When

TITLE: When
AUTHOR: Victoria Laurie
RELEASE DATE: January 2015
PUBLISHER: Hyperion
PAGES: 327 pages
GENRE: Sci-Fi, Adventure, Mystery
OVERALL RATING: 4/5
APPROPRIATE AGE: grades 8-12

SUMMARY: Maddie Flynn has always seen numbers when she looks at people, whether it be in person, in a picture, or on the television. It wasn't until her father was killed in the line of duty that they figured out the numbers that Maddie sees are the person's death date. When Maddie predicts a boy's death date and then he turns up missing, Madelyn is at the top of list of suspects. The FBI believe Maddie and her best friend, Stubs, are part of a string of murders. But how can Madelyn prove that her ability is real and get her best friend out of jail without putting herself in danger?

WHAT I LIKED: This book is great for both boys and girls. It has a gruesome murder and police investigation, but also includes the drama-filled life of a teenage girl. As part of the 2016 Lone Star List, I've booked talked this with my junior high students and they eat it up. The students race to the computer to be the first to put it on hold. I currently have a list of over a dozen students waiting to read this book, and we own three copies in our library. 

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: This ending was just a little cliche. It seemed like the entire story, one bad thing after another is happening to Maddie, then for some reason the author felt they needed to tie it all up in a pretty little bow with a Happily Ever After...

READALIKES: Numbers by Rachel Ward

BOOK TRAILER: not the official book trailer, but a good one created by Kimberly Zavala

I Am Princess X

TITLE: I Am Princess X
AUTHOR: Cherie Priest
RELEASE DATE: May 2015
PUBLISHER: Arthur A. Levine Books
PAGES: 245 pages 
GENRE: Mystery, Adventure, Graphic Novel
OVERALL RATING: 5/5
APPROPRIATE AGE: grades 6-12

SUMMARY: May and Libby meet on the playground in the fifth grade where they first create Princess X. May writes the stories while Libby draws the pictures. Their friendship is one for the ages, until one day Libby's mom falls asleep at the wheel, driving the car off a bridge killing herself and Libby. Or so May was told. 

Fast forward three years when May begins seeing her Princess X all over Seattle, in pictures on sign posts, patches on kids' backpacks, etc. She is everywhere, but how could that be? She and Libby were the only ones who knew about Princess X. Unless Libby is the one creating it all. After this, May is determined to get to the bottom of Princess X, which leads her on an adventure she never expected: computer hacking, kidnapping, and murder. 

WHAT I LIKED: I first saw this book because it was chosen for the 2016 Texas Lone Star list. As a middle school librarian, I try to read all the books on the list before suggesting them to my students. When it came across my path through a Scholastic Book Fair, the cover caught my attention, who doesn't love a pink princess with a katana sword? But what I really loved about this story is that the cute princess was just the beginning! I read this entire book in one day, I could not put it down! There wasn't a single slow part in the entire story line. I can easily suggest this book to all my students, we just need to get the boys past the pink princess on the cover.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: I enjoyed every part of this book, the only tiny, miniscule thing I can complain about is the ending. I felt it happened too abruptly. There was such building up, the characters running for their lives and then all of a sudden, everything is happily ever after. I felt there needed to be a little more details about what happened after.

BOOK TRAILER: I wasn't able to find an official Book Trailer for I Am Princess X. But because I found this book through the Scholastic Book Fair, I have included a link to the video that they use to advertise the book: Scholastic's I Am Princess X Book Trailer