The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

****The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting****

Originality- 19/20

Characters- 18/20

Remembrance- 7/10

Quote-ability- 7/10

Entertainment- 18/20

Ending- 8/10

Recommend to read- 8/10
TOTAL- 85/100

Grade- B

Release Date- March 1st, 2010

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes that the dead leave behind in the world... and the imprints that attach to their killers. Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find the dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him. Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer... and becoming his prey herself.

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This novel was a truely gripping read. We got so many false fears. Whenever I thought something bad was going to happen it rarely did. My hears would start to beat so fast and then everything would be okay. Finally when you least expect it danger would come out of nowhere.

The plot of the book was very original. It was nice to read about someone who has come to terms with their "gift" and wasn't fighting against it. Violet grew up being able to sense the dead, and was okay with it. Usually while reading a book like this I have to hear about all of the bad things about their ablilty but Violet had few which was refreshing.

Sometimes I got mad at her impulses, but I got even more frustrated when Jay got mad at her. We got to understand that when she felt those urges she could barely control her actions. She was drawn to the senses around her. The ending almost brought me to tears.

Overall I would have to say that The Body Finder was an exciting read that had you jumping at the slightest inclination of danger. Derting did a wonderful job of broadening the fantasy genre.

-Amanda