Review: Safe House by Meg Cabot

                                         

                            

                                       

                                           My Review:

After Jess got back from working as a camp counselor at Lake Wawasee in Code Name Cassandra, Jess had two choices: work the hot plate at her father's restaurant or go to the Michigan dunes with her best friend Ruth Abramowitz. This may seem like a no brainer choice, but Ruth's dad doesn't believe in cable, won't allow a phone at the house except for his cell for emergencies, and her best friend Ruth is busy going out with her boyfriend the whole time. But when Jess found out that her Great-aunt Rose would be coming to watch Jess and her older brother Doug while her parents took her brother to Harvard, playing endless video games with Skip, Ruth's geeky older brother, started to look pretty good. Needless to say, Jess had no idea that Amber Mackey went missing while she was on vacation and it was grossly unfair of everyone to blame her for not being there to find her. Hello, Jess had already told everyone that she had lost her powers, why was everyone blaming her?

Karen Sue Hanky. The lousy snitch had told everyone about how she found a missing kid at camp and now all of the popular kids are blaming Jess for not saving Amber. Jess has no idea who would want to kill a popular cheerleader and leave her body at the bottom of the quarry, but she feels that she is obligated to find out. When another cheerleader goes missing, Heather Montrose, one of the most popular girls in school, Jess knows that she has to do something. But how can she find Heather without revealing that she still has her psychic powers to the Feds? When Jess is able to find out, though, she knows that she has no choice but to go and rescue Heather - no one should have to go through the agonies that Heather is! Jess quickly drags Rob, her would be boyfriend if he would just get a clue, out to an abandoned shack where they find Heather. Jess is counting on Heather to turn her kidnappers over to the police, but Heather is too scared. Jess knows that she is the only one who can track down the people in her own town who are capable of committing these terrible crimes, but is it worth the price she will have to pay?

This is the third book in the "Lightning Girl" or 1-800-WHERE-R-U series and it is just fabulous! Meg Cabot/Jenny Carroll has created one of my favorite series with this one and I simply love Jess as a heroine. Jess is funny, smart, tough and not afraid to say or do exactly what she is thinking. She always makes me laugh when I read her stories - whether she is trying to finagle Rob into dating her, get her older brother Doug out of his room or beat up Karen Sue Hankey, she is always entertaining and fun to read about. This is an absolute must read series if you have liked any of Cabot/Carroll's other books. Highly recommended for everyone!