I Am Princess X

Priest, Cherie. I Am Princess X. 2015. 256p. ISBN 9780545620857. Available at FIC PRI on the library shelves.

When May met Libby in 5th grade, they didn’t have much in common aside from a love of stories. Being exempt from PE together, they spent a lot of time in the recess yard. When Libby drew a princess wearing red sneakers and a crown, May suggested adding a sword. Princess X was born, and thousands of stories written by May and illustrated by Libby. Princess X participated in countless adventures fighting dragons, storming castles, and protecting the weak.

A few years later, however, Libby died in a car accident when the car her mother was driving fell off the bridge. Libby’s body was found a few days later, bloated and disfigured. May’s world ended that day. She got herself together and went back to Libby’s house to retrieve the stories, but her grieving father had already sold the house and donated everything to Goodwill. Soon May’s parents split up, and May went to live with her mother in Atlanta.

Now it is the summer following her junior year, and May is back in Seattle spending a few weeks with her father. Wandering the streets of Seattle, she makes a startling discovery. On the outside of a display window is a sticker that looks very much like Princess X, only Princess X is grown and no longer looks like a child. Confused, May begins to see Princess X stickers, patches, and t-shirts everywhere. Princess X lives, but only one other person aside from May knew she existed.

Then May stumbles upon IamPrincessX.com, a website where new illustrated adventures of the Princess are published regularly. The whole phenomena started about six months ago. May is now convinced that Libby is not dead, and that she needs help. But she obviously doesn’t want to be easily found. It’s up to May to figure out what is going on and how she can rescue her best friend. Can she be as courageous as Princess X?

Manga-style drawings telling many of the tales of Princess X are interspaced throughout the story, adding an illustrative element to the narrative. The city of Seattle features prominently in the plot and several famous locations directly influence the main characters. The characters are all well-defined and the mystery moves along at a rapid pace, keeping the reader on edge the entire time. Even when it’s clear Libby is still alive, the motivations keeping her away from May remain hidden until the reveal at the end of the book.