The story begins with two young girl friends who create a cartoon heroine, Princess X, to amuse themselves. They spend a lot of time plotting out scenes together which May writes and Libby illustrates. It is their thing and they have a lot of fun doing it together. Then tragedy strikes when Libby and her mother drive off an area bridge and both of them drown. Libby is dead and with her Princess X dies, too. May is bereft. Not long afterwards she and her mother move across the country when her parents divorce and May only visits Seattle infrequently to see her dad. As she is knocking around Seattle by herself one day several years later, she notices Princess X stickers everywhere. How can that be? Only she and Libby knew about Princess X. Can Libby still be alive after all these years?
So begins the delightful new mystery I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest. It is full of good guys and bad, and people we are sure if they are good or bad until the end. There are chase scenes and death threats with I Am Princess X comics interspersed between chapters. The comics give May clues along the way to help her discover the truth and to solve the mystery. Maybe she will even find Libby, if she is alive.
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| There are probably less than 30 pages of comics throughout the book but they help advance the story. Photo from thisisteen.tumblr.com |
The book is fun, fun, fun. I've been reading so many serious books this summer about mental illness, diseases, and death. It was just plain fun to read a well-plotted, tension-filled mystery, which has a happy ending.
This is author Cherie Priest's first YA novel. She has written several other books, Boneshaker, an adult steam-punk series starter. Cherie used to live in Seattle so it makes sense that she would set her novel here. She "done good."
Enough said. Read it for yourself. Enjoy!
Rating: 5 out of 5
30 books Summer Reading Challenge
15 / 30 books. 50% done!
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