I have just finished reading “When” by: Victoria Laurie, a 323-page fiction novel. I really liked reading this book because I enjoy books with a lot of suspense in them.

In this book Maddie has a special power, she can see death dates. Her mother, who is an alcoholic, puts this gift to use by finding customers and having them pay to see them or other people’s death dates. Everything is going fine until one of the kids that she read a death date for goes missing on the exact date she said he would die on and then is found dead.She then get pulled into an investigation that makes her life crazy. Then more young people she has been in contact with disappear and one of her best friends is locked up in jail. During the many plot twists of this book Maddie makes her mark on the world and discovers the true killer.

The main character was a very interesting one. She had a huge back story which definitely helped with finding out who the killer was. I think the author did a perfect job creating the main character and developing all the people around her. I was surprised by this passage:

“Scream and I’ll cut your throat,” he said.

I held back a sob and more tears flowed down my cheeks . “Why?” I gasped. He’d been so nice. He told me I’d helped him by giving him a year to prepare and take care of his family in the event of his death.

“Why?” he repeated. “Well, Maddie, that’s an interesting question, isn’t it ? But I think you deserve an answer, so I am going to tell you.” He pivoted me toward the mantel,and my gaze landed on the photo of my dad.

“See when I first same to see you,” he began, “and I heard what you had to say well I believed you meant it. I figured it was perfectly logical for me to bite the dust at fifty-three. My dad died at fifty-five, and I’ve got an uncle who kicked the bucket at forty-nine,so it runs in my family.”

“And like I also told you, I decided to get all my affairs in order and make sure that my family was well provided for, and I did all that, Maddie. I did it all. But then those dark cravings that I’d fought against  my whole life started to crop up again, and I had an amazing thought. I was going to die soon anyway, right? Why not act on some of those thoughts? I’ve wanted to my whole life, you know. And I wondered what it’d be like to stop trying to be someone else and instead let me be me. So I did. And I can tell you it’s been awesome.”(295-296) (I took some names/ parts out so I wouldn’t spoil the book.)

This passage shows how well Victoria Laurie can keep the reader in suspense of what is going to happen next. This book was really really good so I would rate it a 10 out of 10.

Sincerely,

Hanna