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    Secret Identity: Book One in the Identity Mystery Trilogy
    Secret Identity: Book One in the Identity Mystery Trilogy
    Secret Identity: Book One in the Identity Mystery Trilogy
    Ebook128 pages1 hour

    Secret Identity: Book One in the Identity Mystery Trilogy

    By Carolyn Keene

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Everyone knows about the online group BetterLife. But what starts out as a fun virtual reality site turns into a living nightmare for Bess's twelve-year-old sister and her friends when one of them becomes a target of cyberbullying!

    I create my own BetterLife profile to investigate how the program works and find out who could be targeting the girl and why. But nothing online is what it seems -- everyone is hiding behind their virtual identities. It's almost impossible to track down who is behind anything!

    Is this a simple case of middle school girls being mean to each other, or could it be something scarier? It's up to my friends and me to do some cyberdigging and unmask the secret identities of the BetterLife bullies!
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAladdin
    Release dateDec 16, 2008
    ISBN9781439153284
    Secret Identity: Book One in the Identity Mystery Trilogy
    Author

    Carolyn Keene

    Carolyn Keene is the author of the ever-popular Nancy Drew books.

    Read more from Carolyn Keene

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    • 5/5
      I have no words! Carolyne Keene did it this time !!???????? the end is lik super awesome an suspend ill I got the whole trilogy right AWAY and u do TOO!!!!!! Boys ull lik this too!
    • 5/5
      this is totally awesome

    Book preview

    Secret Identity - Carolyn Keene

    A Case of Cyberbullying Becomes a Little Too Real.

    Shannon seemed terribly keyed up, like she’d just drank three espressos. Well, actually, she said, clicking onto her Internet browser to launch it, this all has to do with BetterLife. My avatar, Sassygirl48…

    I sighed. But Maggie said you were having problems at school?

    Shannon closed her eyes and nodded. That started just a couple days ago. People whispering when I walked into the room, throwing spitballs at me, mean little things. I found out that afternoon that someone posted footage of Sassygirl48 being bullied on uVid.

    I’d dealt with plenty of bullies in my life, but they were always easy to confront. It’s hard to yell an insult at someone, or throw something at her, and remain anonymous. On the Internet, though, everyone is anonymous. Which makes it incredibly easy to hurt someone’s feelings with no repercussions.

    I patted her shoulder. All right, I said. "You have my word that I’m going to find the person who started this and make sure it ends. Nobody deserves to be treated like this. Nancy Drew is on the case."

    NANCY DREW GIRL DETECTIVE®

    #1 Without a Trace

    #2 A Race Against Time

    #3 False Notes

    #4 High Risk

    #5 Lights, Camera…

    #6 Action!

    #7 The Stolen Relic

    #8 The Scarlet Macaw Scandal

    #9 Secret of the Spa

    #10 Uncivil Acts

    #11 Riverboat Ruse

    #12 Stop the Clock

    #13 Trade Wind Danger

    #14 Bad Times, Big Crimes

    #15 Framed

    #16 Dangerous Plays

    #17 En Garde

    #18 Pit of Vipers

    #19 The Orchid Thief

    #20 Getting Burned

    #21 Close Encounters

    #22 Dressed to Steal

    #23 Troubled Waters

    #24 Murder on the Set

    #25 Trails of Treachery

    #26 Fishing for Clues

    #27 Intruder

    #28 Mardi Gras Masquerade

    #29 The Stolen Bones

    #30 Pageant Perfect Crime

    #31 Perfect Cover

    #32 The Perfect Escape

    Available from Aladdin Paperbacks

    This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

    ALADDIN

    An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

    1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

    Copyright © 2008 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

    All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. , and related logo are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

    NANCY DREW, NANCY DREW: GIRL DETECTIVE, ALADDIN, and related logo are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

    Library of Congress Control Number 2008920582

    ISBN-13: 978-1-4391-5328-4

    ISBN-10: 1-4391-5328-0

    Visit us on the World Wide Web:

    http://www.SimonSays.com

    Contents

    Prologue

    1 Home Sweet Mystery

    2 Cybervictim

    3 Virtual Lives

    4 Cybersleuthing

    5 Friend to Enemy?

    6 Making Enemies

    7 Virtually Rejected

    8 Bullies and Victims

    9 Confessions

    10 Secret Crushes

    11 Parties and Lies

    12 Real-Life Answers

    13 One Last Log-on…

    SECRET IDENTITY

    PROLOGUE

    Thank goodness her friend picked up the phone on the first ring. Hey there.

    She felt like she might explode from excitement. Oh…my…gosh. You will not believe what is happening to me right now.

    Her friend sounded wary. What?

    Well, I’ve been playing BetterLife ever since I got home.

    Duh. That’s practically all you do these days.

    She couldn’t help smiling. That wasn’t far from the truth. But the virtual-reality site had become the place to be over the last couple months; she probably socialized more online than she did in real life. Stop. So Sassy Girl Forty-eight is at the mall, and guess who started flirting with me there?

    Santa Claus.

    She sighed. No. Come on, be serious.

    There was a pause of a few seconds. I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?

    Jake! she squealed and paused, waiting for the news to sink in. Jake. Jake Seltzer! Isn’t that amazing?

    There was another pause. But he’d have a different username and look, right? I mean, it’s a game, not real life. How did you know it was him?

    She sighed again. Dude, his character in the game looks just like him. He has the blue streak in his hair, and the nose ring. His name is Guitar Lover Fifteen, and you know how Jake likes music. It has to be him!

    Wow. Her friend seemed to mull over this information for a few seconds. The guy you have a crush on is flirting with you online? Do you think he knows who you really are?

    I think he does. He’s said a few things about seeing me in real life, or wanting to flirt with me in real life but being too shy. She smiled to herself. Her heart was beating double-time; that’s how excited Jake made her. On-screen, his character was smiling at her adoringly. Other virtual characters walked through the mall all around them, but it was like they were the only two people in the world.

    Suddenly there was a loud beep, and she glanced at the dialogue box, where a new message from GuitarLvr15 to Sassygirl48 had appeared.

    I LIKE UR BLOND HAIR. U R SO PRETTY, U MUST HAVE GUYS FALLING ALL OVER U.

    She squealed. Oh gosh! You won’t believe what he just said. She read the message off to her friend, smiling bigger with each word.

    Wow! Is he talking about you or your avatar?

    She turned to the screen. Her avatar, which she’d spent a week designing, looked as much like her as she’d been able to get: long blond hair, brown eyes, petite. She wore the trendiest clothes she could find; when the outfits available on the site looked too boring, she’d designed her own. All in all, the character was her virtual mini-me. But still…I think he’s talking about me. He knows who I am, and he’s trying to flirt! We’re totally meant to be!

    Her friend let out a breath. This is almost too good to be true! You should write back, ‘You’re the only guy I care about.’

    The girl giggled, shaking her head. Ha! I should, really. Do you think?

    Totally. I’m being serious.

    She gulped. Clicking on the dialogue box, she typed:

    U R THE ONLY BOY I CARE ABOUT.

    She paused, her mouse hovering over the Send button. Was it time to let Jake know about her crush? She’d hesitated all this time because she didn’t want to get hurt. But now it seemed clearer than clear that Jake liked her just as much as she liked him.

    Quickly, before she could think better of it, she clicked back into the box and added:

    IT’S BEEN THAT WAY FOR A LONG TIME.

    She clicked send. Omigod. You won’t believe what I just sent. She read the message back to her friend.

    ‘Omigosh’ is right! Well, now he’ll know you like him.

    She gulped. Really like him. But does he like me?

    Beep. She felt her stomach clench as she turned back to the computer for his answer. A new comment had appeared in the dialogue box. She almost felt too nervous to read it, but it drew her eyes like a magnet.

    I CARE ABOUT U 2. I’VE JUST BEEN 2 SHY TO TELL U IN REAL LIFE.

    She gasped.

    What’s up?

    He wrote back. She read his message to her friend, feeling like she might float away. Was this really happening? The guy of her dreams, liking her too?

    Beep. Another comment popped up on her screen.

    MAYBE WE SHOULD GET TOGETHER IN REAL LIFE SOMETIME.

    Oh wow. She thought her heart might beat out of her chest. He just wrote more! He wants to get together sometime. In real life.

    Gosh. Her friend didn’t sound as excited as she was, but that was to be expected. That’s great, Shannon. I mean, that’s really exciting! Are you going to meet him?

    Duh. She smiled. Dozens of girls would jump at the chance to date Jake Seltzer, she thought as she clicked in the dialogue box to respond. Well, now they’ll all be jealous of me.

    Jake’s avatar was still smiling at her, waiting for a response. She made her character nod as she quickly typed, THAT SOUNDS GREAT. JUST TELL ME WHERE AND WHEN….

    GuitarLvr15’s smile widened. Even in the game, his eyes were bright blue, and they seemed to twinkle extragorgeously as he took Sassygirl48’s hand and squeezed it. Her computer beeped again and another message came through.

    I KNOW WHO U ARE. I’LL E-MAIL U. WE CAN MAKE PLANS THEN.

    Oh. She couldn’t help gasping to her friend, squeezing the phone to her ear. Oh, he’s going to e-mail me! This is so perfect….

    Her friend sounded rushed. "That’s great,

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