Review: I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest

I Am Princess X

Pages: 240 pages
Genre: YA, Mystery, Graphic Novels
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books (Scholastic), May 2015
Format: paperback ARC
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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.

Looks are deceiving. Based on the cover and title of I Am Princess X, I really didn’t have any interest in reading it. And then a local book club decided to read this novel this month, so I decided, why not? I mean, the inside looked pretty nice, with purple coloured text and comic strips.

I Am Princess X was a super thrilling murder mystery… And murder mysteries are the best mysteries. The action kicks off almost right away. It wasn’t the super exciting action yet, but it did pack a punch of interest, like the characters, for example. Libby was mysterious, and like all mysterious characters, you can’t help but fall in love with them.  Her ideas were so creative and gripping, I just love her so much. Although Libby may have been through some traumatizing experiences, she didn’t let that get to her; she was such a strong person. May on the other hand was smart and despite her character, she really surprises you with her actions throughout the novel. Like Libby, May has also been through a lot and stays hopeful not just for herself, but for her best friend.

As the story climaxed, I found that I was racing to finish this book. I needed to know what happened, but I couldn’t read as fast as everything was happening. I’m pretty sure as I was reading, the dramatic music you hear in Marvel movies was playing, bringing me to the ‘BAM!’ part of the story, the ‘dun dun duuunnnn.’

What I didn’t like about I Am Princess X was the lack of comics in the ARC. I’m sure that in the finished edition, the comics really do provide a much better visualization of the story itself, but I really wish the publisher had provided more of the comics in the ARC. I also wasn’t a big fan of Cherie Priest’s writing style. The style was interesting, but I felt like it was more directed at middle grade readers more so than YA readers.

I Am Princess X kept me interested throughout the novel, and I would definitely recommend this to someone who’s looking for a book full of adventure; mystery/thriller lovers. This novel had the thrilling scenes… just minus the gruesome, but with a lot of fun.

3/5 stars