LC's Aventures in libraryland is having a giveaway!

http://lcsadventuresinlibraryland.blogspot.com/2011/07/lcs-500-follower-giveaway.html

Giveaway on Gripped into Books!

1000 Followers Giveaway on http://grippedintobooks.blogspot.com/2011/08/1000-followers-giveaway.html

Jessica "Jess" Mastriani was never what anyone would call a normal girl, but ever since she was hit by lightning, she can find anyone if she sees a picture of them. Since getting this new talent, Jess' life was made miserable by the media and the military, so Jess pretended that she can't find anyone anymore and so is officially without powers. However, there are a few people that know she can find people and most of the people in town, as well as the FBI, are pretty sure that she is faking. So when Dr. Thompkins, the new African American doctor who just moved in across the street, swings by on Thanksgiving to ask Jess if she knows where Nate, his son is, Jess tries to explain that she doesn't do that anymore. Turns out that Dr. Thompkins has no idea what Jess can do and was just trying to find out if she had seen Nate, as in with her eyes while awake. Anyway, Jess is way too busy trying to sneak out of the house and over to Rob's house for her second Thanksgiving dinner to worry about where Nate is, until she is on her way home. While Rob follows her on his motorcycle, Jess is stopped by a roadblock on the road and immediately assumes it is because she doesn't have a driver's license. Okay, Jess is way old enough to drive and is a totally safe driver, she just likes to go a little fast. I mean, how bad is it to be going 80 in a 25 mph zone? Anyway, Jess soon finds out that the reason for the roadblock is they found Nate's body in a cornfield with a weird snake like tattoo carved on his chest. Unluckily for Jess, Dr. Krantz, a special agent who is in charge of an elite team of "specially-gifted" crime solvers is on the scene to once again question if Jess has really lost her talents.

Jess feels guilty about not being able to save Nate and she knows when Seth, a Jewish boy, is missing and the synagogue is set on fire that she has to do something. She dreams of Seth and knows where he is, calls in an anonymous tip, but doesn't tell the police that there are men with guns guarding Seth. One of the cops is in critical condition after being shot and Jess knows that it is her fault. She is determined to find Seth without getting anyone else involved - except for Rob, of course. Rob gets a bunch of bikers from Chick's Bar to join them on their insane quest to rescue Seth from a group of white supremacists who live out in the woods and Jess is off on another one of her wild adventures...
This is the 4th book in the "Lightning Girl" or 1-800-WHERE-R-U series and it is just as hilarious and entertaining as the first three. Of all of Cabot's/Carroll's series I would have to say that Jess is my favorite heroine and always makes me laugh while I am reading. She is very honest and just says what she is thinking or feeling and it is just so funny! Jess is always trying to get Rob to kiss her and to be her boyfriend, but he cannot date her because she is only 16 and he is 18 and on probation. The situations she gets Rob and herself into are very entertaining. I cannot recommend this series highly enough - all of the books by Cabot/Carroll are great, but this one is the best! I simply cannot wait for another book in this series - I really hope that she keeps writing more!

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!

 Summery:Suze is a mediator -- a liaison between the living and the dead. In other words, she sees dead people. And they won't leave her alone until she helps them resolve their unfinished business with the living. But Jesse, the hot ghost haunting her bedroom, doesn't seem to need her help. Which is a relief, because Suze has just moved to sunny California and plans to start fresh, with trips to the mall instead of the cemetery, and surfing instead of spectral visitations.

My review-Ever since she saw her first ghost at the age of two, Susannah Simon has been a mediator - in other words, a contact person between the living and the dead. It's her responsibility to help troubled spirits move on to the next world. And it's a responsibility she has always resented. At sixteen, Susannah just wants to be a normal teenage girl, worried about clothes and boys, not dead people. And now that her mom's remarried, she's had to leave New York City, the only home she's ever known, to move all the way to northern California. Her new stepdad's not too bad, but her three stepbrothers are a pain, and on the first day of school, she's confronted by the angry ghost of Heather, a girl who committed suicide over Christmas break. Susannah figures it won't be too hard to get Heather to move on - until it becomes clear that she's the most violent spirit Susannah has ever encountered. Heather won't rest until she gets revenge on her ex-boyfriend for breaking up with her.

But the very first day at her new school, Suze realizes it's not that easy. There's a ghost with revenge on her mind ... and Suze happens to be in the way.

 I'm read Ninth Key by Meg Cabot its really good so far!goodread.com/book/show199786.Ninth_Key