I Am Princess X Recommendation

So for this week's recommendation, I have a pretty unique book to show you. It's a little bit graphic novel, it's a little bit super hero comic, it's a little bit YA contemporary, it's a little bit Nancy Drew-style mystery. It was so interesting and fun, and I really enjoyed it.

It's called I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest, and it's a recent release, published earlier this year in May. You can check the goodreads profile for it here, and read the synopsis below:

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.

If that and the beautiful cover doesn't intrigue you, I don't know what will. The book, which focuses heavily on Princess X and her story, features snippets from the web comic about the Princess. It also has beautiful little drawings, illustrations and splashes of purple throughout it. The cover is spectacular, for sure, but the interior design (of the hardcover copy, at least... I don't know about any other medium) is gorgeous. The chapters all have a brilliant purple header of Princess X, and the book physically is so beautiful I was tempted to buy it without even looking it up on goodreads.

Not only is the book's design, interior and exterior, spectacular, but the story is also incredibly intriguing and cutesy. The main character, May, although a tiny bit dry, is our narrator most of the time, in third person. She is dedicated and loyal, and a through-and-through conspiracy theorist. She meets many other friends, including a snarky, law-bending hacker and a peroxide blonde punk in her quest to figure out who is behind the new Princess X site and whether Libby is still alive.

Though the book is somewhat childish in its nature, with very tame, comic book like themes, the clues and the actual mystery is captivating and keeps you guessing. The parallels between the Princess X web comic and the actual storyline May is living are spine-tingling to watch unfold, and you will start to piece together the mystery, slowly, for yourself.

It's not the most intellectual mystery ever, but it's a cute, adorable tale of bravery, super heroes and friendship. May and Libby will make you want to grab a friend and create things together, and their friendship is wonderful to read. In saying that, this book does get dark in its themes at time, with murder and serial killers and psychopaths, but the way it's written, with comic book style motifs and lovable characters, makes it hard to be too menacing.

I would recommend this book to anyone in need of a fluffy, cutesy, original contemporary with a bit of a mystery and a happy ending. I would suggest it to fans of comics like Ms Marvel, and books like E. Lockhart's The Disreputable History Of Frankie Landau-Banks, and other books with mysteries, friendship and strong female role models.

If you do read I Am Princess X, and you'd like to discuss with me, contact me via the comments below, or any of my socials (in the banner at the top of my blog, under the header). If you'd like to contact me for business, my book, or just to chat, send me an email: mywordsarearrows@gmail.com :)

You can also add me as a friend on goodreads, or like my facebook page, to keep up to date with what I'm reading and posting.

Hope you have a wonderful day, and I'll see you soon with another post!

Lily xoxo