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I Am Princess X
Once upon a time, two best friends created a princess together. Libby drew the pictures, May wrote the tales, and their heroine, Princess X, slayed all the dragons and scaled all the mountains their imaginations could conjure.
Once upon a few years later, Libby was in the car with her mom, driving across the Ballard Bridge on a rainy night. When the car went over the side, Libby passed away, and Princess X died with her.
Once upon a now: May is sixteen and lonely, wandering the streets of Seattle, when she sees a sticker slapped in a corner window.
Princess X?
When May looks around, she sees the Princess everywhere: Stickers. Patches. Graffiti. There's an entire underground culture, focused around a webcomic at IAmPrincessX.com. The more May explores the webcomic, the more she sees disturbing similarities between Libby's story and Princess X online. And that means that only one person could have started this phenomenon - her best friend, Libby, who lives.
Once upon a few years later, Libby was in the car with her mom, driving across the Ballard Bridge on a rainy night. When the car went over the side, Libby passed away, and Princess X died with her.
Once upon a now: May is sixteen and lonely, wandering the streets of Seattle, when she sees a sticker slapped in a corner window.
Princess X?
When May looks around, she sees the Princess everywhere: Stickers. Patches. Graffiti. There's an entire underground culture, focused around a webcomic at IAmPrincessX.com. The more May explores the webcomic, the more she sees disturbing similarities between Libby's story and Princess X online. And that means that only one person could have started this phenomenon - her best friend, Libby, who lives.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published May 26, 2015
336 people are currently reading
10176 people want to read
About the author
Cherie Priest
73 books4,374 followersCherie Priest is the author of about thirty books and novellas, most recently the modern gothics It Was Her House First, The Drowning House, and Cinderwich. She's also the author of the Booking Agents mysteries, horror projects The Toll and The Family Plot – and the hit YA graphic novel mash-ups I Am Princess X and its follow up, The Agony House. But she is perhaps best known for the steampunk pulp adventures of the Clockwork Century, beginning with Boneshaker. She has been nominated for the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award, and the Locus award – which she won with Boneshaker.
Cherie has also written a number of urban fantasy titles, and composed pieces (large and small) for George R. R. Martin’s shared world universe, the Wild Cards. Her short stories and nonfiction articles have appeared in such fine publications as Weird Tales, Publishers Weekly, and numerous anthologies – and her books have been translated into nine languages in eleven countries.
Although she was born in Florida on the day Jimmy Hoffa disappeared, for the last twenty years Cherie has largely divided her time between Chattanooga, TN, and Seattle, WA – where she presently lives with her husband and a menagerie of exceedingly photogenic pets.
Cherie has also written a number of urban fantasy titles, and composed pieces (large and small) for George R. R. Martin’s shared world universe, the Wild Cards. Her short stories and nonfiction articles have appeared in such fine publications as Weird Tales, Publishers Weekly, and numerous anthologies – and her books have been translated into nine languages in eleven countries.
Although she was born in Florida on the day Jimmy Hoffa disappeared, for the last twenty years Cherie has largely divided her time between Chattanooga, TN, and Seattle, WA – where she presently lives with her husband and a menagerie of exceedingly photogenic pets.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,491 reviews
April 2, 2015
A great, page turner of a YA book with NO ROMANCE!! I LOVE IT!
Just a heartfelt story of friendship. Can't wait to share this with my bookstore customers!
Just a heartfelt story of friendship. Can't wait to share this with my bookstore customers!
August 5, 2015
This book was fun! Ultimately a quick, enjoyable read and even a little scary at times. I loved the inclusion of the graphic novel element and I loved that it mostly kept me guessing. I wished there had been at least one more twist because it felt like everything came together a bit too easily and that the main characters were extremely trusting of this random jackdaw guy, but like I said - still enjoyable.
My only real complaint was HOW HARD this author was trying to prove they know Seattle - if I made a drinking game out of the completely unnecessary obscure Seattle references in this book, I would be dead by now. It was insane - and hilarious. It's Seattle, we get it. Except you clearly don't know Seattle because you committed the fatal flaw of saying it always rains/we never see the sun. Really? You reference an old Seattle newspaper that went out of print in 2009 but can't look up basic Seattle weather? Nice try. ;)
My only real complaint was HOW HARD this author was trying to prove they know Seattle - if I made a drinking game out of the completely unnecessary obscure Seattle references in this book, I would be dead by now. It was insane - and hilarious. It's Seattle, we get it. Except you clearly don't know Seattle because you committed the fatal flaw of saying it always rains/we never see the sun. Really? You reference an old Seattle newspaper that went out of print in 2009 but can't look up basic Seattle weather? Nice try. ;)
June 4, 2015
I read almost the entire book in one sitting. It's that intense. That good. The pacing is perfect and I adored the illustrations; it's partially a graphic novel. This is a girl power book for anyone and everyone. I loved that it was a YA book about friendship, too, without any romance stuff at all. There are guy characters and no attraction involved!
The only negative (kinda?) is that I now want a full Princess X graphic novel.
The only negative (kinda?) is that I now want a full Princess X graphic novel.
June 11, 2021
3.5 Stars
CW:
Well that was a quirky little mystery!
I loved the concept and thought May was a relatable and engaging character. It wasn't an overly exciting book but I think the graphic novel sections within were positioned well as they were little pops of colour and interest throughout the story. It felt like quite a light-hearted story despite the reasonably sinister nature of what actually happened which makes it great for juniors in a high school who want a less menacing mystery.
CW:
Well that was a quirky little mystery!
I loved the concept and thought May was a relatable and engaging character. It wasn't an overly exciting book but I think the graphic novel sections within were positioned well as they were little pops of colour and interest throughout the story. It felt like quite a light-hearted story despite the reasonably sinister nature of what actually happened which makes it great for juniors in a high school who want a less menacing mystery.
December 4, 2016
Dear Princess X, My 2.5 rating may be not all your fault, I think it's just me..
with excellent pretty looking book overall design..
With a premise that deserves 5 Stars
The story main plot is good, even the set up for it came fast that I thought the rest of the novel will be fast packed with actions..alas, it wasn't as I expected..
The Story
--------
Three years after her best friend died, May start seeing the character they created together Princess X everywhere from Posters, Stickers even Graffiti. And an entire underground culture, focused around a webcomic at IAmPrincessX.com.
The more May explores the webcomic, the more she sees disturbing similarities between Libby's real life story and Princess X online. Even the drawings was the same of Libby's..
With help of her next door computer genius, Trick, they try to unsolve the story behind the site..and the person who running this phenomenon..and hoping that would lead to her best friend, Libby, who lives.
It was really fine mystery, but it solve itself after very few chapters, pretty too early..thanks to the Princess X comics that was not-so-symbolic, obviously clearing the story of what happened to Libby after the accident.
Then comes the hunt for the 4 keys that would lead May to the Princess X...with a help of don't-call-me-dude-countless-times Patrick who have even a better character set up and development more than May and Libby.
The hunt was a bit slow written ,too much describing the places which was fine by me in longer and bit different kind of novels, but here in a YA fun mystery set in real life was a bit longer than it should be.
-I didn't mind though the fun described city of Seattle and the fun facts about where Starbucks was started. Or The Fremont Troll, I liked these tours-
Also some of the mentioning of the Dark Net interested me, since I encountered with it previously with Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes..and later in Night Film.
But even as the mystery and the hunt unfolded and things started to heat up by the cemetery scene... we back to the slow pace writing and even introduced to a new character in length that was in my opinion totally unnecessary.. add this to a typical unrealistic Hollywood climax that was better concluded into faster paced comic better than these many pages.
May I didn't feel the novel make good use of the excellent character development of Patrick in the story or may be I didn't feel much the emotional part between May and Libby enough.
All in all made me disappointed a bit for such highly anticipated read...
since I like some YA Novels,specially when the plot seems original and promising, and the romance part is minor like in this case..but something went wrong for me and even felt a bit bored.
So it may be just me, right? May be iI just anticipate it would be faster or more convenient to me.
I still would recommend to give it a try if it's promising enough to you..
Mohammed Arabey
From 11 November 2015
to 15 November 2015
with excellent pretty looking book overall design..
With a premise that deserves 5 Stars
May & Libby were best friends, created their own comic character Princess X, then Libby died in an accident..3 years later, May finds out posters and a fuss over a webcomics about the same character Libby used to draw, The Princess XI'd have rate it higher,but just if it was half the pages count..just a novella..that'd be a very entertaining better read.
The story main plot is good, even the set up for it came fast that I thought the rest of the novel will be fast packed with actions..alas, it wasn't as I expected..
The Story
--------
Three years after her best friend died, May start seeing the character they created together Princess X everywhere from Posters, Stickers even Graffiti. And an entire underground culture, focused around a webcomic at IAmPrincessX.com.
The more May explores the webcomic, the more she sees disturbing similarities between Libby's real life story and Princess X online. Even the drawings was the same of Libby's..
With help of her next door computer genius, Trick, they try to unsolve the story behind the site..and the person who running this phenomenon..and hoping that would lead to her best friend, Libby, who lives.
It was really fine mystery, but it solve itself after very few chapters, pretty too early..thanks to the Princess X comics that was not-so-symbolic, obviously clearing the story of what happened to Libby after the accident.
Then comes the hunt for the 4 keys that would lead May to the Princess X...with a help of don't-call-me-dude-countless-times Patrick who have even a better character set up and development more than May and Libby.
The hunt was a bit slow written ,too much describing the places which was fine by me in longer and bit different kind of novels, but here in a YA fun mystery set in real life was a bit longer than it should be.
-I didn't mind though the fun described city of Seattle and the fun facts about where Starbucks was started. Or The Fremont Troll, I liked these tours-
Also some of the mentioning of the Dark Net interested me, since I encountered with it previously with Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes..and later in Night Film.
But even as the mystery and the hunt unfolded and things started to heat up by the cemetery scene... we back to the slow pace writing and even introduced to a new character in length that was in my opinion totally unnecessary.. add this to a typical unrealistic Hollywood climax that was better concluded into faster paced comic better than these many pages.
May I didn't feel the novel make good use of the excellent character development of Patrick in the story or may be I didn't feel much the emotional part between May and Libby enough.
All in all made me disappointed a bit for such highly anticipated read...
since I like some YA Novels,specially when the plot seems original and promising, and the romance part is minor like in this case..but something went wrong for me and even felt a bit bored.
So it may be just me, right? May be iI just anticipate it would be faster or more convenient to me.
I still would recommend to give it a try if it's promising enough to you..
To Princess X,
With love,
Mohammed Arabey
From 11 November 2015
to 15 November 2015
July 11, 2015
CAN I JUST....
This book, y'all.
Not your average princess or your average teen novel. And it passes the Bechdel test with FLYING colors.
May and Libby are the best of friends, and they create Princess X together. May isn't any good at drawing, so she comes up with stories. Libby is great at drawing so she brings the stories to life, and they fill up notebooks and boxes with their creations.
Then Libby is in a car accident and dies, but May finds it hard to accept that her friend is really and truly gone.
Three years later, May is back from living with her Mom in Atlanta and at her Dad's. She sees a sticker of Princess X...and then realizes she sees evidence of her everywhere. A patch on a backpack. More stickers. She eventually finds the website, and it leads her to believe that she can find so much more.
Because if Princess X is out there and still happening...that means Libby is out there too.
This book is friendship and mystery and friendship and girl power and no one starry-eyed mooning over boys because it's about FRIENDSHIP.
And I'm so happy with the whole thing.
This book, y'all.
Not your average princess or your average teen novel. And it passes the Bechdel test with FLYING colors.
May and Libby are the best of friends, and they create Princess X together. May isn't any good at drawing, so she comes up with stories. Libby is great at drawing so she brings the stories to life, and they fill up notebooks and boxes with their creations.
Then Libby is in a car accident and dies, but May finds it hard to accept that her friend is really and truly gone.
Three years later, May is back from living with her Mom in Atlanta and at her Dad's. She sees a sticker of Princess X...and then realizes she sees evidence of her everywhere. A patch on a backpack. More stickers. She eventually finds the website, and it leads her to believe that she can find so much more.
Because if Princess X is out there and still happening...that means Libby is out there too.
This book is friendship and mystery and friendship and girl power and no one starry-eyed mooning over boys because it's about FRIENDSHIP.
And I'm so happy with the whole thing.
December 2, 2018
Want a story about two girls who help each other?
Read this.
Thank you Ms. Priest, it was just what I needed.
Read this.
Thank you Ms. Priest, it was just what I needed.
August 25, 2017
Honestly I do not know why I grabbed it but overall I am happy I did. It was a cute little story with some art that holds your interest. I was in a hurry today on the way to my husband's doctor appointment and forgot that I finished the paperback in my purse so went in the library and grabbed a book quickly and this was it. I did like it though!
July 12, 2018
Wow! Amazing!
RTC
RTC
July 9, 2015
Wonderfully different, creepy, mysterious, and vivid. Like I should have expected anything else from Cherie Priest! I didn't know much about the story, and so I was very surprised by the twists and turns that it took. Really enjoyed it, couldn't put it down!
But I can't bring myself to give it five stars because . . . There's a part at the end, where everything is so tense, and then four people who should totally know better do the most confusingly daft thing I've ever heard of. I mean, it makes no sense for about ten pages. I had to go back, reread the bit before, and confirm that yes, that was really what they were doing. Why? No idea. I mean, not to spoil anything, but they're looking for something, something they know the size and shape of, and it is large, and they have discussed the largeness and where it would potentially be kept, and then they proceed to look in places where it could not possibly be, wasting precious time. Like behind books on a bookcase, and in kitchen drawers, when they know they are looking for something the size of a small car. No, I'm serious. And I just . . . I couldn't get over that. It didn't ruin the book, but it was just temporarily not good, when the rest of the book was awesome.
So, you know, read that bit (you have to, it's the lead up to the climax), but just read it quickly. And think about how great the rest of the book is. And the art! So cool. I found myself hoping there will be a real Princess X comic.
But I can't bring myself to give it five stars because . . . There's a part at the end, where everything is so tense, and then four people who should totally know better do the most confusingly daft thing I've ever heard of. I mean, it makes no sense for about ten pages. I had to go back, reread the bit before, and confirm that yes, that was really what they were doing. Why? No idea. I mean, not to spoil anything, but they're looking for something, something they know the size and shape of, and it is large, and they have discussed the largeness and where it would potentially be kept, and then they proceed to look in places where it could not possibly be, wasting precious time. Like behind books on a bookcase, and in kitchen drawers, when they know they are looking for something the size of a small car. No, I'm serious. And I just . . . I couldn't get over that. It didn't ruin the book, but it was just temporarily not good, when the rest of the book was awesome.
So, you know, read that bit (you have to, it's the lead up to the climax), but just read it quickly. And think about how great the rest of the book is. And the art! So cool. I found myself hoping there will be a real Princess X comic.
July 8, 2015
Okay huge disclaimer here: I read an advanced reader's copy of I Am Princess X and it did not have any of the illustrations in it (which was pointless, but what can you do?). So, I'm judging this book solely on May's storyline and not on Princess X's storyline since little snippets aren't enough to get a feel for that whole plot point.
Disclaimer number 2: This book is NOTHING like Sarah Dessen's novels...not even if you turn your head and squint. So, if that's the main reason you're picking up I Am Princess X (like it was for me), then you might want to steer clear of this book.
Now, I don't give 1 star ratings lightly. In fact, I always feel incredibly guilty about giving out 1 star ratings that I tend to just up it to two stars. However, I just couldn't find anything to like about I Am Princess X. I found it all to be a big, jumbled mess. But most of all, I found it to be way too inconsistent to find it in any way enjoyable...or rather May was incredibly inconsistent. One thing (and granted, this one is a minor thing), that bothered me was that she's a teenager...and with that mentality, she should be somewhat tech-savvy. Or at least savvy enough to know that if your frigging computer won't turn on and you think your battery is fried, how 'bout you leave it on the charger and see if it, oh I don't know, actually CHARGES? Common sense! I get that the whole point of that was so that May could meet Trick and get the whole Princess X investigation going, but really? She couldn't have gotten an actual computer virus or something more difficult to solve than "My computer won't turn onbecause I'm an idiot who hasn't charged it?" And another thing: Princess X is supposed to be this whole huge phenomenon that's all over the internet and you're telling me that May, who mentions she has numerous social media accounts, has no clue that something this huge exists? Uh, no. I call BS. Again, May wasn't the brightest bulb. Because the one thing you should worry about when you're trying to find your BFF and numerous people are being threatened and being hurt is what your hair looks like when you accidentally get on TV. May, you're shallow...sit down. And the amount of times the word "dude" was used in this book aggravated me...I think I now hate that word more than I hate "bae" (and I LOATHE bae). Oh, and you can also find news reports of crimes that have happened YEARS ago without having to resort to printing out newspapers in the library. So May's dad, you sit down, too.
I also wasn't enamored by the writing in I Am Princess X. It seemed stilted and forced. I found myself thinking that maybe I would have liked it better had it been told in the first person narrative (especially since May's supposed to be this great writer) or maybe it would've actually made me dislike May (instead of just thinking of her as ridiculous). Princess X (I no longer feel like writing the full title) was also a whole bunch of telling. This wasn't a story that peaked my imagination and made me actually see the events happening in my mind. I don't like flowery, purple prose, but a little descriptive writing doesn't hurt anybody and can be good for the soul. But there were no descriptions here. I was also told every littlemind-numbingly boring thing May and Trick did. May walked to get a Coke out of a can...Trick and May walked to get coffee because May likes coffee with chocolate in it because it doesn't taste like coffee...is that coffee going to sprout a human with a katana sword and stab somebody? No? Then, okay, it's not important, so get back to the actual plot. May also didn't pick up one of her father's calls because she knew her voice would sound like mud when she did...what exactly does mud sound like? Really, I want to know. Princess X also had paper-thin development...plot-wise, character-wise, everything-wise.
I'm just going to stop here to avoid giving away any spoilers. I will say that I didn't like I Am Princess X. The mystery behind the whole thing could have been slightly interesting, but it wasn't. I didn't like the writing (but the author's written over a dozen novels so clearly other people do) or the resolution of the plot...or the plot itself (despite the fact that it sounded interesting). I say, skip it. (Or maybe check it out and tell me if the illustrations make the story better).
Disclaimer number 2: This book is NOTHING like Sarah Dessen's novels...not even if you turn your head and squint. So, if that's the main reason you're picking up I Am Princess X (like it was for me), then you might want to steer clear of this book.
Now, I don't give 1 star ratings lightly. In fact, I always feel incredibly guilty about giving out 1 star ratings that I tend to just up it to two stars. However, I just couldn't find anything to like about I Am Princess X. I found it all to be a big, jumbled mess. But most of all, I found it to be way too inconsistent to find it in any way enjoyable...or rather May was incredibly inconsistent. One thing (and granted, this one is a minor thing), that bothered me was that she's a teenager...and with that mentality, she should be somewhat tech-savvy. Or at least savvy enough to know that if your frigging computer won't turn on and you think your battery is fried, how 'bout you leave it on the charger and see if it, oh I don't know, actually CHARGES? Common sense! I get that the whole point of that was so that May could meet Trick and get the whole Princess X investigation going, but really? She couldn't have gotten an actual computer virus or something more difficult to solve than "My computer won't turn on
I also wasn't enamored by the writing in I Am Princess X. It seemed stilted and forced. I found myself thinking that maybe I would have liked it better had it been told in the first person narrative (especially since May's supposed to be this great writer) or maybe it would've actually made me dislike May (instead of just thinking of her as ridiculous). Princess X (I no longer feel like writing the full title) was also a whole bunch of telling. This wasn't a story that peaked my imagination and made me actually see the events happening in my mind. I don't like flowery, purple prose, but a little descriptive writing doesn't hurt anybody and can be good for the soul. But there were no descriptions here. I was also told every little
I'm just going to stop here to avoid giving away any spoilers. I will say that I didn't like I Am Princess X. The mystery behind the whole thing could have been slightly interesting, but it wasn't. I didn't like the writing (but the author's written over a dozen novels so clearly other people do) or the resolution of the plot...or the plot itself (despite the fact that it sounded interesting). I say, skip it. (Or maybe check it out and tell me if the illustrations make the story better).
March 23, 2015
1.5
I received this ARC at ALA Midwinter 2015. The ARC doesn't have the artwork but because I forget to look at pictures when I read graphic novels anyway; the missing artwork had no impact on my opinion of the book.
Overview:
May and Libby have been best friends since the 5th grade and they started a comic named Princess X. When they were 14, Libby dies and the Princess X dies with her until three years later when Princess X posters begin appearing all over town. (Don't worry, that's not a spoiler. It's in the description on the back cover.)
Dang, That's Was Good
The cover is cool
*The premise has promise
*The relationship between May and Trick was refreshing.
*That's Too Bad, Dang
The main issue with this book is the writing.
*The main characters are 17 so technically it should be aimed at 10th to 12th grade but the meat and bones of the writing was too elementary for that age group. It seemed to be written for 6th to 8th grades. Here's a line from page 35. (FYI-this is written in third person and May is speaking.) "'That's why you didn't let me go to her funeral?' She meant Mrs. Deaton's funeral. Obviously she went to Libby's." The reader knows she went to Libby's funeral; she talks about it a couple of pages prior. It's like this book is written for an eleven year old with a bad memory. There was nothing insightful about the writing or the dialog.
*The story moved really fast but it came across as a short cut. The overview I described above about the best friend's death happens in the first two chapters.
*There were several fatal flaws meaning if the story was logically written, it would be over faster. For example, Libby has May going through a convoluted scavenger hunt to find her but all she had to do was give her one clue and the story would have been over after 75 pages.
*The writing was uneven. As I stated earlier, the writing is elementary but then in chapter 19, we get this really well written chapter about one of the characters. He's well developed and his story is more fascinating than the main characters.
*The Princess X comic was not good. I think the publisher, Scholastic, is trying to spin it off into a graphic novel but the storyline wasn't interesting al all.
*Princess X's escape was so stupid.
*The kidnapper is supposedly a computer mastermind yet he couldn't find May who is all over the internet and has a cell phone? REALLY?
*What about the police?
And then there are the characters:
*May is extremely underdeveloped. We know that she grows up poor and probably doesn't have many friends but that's about it. The same with all the other main characters. You don't really get to know anyone. May is not likable. At one point she tells her dad to shut up. Who tells a parent to shut up? She's all complainy about her parents not being around a lot (her parents are divorced and May the lives with her mom in ATL during the school year and her father in Seattle in the summer.) But she's poor and they probably have to work a lot. Get over yourself, girl. Lots of people have parents who work a lot and her dad was a nice guy.
*Trick was a bit more developed but he had money issues and needed to work to raise a large sum of money yet, he drops everything to help May and her hunt to find her friend who may or may not be dead. WHAT?
Overall
The idea was interesting but the execution was disappointing. There was nothing compelling about the writing, the characters, or the comic
I received this ARC at ALA Midwinter 2015. The ARC doesn't have the artwork but because I forget to look at pictures when I read graphic novels anyway; the missing artwork had no impact on my opinion of the book.
Overview:
May and Libby have been best friends since the 5th grade and they started a comic named Princess X. When they were 14, Libby dies and the Princess X dies with her until three years later when Princess X posters begin appearing all over town. (Don't worry, that's not a spoiler. It's in the description on the back cover.)
Dang, That's Was Good
The cover is cool
*The premise has promise
*The relationship between May and Trick was refreshing.
*That's Too Bad, Dang
The main issue with this book is the writing.
*The main characters are 17 so technically it should be aimed at 10th to 12th grade but the meat and bones of the writing was too elementary for that age group. It seemed to be written for 6th to 8th grades. Here's a line from page 35. (FYI-this is written in third person and May is speaking.) "'That's why you didn't let me go to her funeral?' She meant Mrs. Deaton's funeral. Obviously she went to Libby's." The reader knows she went to Libby's funeral; she talks about it a couple of pages prior. It's like this book is written for an eleven year old with a bad memory. There was nothing insightful about the writing or the dialog.
*The story moved really fast but it came across as a short cut. The overview I described above about the best friend's death happens in the first two chapters.
*There were several fatal flaws meaning if the story was logically written, it would be over faster. For example, Libby has May going through a convoluted scavenger hunt to find her but all she had to do was give her one clue and the story would have been over after 75 pages.
*The writing was uneven. As I stated earlier, the writing is elementary but then in chapter 19, we get this really well written chapter about one of the characters. He's well developed and his story is more fascinating than the main characters.
*The Princess X comic was not good. I think the publisher, Scholastic, is trying to spin it off into a graphic novel but the storyline wasn't interesting al all.
*Princess X's escape was so stupid.
*The kidnapper is supposedly a computer mastermind yet he couldn't find May who is all over the internet and has a cell phone? REALLY?
*What about the police?
And then there are the characters:
*May is extremely underdeveloped. We know that she grows up poor and probably doesn't have many friends but that's about it. The same with all the other main characters. You don't really get to know anyone. May is not likable. At one point she tells her dad to shut up. Who tells a parent to shut up? She's all complainy about her parents not being around a lot (her parents are divorced and May the lives with her mom in ATL during the school year and her father in Seattle in the summer.) But she's poor and they probably have to work a lot. Get over yourself, girl. Lots of people have parents who work a lot and her dad was a nice guy.
*Trick was a bit more developed but he had money issues and needed to work to raise a large sum of money yet, he drops everything to help May and her hunt to find her friend who may or may not be dead. WHAT?
Overall
The idea was interesting but the execution was disappointing. There was nothing compelling about the writing, the characters, or the comic
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March 12, 2018
I picked this one up because several people said it was interesting, and it had some webcomic pages in it which I thought looked cool. It was so much better than I could have imagined. A great read! I didn't want to put it down.
January 11, 2016
If this works down to 6th grade, SO dibs for booktalking in middle schools.
---
...and it did.
Everyone said this was awesome, and everyone was right.
From the first chapter, it grabbed me in a major way. I was charmed by the opening in the girl's elementary school days,
And, it should be noted, it wasn't just the plot and the setting and the characters I loved - the WRITING is so so quirky, sweet, and candid in a way that gets ME. At least, it feels that way.
I adored the integration of technology and comics, the characters were relatable and fun to read about, and of course the local references tickled my happy.
I am, indeed, in the process of spilling this book's greatness at all of our local middle schools this month (January 2016 as I write). And I'm still working on giving it the justice it deserves.
Killer.
KIIIILLLLLEEERRR.
---
...and it did.
Everyone said this was awesome, and everyone was right.
From the first chapter, it grabbed me in a major way. I was charmed by the opening in the girl's elementary school days,
And, it should be noted, it wasn't just the plot and the setting and the characters I loved - the WRITING is so so quirky, sweet, and candid in a way that gets ME. At least, it feels that way.
I adored the integration of technology and comics, the characters were relatable and fun to read about, and of course the local references tickled my happy.
I am, indeed, in the process of spilling this book's greatness at all of our local middle schools this month (January 2016 as I write). And I'm still working on giving it the justice it deserves.
Killer.
KIIIILLLLLEEERRR.
October 7, 2016
Princess X is a about a teenage girl named May who had a best friend named Libby,when they were young they came up with a character that they called Princess X and they wrote comics about her. May always wrote the story's and Libby always drew the the pictures, but a couple years ago Libby and her mother tragically died in a car crash. After the incident May moved to another city with her mom since her parents were divorced, and she stopped writing Princess X fantasies. It was a sunny summer day when May came to visit her home town, she started thinking about Libby and went to read some of their comics but then discovered that her dad had given them away, so May went searching for the comics around the city. After many days of searching May came to a stoplight and couldn't believe what she saw, on the metal pole there was a Princess X sticker with a website name on it. Libby quickly wrote down the website name and rushed home to find that her computer wasn't working, and that's what led her to the computer genius Trick. After Trick fixed May's computer May discovered that Trick also had an interest in Princess X. They searched the website together and started to find clues that only May could understand like old locker combinations, and hangouts that May and Libby shared. Is Libby alive?
I really enjoyed this book, especially because of the mystery and how well I could picture everything in my head. This book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time always asking questions to myself. I definitely recommend this book to mystery readers and I think that anyone who has read and likes the book Holes would get a kick out of this book!
I really enjoyed this book, especially because of the mystery and how well I could picture everything in my head. This book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time always asking questions to myself. I definitely recommend this book to mystery readers and I think that anyone who has read and likes the book Holes would get a kick out of this book!
June 15, 2015
As young girls, May and Libby bonded over the creation of Princess X. May wrote the stories, Libby drew the comics. Both girls lived vicariously through the Princess' adventures until the day Libby died. Supposedly. For years, May dreams of her friend misses the days they spent creating a world for themselves. Until the day she discovers a sticker that looks remarkably like their Princess X. This leads her on a search throughout the city for more proof and she quickly realizes that there are just too many parallels for the comic to be coincidence. With the help of her neighbor and hacker (with slightly criminal leanings) Trick, May begins to delve deeper into the world of Princess X and realizes that Libby's death may not have been as real as she had believed. She is still out there, and she has left clues so that Libby can find her and bring her home.
I Am Princess X is a really unique blend of graphic novel and traditional storytelling. Sprinkled throughout the book are pieces of a graphic novel that features a princess trying to escape her captor and find several items of power in order to save her kingdom. The illustrations are beautiful and the story of Princess X melds with the mystery of the missing girl in a really interesting way. I do wish my review copy had included more of the illustrations, but I will definitely be picking up a finished copy when it is released.
I enjoyed the characters but I do wish there had been more development and that they had been more consistent, for example Trick is given the backstory of having made some poor decisions, losing his scholarship and doing whatever he can in order to earn enough money to pay for school himself. However, once he meets May, he drops all of that in order to run around the city looking for clues to Libby's whereabouts. I was pretty happy with the complete lack of a romantic storyline. That is downright refreshing in a YA novel and I felt that May had a pretty realistic relationship with her parents.
Unfortunately, I Am Princess X suffered from that same old issue when writers who are used to writing for an adult audience make the foray into young adult. They just don't seem to give young readers enough credit. This leads to a strange style of writing where they appear to "dumb things down", as if the writer thought she had to make it easier in order for a teen to "get it". This meant there was lots of repetition of things that we already knew (like the fact that she went to Libby's funeral or that she prefers hot chocolate to coffee), bland statements of facts and recaps of events, with little to no nuance to the mystery itself. It also made reference to tech and social media in a very "look, I'm a cool adult, I know what twitter is" kind of way.
Ultimately, I am Princess X is a suspenseful story about a missing girl. And it does this very well. May searches for clues in the comics and then those translate into real life adventures to find the "keys" Libby has left behind. There is a real sense of danger as the bad guy is your Criminal Minds type kidnapper with an intelligent manner of planning and some serious tech savvy skills that keep the kids running.
It is a great read for those interested in a quick mystery and it will really appeal to fans of graphic novels who want to explore how the genre can work within a traditional story.
Teaching/Parental Notes:
Age: 12 and up
Sex: None
Violence: Kidnapping, Drowning, Gunplay
Inappropriate Language: None
Substance Use/Abuse: None
I Am Princess X is a really unique blend of graphic novel and traditional storytelling. Sprinkled throughout the book are pieces of a graphic novel that features a princess trying to escape her captor and find several items of power in order to save her kingdom. The illustrations are beautiful and the story of Princess X melds with the mystery of the missing girl in a really interesting way. I do wish my review copy had included more of the illustrations, but I will definitely be picking up a finished copy when it is released.
I enjoyed the characters but I do wish there had been more development and that they had been more consistent, for example Trick is given the backstory of having made some poor decisions, losing his scholarship and doing whatever he can in order to earn enough money to pay for school himself. However, once he meets May, he drops all of that in order to run around the city looking for clues to Libby's whereabouts. I was pretty happy with the complete lack of a romantic storyline. That is downright refreshing in a YA novel and I felt that May had a pretty realistic relationship with her parents.
Unfortunately, I Am Princess X suffered from that same old issue when writers who are used to writing for an adult audience make the foray into young adult. They just don't seem to give young readers enough credit. This leads to a strange style of writing where they appear to "dumb things down", as if the writer thought she had to make it easier in order for a teen to "get it". This meant there was lots of repetition of things that we already knew (like the fact that she went to Libby's funeral or that she prefers hot chocolate to coffee), bland statements of facts and recaps of events, with little to no nuance to the mystery itself. It also made reference to tech and social media in a very "look, I'm a cool adult, I know what twitter is" kind of way.
Ultimately, I am Princess X is a suspenseful story about a missing girl. And it does this very well. May searches for clues in the comics and then those translate into real life adventures to find the "keys" Libby has left behind. There is a real sense of danger as the bad guy is your Criminal Minds type kidnapper with an intelligent manner of planning and some serious tech savvy skills that keep the kids running.
It is a great read for those interested in a quick mystery and it will really appeal to fans of graphic novels who want to explore how the genre can work within a traditional story.
Teaching/Parental Notes:
Age: 12 and up
Sex: None
Violence: Kidnapping, Drowning, Gunplay
Inappropriate Language: None
Substance Use/Abuse: None
July 21, 2015
This was such a cute book.
*Review to come*
FULL REVIEW
You can also find this review on my blog: http://booksaremychildren.blogspot.co...
I Am Princess X centers around May and her quest to find her best friend, Libby, who died 3 years ago. While walking on the streets of Seattle May sees a sticker for Princess X, but that couldn't be there because Princess X died along with Libby when she died, or is Libby still alive? I Am Princess X is a fun and cute book to read, the illustrations are wonderful and eye-catching. The story is mainly centered around May and Trick and their quest to find out who is the creator of the Princess X website. The book is fairly fast-paced and it shouldn't take you very long to read it (although it did for me).
May and Trick (Patrick) are our two MCs. May used to be best friends with Libby until she died and they created Princess X together. To be honest May's character was a bit dull, she didn't really have any special qualities at all. Her main focus was on Libby and finding her. I would have loved for the author to give May a bit more background, because she wasn't that interesting. Patrick helps May throughout the novel with the tech-y part of finding out who's behind Princess X and whether or not Libby is still alive. Sort of like May, Patrick was dull. There wasn't a lot of personality to him, although I did like the banter between him and May.
Like I said before the story is fairly fast-paced. While the author doesn't really do a good job at the characters she did an excellent job at the plot. At first I didn't really think this book would make for a good story, aside from the illustrations I didn't think it would be that good, but I really liked it. The author does a good job at making you wonder who's behind Princess X and whether or not Libby is still alive. I guess the big reveal towards the end of the book wasn't that big of a deal, but it was still fun to figure out who was behind Princess X (although I had a pretty good idea who it was *wink wink*). Although some parts of the story were a bit too convenient, such as how the comic for I Am Princess X aligned just right with what actually happened.
I just have to say I really liked the graphic novel part of the story, they were incorporated quite nicely with the story. Overall this was a fun read and I would definitely recommend.
*Review to come*
FULL REVIEW
You can also find this review on my blog: http://booksaremychildren.blogspot.co...
I Am Princess X centers around May and her quest to find her best friend, Libby, who died 3 years ago. While walking on the streets of Seattle May sees a sticker for Princess X, but that couldn't be there because Princess X died along with Libby when she died, or is Libby still alive? I Am Princess X is a fun and cute book to read, the illustrations are wonderful and eye-catching. The story is mainly centered around May and Trick and their quest to find out who is the creator of the Princess X website. The book is fairly fast-paced and it shouldn't take you very long to read it (although it did for me).
May and Trick (Patrick) are our two MCs. May used to be best friends with Libby until she died and they created Princess X together. To be honest May's character was a bit dull, she didn't really have any special qualities at all. Her main focus was on Libby and finding her. I would have loved for the author to give May a bit more background, because she wasn't that interesting. Patrick helps May throughout the novel with the tech-y part of finding out who's behind Princess X and whether or not Libby is still alive. Sort of like May, Patrick was dull. There wasn't a lot of personality to him, although I did like the banter between him and May.
Like I said before the story is fairly fast-paced. While the author doesn't really do a good job at the characters she did an excellent job at the plot. At first I didn't really think this book would make for a good story, aside from the illustrations I didn't think it would be that good, but I really liked it. The author does a good job at making you wonder who's behind Princess X and whether or not Libby is still alive. I guess the big reveal towards the end of the book wasn't that big of a deal, but it was still fun to figure out who was behind Princess X (although I had a pretty good idea who it was *wink wink*). Although some parts of the story were a bit too convenient, such as how the comic for I Am Princess X aligned just right with what actually happened.
I just have to say I really liked the graphic novel part of the story, they were incorporated quite nicely with the story. Overall this was a fun read and I would definitely recommend.
December 11, 2017
This book was so good! It may look like a comic book, but it's about a comic, not an actual comic book. This book had many surprises and always had an unexpected turn. I would recommend this book to ages 11-14. This book is definitely one of the better books I have read. 4.5/5!
February 18, 2016
I saw I Am Princess X mentioned on a book blog not too long ago and it caught my eye. Enough so that I nabbed it from the library. This is a YA (that often felt more like a MG) novel about May and her friend Libby. As children they created Princess X - Libby drew and May wrote. A few years after Libby's untimely death May starts to see Princess X stickers all around and begins to dig into the how's and why's.
This was a fun blend of traditional story telling and a graphic novel/comic. When May discovers the Princess X web comic, fantasy and reality start to blend as she pieces together clues from the comic to solve the real life mystery of what really happened to Libby. However, the "mystery" of what happened to Libby isn't particularly mysterious since it's basically all spelled out right in the comic. And it didn't take a genius to decipher the clues. Add in the fact that May's new friend just happens to be a hacker extraordinaire (gee, how handy!) and all answers basically just fell in their laps. Middle grade readers will probably have fun with the comic aspect and the few "action" scenes but this is just too dumbed down for teens. I still give it 3 stars for the cool concept and the entertainment value.
This was a fun blend of traditional story telling and a graphic novel/comic. When May discovers the Princess X web comic, fantasy and reality start to blend as she pieces together clues from the comic to solve the real life mystery of what really happened to Libby. However, the "mystery" of what happened to Libby isn't particularly mysterious since it's basically all spelled out right in the comic. And it didn't take a genius to decipher the clues. Add in the fact that May's new friend just happens to be a hacker extraordinaire (gee, how handy!) and all answers basically just fell in their laps. Middle grade readers will probably have fun with the comic aspect and the few "action" scenes but this is just too dumbed down for teens. I still give it 3 stars for the cool concept and the entertainment value.
July 5, 2015
This is a strange book. I'd go so far as to say it's MG, not YA, despite having teenage protagonists, because this is a novel in the vein of a lot of MG: young intrepid protagonists solving wacky mystery on their own.
And it is a wacky mystery, and the motivations of the evil character are murky, and I am Princess X ultimately feels like a showpiece for child detecting in the internet age. Lots of tech references are dropped - this is a book that'll date pretty quickly, I think - and the mystery ends up being completely preposterous.
I didn't believe the story: not the main character's loneliness, or her complete lack of friends given the way she interacted with Patrick, or Patrick's involvement, or Jack's, or the ease with which the webcomic becomes famous and May conveniently solves it all.
And it is a wacky mystery, and the motivations of the evil character are murky, and I am Princess X ultimately feels like a showpiece for child detecting in the internet age. Lots of tech references are dropped - this is a book that'll date pretty quickly, I think - and the mystery ends up being completely preposterous.
I didn't believe the story: not the main character's loneliness, or her complete lack of friends given the way she interacted with Patrick, or Patrick's involvement, or Jack's, or the ease with which the webcomic becomes famous and May conveniently solves it all.
November 18, 2019
Not only was the book motivating to write better code, it showed how to do that on nice examples. I learned several new TECHNIQUES and relaized what was wrong.
May 7, 2018
DNF
Sorry guys, I couldn't get into it ;(
Sorry guys, I couldn't get into it ;(
April 3, 2017
Once upon a time,
May and Libby, friends by happenstance from the fifth grade onward, bonded over the story they had created.
What started with Libby's drawing of a badass princess in red Chucks, and budding writer May's insistence that she needed no magic wand, only a sword, became volumes and volumes of the life of Princess X.
Libby and May did not leave Princess X on the sidewalk. They took her home and, together, they built an imaginary empire.
Once upon a few years later,
The life of Princess X was tragically cut short when, at the age of thirteen, Libby was killed when her mother drove their car off a bridge, having fallen asleep at the wheel.
.... Supposedly.
All May knows about the case, at the time, is that her friend is dead, and her father had their house professionally cleaned out as he left the shattered remains of his life in Seattle behind him.
And those cleaners took a closet shelf full of Princess X with them.
Libby was dead. Princess X disappeared.
May lost her friend, again and again and again.
Once upon a now,
May's been jumping back and forth between Atlanta and Seattle ever since her parents split up, shortly after Libby's death.
One day, wanting out of the apartment while her father works, May takes a walk downtown as she ponders the novel she'd like to write.
But May instead finds Princess X.
Kind of. What May finds is a sticker that definitely has Princess X on it.
Her dad says it's a coincidence. After all, her and Libby's boxes of Princess X writings and pictures were picked up by a thrift shop service. Maybe someone found them and decided to take Princess X on themselves.
May could almost be convinced, until a little snooping leads her to IAmPrincessX.com, the website that hosts the Princess X webcomic.
Sure that this is her Princess X, solidified by the fact nobody knows who draws and writes it, May launches into Sherlock mode.
Details May never knew about Libby and her mother's death come to light, and she knows her friend is still alive.
Libby is Princess X.
With the help of the in-need-of-work teenage computerhacker expert upstairs, who finds even more about the case than May could, and the clues she picks up from the comic, (clues only she could find) she sets off to find her friend and bring whoever killed Libby's mother and possibly held her captive to justice.
The expert, Trick, has landed in some serious Dutch himself, losing a scholarship to Washington U for hacking into his high school's computer system to knock the girl who dumped him's grades down a few pegs.
He agreed to help May for the money (all six bucks and fifty cents she could offer).
He stayed for the mystery.
But when the chase turns deadly, May and Trick become tangled up in a bigger game than they could've possibly imagined.
And this is no comic book trial.
This wasn't just an adventure, it was life or death. And what could you say about life and death?
Oh. My. GOD.
I fell hard and fast for this book, folks.
May's character was so real to me. As a nerdy kid and not *exactly* cool 'young-adult', I could relate to her immediately.
The mystery doesn't kick in completely until the last quarter of the book, but that wasn't the point.
The point was about friendship and about how something you love can never be gone if you always keep it close to your heart.
The mystery itself wasn't hardboiled the say the least. I knew where most of it was going, but I was totally cool with that. Wanna know why?
There was enough going on (not a lick of it romantic, might I add) that the mystery wasn't all that important to me. May's adventures with Trick, the hunt for Princess X's Easter Eggs in the real world, were like the best urbex scavenger hunt ever.
And, again, there were two teenagers who didn't fall in doe-eyed instalove two seconds after meeting. They-
GASP!
Become friends!
Un-freaking-heard of, right?
Two insignificant sidenotes are that May and her dad watched The Venture Bros. and for the first time in a while, I ran into a character who says 'supper' instead of 'dinner', like I do.
Just really helped me relate more.
Cherie Priest has written several books for adults, and this is her first one aimed at teens. I can tell she's still getting her feet under her in YA, but this was a solid first book in the genre.
Part of me wants more, but the other part is glad the characters' stories were all resolved, within reason, and the author is done with this set.
I'm honestly just really glad to see geek girls of the non-manic pixie variety and a positive male-female friendship that didn't have to be romantic, especially in YA.
The art by Kali Cliesmier was great. I read a lot of webcomics (I mean a lot ) and it definitely felt authentic.
I'm only gonna share the one because there isn't a ton of it in the book. You're never sure when you'll run into it, and it's always well-timed.
Me at one AM: This is my shortest library book. Might as well start it before I go to sleep.
Me at two-thirty AM: Damn, this is good. I'm already halfway through. Maybe just a little more...
Me at four AM: God damn it! I should've been asleep three hours ago!
It's been a couple months since I sacrificed so much sleep for a book.
Worth it.
I Am Princess X was on my TBR for almost two years. It was one of those books where I'm going "Man. Shoulda read this a long-ass time ago."
Heed my articulate warning while I attempt to make it through this day.
May and Libby, friends by happenstance from the fifth grade onward, bonded over the story they had created.
What started with Libby's drawing of a badass princess in red Chucks, and budding writer May's insistence that she needed no magic wand, only a sword, became volumes and volumes of the life of Princess X.
Libby and May did not leave Princess X on the sidewalk. They took her home and, together, they built an imaginary empire.
Once upon a few years later,
The life of Princess X was tragically cut short when, at the age of thirteen, Libby was killed when her mother drove their car off a bridge, having fallen asleep at the wheel.
.... Supposedly.
All May knows about the case, at the time, is that her friend is dead, and her father had their house professionally cleaned out as he left the shattered remains of his life in Seattle behind him.
And those cleaners took a closet shelf full of Princess X with them.
Libby was dead. Princess X disappeared.
May lost her friend, again and again and again.
Once upon a now,
May's been jumping back and forth between Atlanta and Seattle ever since her parents split up, shortly after Libby's death.
One day, wanting out of the apartment while her father works, May takes a walk downtown as she ponders the novel she'd like to write.
But May instead finds Princess X.
Kind of. What May finds is a sticker that definitely has Princess X on it.
Her dad says it's a coincidence. After all, her and Libby's boxes of Princess X writings and pictures were picked up by a thrift shop service. Maybe someone found them and decided to take Princess X on themselves.
May could almost be convinced, until a little snooping leads her to IAmPrincessX.com, the website that hosts the Princess X webcomic.
Sure that this is her Princess X, solidified by the fact nobody knows who draws and writes it, May launches into Sherlock mode.
Details May never knew about Libby and her mother's death come to light, and she knows her friend is still alive.
Libby is Princess X.
With the help of the in-need-of-work teenage computer
The expert, Trick, has landed in some serious Dutch himself, losing a scholarship to Washington U for hacking into his high school's computer system to knock the girl who dumped him's grades down a few pegs.
He agreed to help May for the money (all six bucks and fifty cents she could offer).
He stayed for the mystery.
But when the chase turns deadly, May and Trick become tangled up in a bigger game than they could've possibly imagined.
And this is no comic book trial.
This wasn't just an adventure, it was life or death. And what could you say about life and death?
Oh. My. GOD.
I fell hard and fast for this book, folks.
May's character was so real to me. As a nerdy kid and not *exactly* cool 'young-adult', I could relate to her immediately.
The mystery doesn't kick in completely until the last quarter of the book, but that wasn't the point.
The point was about friendship and about how something you love can never be gone if you always keep it close to your heart.
The mystery itself wasn't hardboiled the say the least. I knew where most of it was going, but I was totally cool with that. Wanna know why?
There was enough going on (not a lick of it romantic, might I add) that the mystery wasn't all that important to me. May's adventures with Trick, the hunt for Princess X's Easter Eggs in the real world, were like the best urbex scavenger hunt ever.
And, again, there were two teenagers who didn't fall in doe-eyed instalove two seconds after meeting. They-
GASP!
Become friends!
Un-freaking-heard of, right?
Two insignificant sidenotes are that May and her dad watched The Venture Bros. and for the first time in a while, I ran into a character who says 'supper' instead of 'dinner', like I do.
Just really helped me relate more.
Cherie Priest has written several books for adults, and this is her first one aimed at teens. I can tell she's still getting her feet under her in YA, but this was a solid first book in the genre.
Part of me wants more, but the other part is glad the characters' stories were all resolved, within reason, and the author is done with this set.
I'm honestly just really glad to see geek girls of the non-manic pixie variety and a positive male-female friendship that didn't have to be romantic, especially in YA.
The art by Kali Cliesmier was great. I read a lot of webcomics (I mean a lot ) and it definitely felt authentic.
I'm only gonna share the one because there isn't a ton of it in the book. You're never sure when you'll run into it, and it's always well-timed.
Me at one AM: This is my shortest library book. Might as well start it before I go to sleep.
Me at two-thirty AM: Damn, this is good. I'm already halfway through. Maybe just a little more...
Me at four AM: God damn it! I should've been asleep three hours ago!
It's been a couple months since I sacrificed so much sleep for a book.
Worth it.
I Am Princess X was on my TBR for almost two years. It was one of those books where I'm going "Man. Shoulda read this a long-ass time ago."
Heed my articulate warning while I attempt to make it through this day.
September 8, 2018
this is either my fourth or fifth reread, and honestly, it gets better every time. i couldn't write a good enough review to give it justice, so just read it. and to top it all off, there's no romance! that never happens! it's all based on a platonic relationship!!!
March 28, 2017
I love this book so much!
May 9, 2020
(I really should stop reading other people’s reviews before writing my own. In this case, I noticed that nearly every reviewer who began with something like “I received an ARC of this minus the artwork” gave it a depressingly low score. Well, DUH. The artwork is an integral part of the story; unlike a lot of computer gimmickry inserted into novels, the web comics interspersed through the narrative function as a very important aspect of the overall mystery, and there are quite a few backstory items in them that don’t get explained in the text. So reviewing minus those elements is not giving the book a fair shake. It’s like skipping the footnotes in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell or House of Leaves-- you lose half of what makes the story work, both textually and aesthetically. Why any publisher would think it wise to release for review without the artwork is beyond my comprehension. But enough ranting.)
Cherie Priest is not quite a household name yet, but she is pretty well known in steampunk and alternate-history fan circles. I Am Princess X falls into neither category, though like a lot of her work, it blends together multiple genres to create something that is difficult to pigeonhole. It fuses old-fashioned mystery, techno thriller, fairy tale, and graphic novel elements to tell the story of an intensely loyal friendship.
Libby and May are best friends. They spend their time doing typical middle school girl stuff, but they have also constructed an elaborate fictional universe surrounding the character they call Princess X. Drawn by Libby and written by May, the stories of the fierce warrior princess in puffy sleeves and Chuck Taylor high tops fill notebook after notebook. But it doesn’t last. After Libby and her mother die in a car accident, the boxes of Princess X creations are given away by Libby’s grieving father, and May is left bereft of both her best friend and the world they created together. Three years later, Princess X makes a sudden reappearance, in the form of an underground web comic with a cult following. Despite everything that has happened, May knows Libby is the only person who could possibly be behind it. This theory leads to a series of increasingly dangerous events that pit May against a twisted conspiracy and an even more twisted adversary.
The mystery and the suspense are really well done, but what makes this book stand out from other YA novels of a similar bent is the focus on female friendship and ingenuity. May and Libby both risk life and limb to reach out to each other, and have complete faith in each other’s abilities, despite the obstacles between them. Not only this, but May teams up with a male computer hacker, and they NEVER ONCE make googly-eyes at each other. There is a love story, but it’s the platonic one between May and Libby.
Princess X has some pretty dark themes; it throws the reader into a young girl’s grief almost from page one, and the motivations of the characters are not sugarcoated. The mystery itself is pleasingly complex for a YA novel, but not so convoluted that it becomes more about the puzzle than about the characters (a complaint I often have about thrillers). Some of the references to brands and technology might date the story a little too quickly, but it suits the overall tone, so I can't really complain. This kind of plot-driven mystery is not my usual cup of tea, but the set-up was too intriguing to pass by, and Priest’s reputation for bending and breaking genre boundaries sealed the deal. It might be one of the most genuinely enjoyable books I’ve read this year.
(Cross-posted at BookLikes: http://atroskity.booklikes.com/post/1...)
Cherie Priest is not quite a household name yet, but she is pretty well known in steampunk and alternate-history fan circles. I Am Princess X falls into neither category, though like a lot of her work, it blends together multiple genres to create something that is difficult to pigeonhole. It fuses old-fashioned mystery, techno thriller, fairy tale, and graphic novel elements to tell the story of an intensely loyal friendship.
Libby and May are best friends. They spend their time doing typical middle school girl stuff, but they have also constructed an elaborate fictional universe surrounding the character they call Princess X. Drawn by Libby and written by May, the stories of the fierce warrior princess in puffy sleeves and Chuck Taylor high tops fill notebook after notebook. But it doesn’t last. After Libby and her mother die in a car accident, the boxes of Princess X creations are given away by Libby’s grieving father, and May is left bereft of both her best friend and the world they created together. Three years later, Princess X makes a sudden reappearance, in the form of an underground web comic with a cult following. Despite everything that has happened, May knows Libby is the only person who could possibly be behind it. This theory leads to a series of increasingly dangerous events that pit May against a twisted conspiracy and an even more twisted adversary.
The mystery and the suspense are really well done, but what makes this book stand out from other YA novels of a similar bent is the focus on female friendship and ingenuity. May and Libby both risk life and limb to reach out to each other, and have complete faith in each other’s abilities, despite the obstacles between them. Not only this, but May teams up with a male computer hacker, and they NEVER ONCE make googly-eyes at each other. There is a love story, but it’s the platonic one between May and Libby.
Princess X has some pretty dark themes; it throws the reader into a young girl’s grief almost from page one, and the motivations of the characters are not sugarcoated. The mystery itself is pleasingly complex for a YA novel, but not so convoluted that it becomes more about the puzzle than about the characters (a complaint I often have about thrillers). Some of the references to brands and technology might date the story a little too quickly, but it suits the overall tone, so I can't really complain. This kind of plot-driven mystery is not my usual cup of tea, but the set-up was too intriguing to pass by, and Priest’s reputation for bending and breaking genre boundaries sealed the deal. It might be one of the most genuinely enjoyable books I’ve read this year.
(Cross-posted at BookLikes: http://atroskity.booklikes.com/post/1...)
February 7, 2017
4.5
That was amazing!
I was on edge the entire time!
The scariest part? The fact that this is not fantasy or anything. It's realistic fiction, which means things like this and worse happen and have happened in real life!
May's best friend is Libby. They became friends in fifth grade when they began writing, drawing, and bonding over an original creation of theirs, Princess X. One day, when they were 13 years old, Libby died in a car accident. Libby's mother fell asleep and drove off a bridge with Libby in the car with her.
Supposedly.
Because three years later, May begins seeing Princess X pop up everywhere: on stickers, on merchandise, and even on it's own website, iamprincessx.com. It was wildly popular, but no one knew who the creator was. Except for May. Who else could it be but Libby, the dead Libby?
I loved the mysterious treasure hunt type adventure this book had. I love those kinds of stories! I'm a sucker for the National Treasure movies and any kinds of adventures where there are puzzles and clues the characters must decipher!
If you like these types of stories, then I'd recommend picking this up!
It was so much fun!
And spooky!
Let me give you guys some advice that I learned from this book: If you're mad at someone and/or you didn't get your way, please don't murder or kidnap people! That's not gonna help your case or solve your problem! You can find other solutions that aren't as inhumane and sketchy as these. However, I cannot tell you what to do so......feel free to ignore my advice.....I guess......If you want......please don't ignore my advice :)
I found this to be a unique, creative, and enjoyable story with just the right amount of sass, nail-biting nervous energy, and fear!
I listened to the audiobook version and it was really wonderful!
I would definitely recommend!
That was amazing!
I was on edge the entire time!
The scariest part? The fact that this is not fantasy or anything. It's realistic fiction, which means things like this and worse happen and have happened in real life!
May's best friend is Libby. They became friends in fifth grade when they began writing, drawing, and bonding over an original creation of theirs, Princess X. One day, when they were 13 years old, Libby died in a car accident. Libby's mother fell asleep and drove off a bridge with Libby in the car with her.
Supposedly.
Because three years later, May begins seeing Princess X pop up everywhere: on stickers, on merchandise, and even on it's own website, iamprincessx.com. It was wildly popular, but no one knew who the creator was. Except for May. Who else could it be but Libby, the dead Libby?
I loved the mysterious treasure hunt type adventure this book had. I love those kinds of stories! I'm a sucker for the National Treasure movies and any kinds of adventures where there are puzzles and clues the characters must decipher!
If you like these types of stories, then I'd recommend picking this up!
It was so much fun!
And spooky!
Let me give you guys some advice that I learned from this book: If you're mad at someone and/or you didn't get your way, please don't murder or kidnap people! That's not gonna help your case or solve your problem! You can find other solutions that aren't as inhumane and sketchy as these. However, I cannot tell you what to do so......feel free to ignore my advice.....I guess......If you want......
I found this to be a unique, creative, and enjoyable story with just the right amount of sass, nail-biting nervous energy, and fear!
I listened to the audiobook version and it was really wonderful!
I would definitely recommend!
May 2, 2017
Thanks to Evan for the recommendation!
Although I don't usually like mystery books, I could not put this one down. The story starts with two outcasts - Libby and May - who can't play at recess so they start drawing with chalk on the sidewalk at school. They become fast friends and together create this story of Princess X. A few years later, Libby dies in a car crash with her mom. May is devastated because she's lost her only friend and all of their Princess X stories. When May is a teenager, she starts seeing Princess X stickers all over town. With the help of a tech-saavy neighbor, May starts investigating the stickers, a mysterious online comic that looks very familiar, and clues left by a mysterious guy with bleached blonde hair. The adventure that follows is exciting, scary, and will keep you guessing until the very end! The twists and turns made me anxious to keep reading, but in a good way! It was an ending I did not expect! I love that the main character is a strong, independent female who never gives up on her friends. This would be a great book to read as a book club with your friends! May reminds me of Katniss from The Hunger Games - she is on an adventure the entire book and never gives up on her friends. If you like adventures and mystery, you will love this book!
Although I don't usually like mystery books, I could not put this one down. The story starts with two outcasts - Libby and May - who can't play at recess so they start drawing with chalk on the sidewalk at school. They become fast friends and together create this story of Princess X. A few years later, Libby dies in a car crash with her mom. May is devastated because she's lost her only friend and all of their Princess X stories. When May is a teenager, she starts seeing Princess X stickers all over town. With the help of a tech-saavy neighbor, May starts investigating the stickers, a mysterious online comic that looks very familiar, and clues left by a mysterious guy with bleached blonde hair. The adventure that follows is exciting, scary, and will keep you guessing until the very end! The twists and turns made me anxious to keep reading, but in a good way! It was an ending I did not expect! I love that the main character is a strong, independent female who never gives up on her friends. This would be a great book to read as a book club with your friends! May reminds me of Katniss from The Hunger Games - she is on an adventure the entire book and never gives up on her friends. If you like adventures and mystery, you will love this book!
October 1, 2016
Three years ago May's best friend Libby drowned after her mom's car fell off a bridge, holding her and her mom prisoners of the water. Their comic book and its characters died with her, but now, years later, May could swear she is getting messages, hidden deep in layers of an anonymous webcomics she discovers after finding multiple stickers papering the streets with the previous heroine of their friendship: Princess X. Now May is on a desperate quest to prove that her friend is alive, and the cover up story of her death was actually a murder- and that the murderer is someone everyone knows, in a certain comic online. I loved the detail and the creative style of writing, combining graphic novel with an excellently told murder mystery. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery books. I think this book is kind of like When You Reach Me, but more fantasy than science fiction perhaps.
December 27, 2024
Impulse grab from the library. It's very creative, fresh, well-written, with inspiring themes that are just right for teens.... But still it's a mystery adventure, at the core, and so I'm surprised that I liked it so much as I normally do not like thrillers or adventures. So, what I think engaged me are the characters. They really are interesting vital people. The best part of all, imo, is the artwork. Princess X is an amazing webcomic and I'm just totally in love with the premise, drawing style, vibe.
Lots of quick little bits of smart writing. I kept noting them in my head but not even pausing to mark them as I was just inhaling the book. One example that I did catch is not one of the best: "... the place was only bustling a little bit."
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Reread. Just for fun. Again I find it powerful & moving. There's just something magical about it that no blurb can capture. The tech may be dated, but not by much & there's no need to fret about it. Still highly recommended.
Lots of quick little bits of smart writing. I kept noting them in my head but not even pausing to mark them as I was just inhaling the book. One example that I did catch is not one of the best: "... the place was only bustling a little bit."
---
Reread. Just for fun. Again I find it powerful & moving. There's just something magical about it that no blurb can capture. The tech may be dated, but not by much & there's no need to fret about it. Still highly recommended.
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