Not only does The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting sport a beautiful cover, but it is a story you simply cannot put down. With great characters, a suspenseful plot line, and a girl with a gift she wishes she could be rid of, this book is one you won't soon forget.
Violet has an ability that haunts her each and every day: she can see echoes of murdered bodies and imprints on the people who killed them. This ranges from animals her cat hunts in the night, to military personnel or police officers who have killed in the line of duty, to the serial killer who has ravaged her small town by abducting young women. Imprints can be a smell, a taste, a color, or even a sound that connects the body to its killer. When Violet finds the first body the serial killer has left, she is haunted by the fact that she is the only person who can identify the killer.
Violet's best friend Jay has grown up a lot over the summer, and the girls at school, Violet included, are looking at him differently. Jay knows Violet's secret and will go to any length to protect her. When Violet is determined to find the imprints that match the dead girls' echoes, Jay reluctantly tags along to protect her. What she finds, however, is something she never bargained for. It looks like the two bodies and the missing girl are only the latest in this killer's long history.
This book is everything good about YA wrapped up in one book. You have the supernatural element with Violet's ability to sense bodies, the suspense with the serial killer who is stalking young girls, and you have the most adorable romance between Jay and Violet. When Derting first started describing Jay, all I could think was this boy was too good to be true. I was really worried he was going to be somehow linked to the killers (He's Not!). But as the story continues, you just grow to adore Jay. His desire to protect Violet and her obliviousness to his feelings for her make for an exciting romance, especially since it takes so long for Violet to figure out how he feels about her. This story would have been good with any one element of the story, like the suspense, the ability, or the romance, but put them all together and you have a real page-turner!
The story has some violence, but it isn't graphic by any means. Neither is the romance between the two lead characters. The reading level is moderate. The book would be appropriate for a mature middle school student to a high school student. The story is gripping from page 1, so this is a great book for a student who has been struggling to stick with a book or really get hooked on one. Overall, this is a fantastic story, and your summer would be better for having read it! Just be happy you don't share Violet's ability- talk about creepy!
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