Book 89 - The Body Finder

My 89th book was The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting. This book was a little creepier than the books I normally read. Every once and a while, I'll read a scary one and this was definitely one of them. This book is about Violet who, ever since she was little, could sense the bodies of dead things around her, and the predator that killed them. Anytime one is near, she gets a sense, such as a specific taste, smell, or sound. Each body is different. The strongest scents she gets are from human beings. When she was eight, she found the body of a little girl and ever since then, she has been protected by her parents, her aunt and uncle (the police chief), and her best friend, Jay (who Violet definitely wants to be more than friends with). While she is working out her newfound feelings for Jay, a serial killer is on the prowl. While water skiing in the lake, Violet (and Jay, as her passenger) accidentally stumble onto the first of this killer's victims. As subsequent bodies start showing up, Violet must figure out not only how to find this killer but how to stop him. Because, after a terrifying moment in the woods, it becomes clear that the killer intends for Violet to be his next victim. Will Violet and Jay be able to stop him? Or will the killer catch her before she can catch him?
Grade: A
SC: 5
V: 8
C: 3

Book 88 - The Boyfriend List

Book number 88 was The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart. This book is about Ruby Oliver, who has just been dumped by her boyfriend. Not only that, Ruby's boyfriend of six months, Jackson, has dumped her in favor of her best friend, Kim. Ruby's resulting panic attacks land her in the office of a shrink, Dr. Z. Part of her therapy involves writing a complete list of the boys with whom she's ever had a crush, kiss, relationship or "little any-kind-of-anything." As readers learn about each entry on the boyfriend list (including lots of authentic-sounding dialogue and asides, which appear in the book as footnotes to the list), they hear the Jackson drama and every painful, truthful detail about the clique land mines Ruby must maneuver when it comes to her former friends, to whom she's now a "leper."

Book 87 - Girl at Sea

My eighty-seventh book was Girl at Sea by Maureen Johnson. I read some of her other books (13 Little Blue Envelopes, The Last Little Blue Envelope, and Suite Scarlett) and I've loved all of them. This one was also pretty good. Clio plans on spending the summer in a quiet little art store, working with gorgeous fellow employee and potential future boyfriend Ollie. When her mother gets a grant for a new project, she's obviously happy for her. But when she finds out the job is in Kansas and she's not exactly invited, she suspects that something even worse is coming. And it does. Her mother informs her that she has to spend the summer in Italy. For most people, this would be a summer to dream about. For Clio, however, this summer also involves her crazy father. After she arrives, she meets her father's new girlfriend, Julia, her daughter, Elsa, her father's friend, Martin, and Julia's research assistant, Aiden. Clio soon realizes that they're not just going for a cruise. They're searching for something. And this something is a major secret. So secret they won't even tell her what it is. While Clio tries to figure out what they're hiding, she also has to figure out what to do about her dad, Aiden, her dad's new girlfriend, and how to get back home to Ollie before it's too late.
Grade: B+
SC = 3
V = 5
C = 2

Book 86 - Take Me There

My 86th book was Take Me There by Susane Colasanti. I've heard that her books are a lot like Sarah Dessen's and everyone knows how much I love those books. This book is about Rhiannon and her two best friends, Nicole and James. Through the book's two parts, the point of view switches from one to the other. The story starts with Rhiannon, who's boyfriend Steve has just dumped her, giving the much used excuse "it's not you, it's me...I just think we're in different places". Yeah...right. As she tries to get him back, she begins to realize that maybe it was her after all...maybe it's the fact that she's not the school's hot-yet-extremely-byotchy girl Gloria. Nicole sees what Steve has done to Rhiannon. She also sees what she did to her boyfriend, Danny, when she broke up with him. Even though it's clear that he still loves her, and that she still loves him, she can't get back together with him, for reasons she doesn't even know. After James' girlfriend Jessica dumps him because of Rhiannon, why most of his other girls dump him, he begins to wonder if there really is something between them. Although he has (deep down) always felt that way about her, he wonders if there is anyway she could feel the same way as him. Especially with the dirtbag Steve always hanging around. But what's a guy to do? As James and Danny help each other with their respective girl problems, Rhiannon and Nicole just try to live through the week without suffering too much of Gloria's wrath. As the school dance approaches, the guys try to work up their nerve to put their plan in action. But can Nicole get over her past before Danny gives up on her? And can Rhiannon finally see that there is something between her and James? Or will she never see the light?
Grade: A++
SC: 6
V: 3
C: 5

Book 85 - Get Well Soon

Book number 85 was Get Well Soon by Julie Halpern. I just happened to find this on Amazon.com for $3 and thought it looked good. Anna is depressed and is having panic attacks. So, instead of dealing with her themselves, her parents decide to take her shrink's advice and send her to a "mental health facility", AKA looney bin. At first not only is Anna humiliated to have to go through this but also horrified at the thought of spending her first three days in this place in a hallway. Things get a little better after she gets her own room, especially because she is now allowed to go to "Community", where patients tell other patients what they appreciate and like about them. While there, she meets fellow patient Justin. And, crazier than falling in love with him at first sight, she thinks he actually might feel the same way about her. Just as she's starting to actually like the place, her parent's insurance runs out and the doctor assures her that she's "cured". But what if she doesn't want to leave just yet? What if she finds out about Justin's feelings and wonders if it's too late?
Grade: A-
SC: 5
V: 4
C: 7

Book 84 - The Power of Six

My 84th book was The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore. This book picks up where I Am Number Four left off, with John, Sam, and Six running away from the police and trying to find the other members of the Garde from the planet of Lorien. As they're evading the police and trying to figure out how to open the chest left to John by Henri, Marina is in Spain. She is Number 7, living in an orphanage in a small town. Her protector, Adelina, has seemed to forget their purpose on Earth so, for a while, Marina has been on her own. She has developed Legacies but she has no idea how to use them. She starts to notice strange things around town, such as a man looking in the window, someone inside of her secret cave, and a strange man in the town's cafe. So, she, along with her new friend Ella, start looking for her chest, which Adelina hid when they arrived. But, as she starts finding out not only about herself but about John Smith in Ohio, she starts to wonder if she'll ever meet the others from her planet. But, maybe with Six's help, she'll be able to survive long enough to do just that.
Grade: A
SC: 3
V: 8
C: 4

Book 83 - The Best of Me

My eighty-third book was The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks. I have read all of his other books and was super excited when I saw this one at Kroger. This book was definitely not Sparks's best but it was still good. Dawson Cole has a bad reputation through no fault of his own. His family is known around their small community for being troublemakers and criminals. From the start, Dawson is determined to prove that he is nothing like the rest of his family. When he meets Amanda Collier in 1984, he was sure that his luck had finally turned around. Soon, he and Amanda are deeply in love, defying both family's expectations. But Dawson's life is ruined after Amanda leaves him for college and an unfortunate accident sends him to jail. In present day, Amanda is married to an alcoholic with three children and Dawson lives on his own, working on an oil rig for months at a time. The one thing that still connects them is an elderly man named Tuck. When they receive word of his death, they both come back to the small town of Oriental to say their goodbyes. But, little do they know, while they're saying goodbye to Tuck, they'll be saying hello again to their former relationship.
Grade: B+
SC=4
V=6
C=3