and do they both want to? A simple, easy read that sadly is a bit average.
|cover=0751552283
|aznuk=0751552283
|aznus=B00B86ZQ7M
}}
Ella and Micha haven’t seen each other for months, quite unusual for a couple who have been best friends forever. Ella’s been away at college, in Vegas, but Micha didn’t know this as she upped and left without so much as a wave goodbye, so he’s been trying to track her down. But, just as he does so, she shows up back home anyway as it’s summer break and she’s back at her dad’s, the house she grew up in, the house next door to Micha. 

I found this quite an odd book because nothing really happens. Both of them are back home. The summer passes. Lots of unsubtle references are made to ''a Secret'' and ''what happened on the bridge'' before Ella skipped town. But nothing happens. We eventually find out what happened on the bridge, but it’s hardly earth shattering. The sexual tension bubbles away, but a story needs more that a bit of ''will they or won’t they'' to keep it going.

It’s a shame, because I was all set to love this book.  The writing is sweet, and simple. The narrative, changing as it does from Ella to Micha and back again, has nice overlaps to show you both points of view, different perspectives on the same thing. There are some unusual angles. Ella’s transformation to the girl she is in Vegas and back again is unexpected and made me wish we could have joined the story a little earlier in the semester to see how she managed to pull off being someone so different from who she really is. The cars and the racing also stood out as something I’d not expected.

Besides the lack of real story, though, I wasn’t a massive fan of the main characters. Ella is a bit annoying and confusing – if she was that set on leaving her past behind, why did she come back for summer break, especially having applied for an internship that would have kept her in Vegas?  Lila seemed a much more interesting girl who clearly had issues of her own – why else would you volunteer to drive your room-mate cross country rather than go back to your own parents’ house? – but this being the story of Ella and Micha we didn’t get much chance to learn about these, though a book focussing on her and on Ethan is planned.  Micha seemed selfish and unpleasant, and I’m not sure why Ella was drawn to the person he became while she was away.

This is a book full of teenage angst and drama, like ''Dawson’s Creek'' but without the stunning scenery and long words. It’s supposed to be a hot love story, but even though they’re both college age by this point, very little happens and when it does the scenes aren’t at all explicit. Compared to the likes of Judy Blume’s ''Forever'' which I read at a younger age than the audience this is aimed at, this is strictly PG.

Ultimately, this is an inoffensive book that simply doesn’t go anywhere. I was waiting for the story to start, but having now finished it, I’m still waiting. The book started well and I thought the story would take off but it fizzled instead with the same scenarios cropping up and again in only mildly different formats as the pages flicked by.

Thanks go to the publishers for supplying this book.

For a teen read that really sizzles, we would recommend [[Good Girls by Laura Ruby]] while [[I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (Gallagher Girls) by Ally Carter]] and [[The Kissing Club by Julia Clarke]] are tamer.

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