In her first novel for young adults, Cherie Priest (Boneshaker) introduces Libby Deaton and May Harper, who unite to create the comics character Princess X. The story quickly becomes a gripping mystery after Libby mysteriously disappears and May becomes obsessed with finding her.
Libby and May meet in fifth grade at recess. Libby begins doodling with chalk. When a younger child asks Libby to draw a princess, May suggests, "Give her a sword," and Princess X is born--a brave girl who can combat ghosts as well as human villains. Then, at age 13, Libby and her mother are in a crash that lands them in Seattle's Salmon Bay. But Libby is missing from the car, and May's recurring dream suggests she escaped--despite the later discovery of a body bearing Libby's waterlogged ID.
Three years later, May spies a sticker with Princess X on it. Could Libby still be alive? May hires a computer hacker named Trick to help her, who turns out to be a Princess X groupie, and shows May Princess X's secret web comics. The more May reads, the more convinced she is that Libby is alive.
In a clever innovation, Priest seamlessly integrates Kali Ciesemier's comics within the prose narrative. Each new episode of Princess X reveals further clues and a terrifying reality for their creator. Ciesemier's portrait of Princess X achieves a sense of both anxiety and bravery. Priest demonstrates that creative teamwork of the kind shared by Libby and May leads to an intimate knowledge of one's collaborator. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness