Jane
Written on Aug 26, 2019
Full review @ https://janepedia.com/when/
- ISBN10 060639883X
- ISBN13 9780606398831
- Publish Date 6 September 2016 (first published 13 January 2015)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 20 July 2022
- Imprint Turtleback Books
- Edition Bound for Schools & Libraries ed.
- Format Hardcover (Library Binding)
- Pages 336
- Language English
Reviews
Full review @ https://janepedia.com/when/
adarkershadeofrosie
Written on Jan 19, 2015
→ LIKED: This novel contains next-to-no romance. So it's not bogged down by ooey-gooey love. • A lot of twists and turns! • I finished this book in TWO DAYS. I couldn't put it down. • Maddie lives a pretty tough life – with death hanging over everyone’s head, and an alcoholic mother, and only one loyal best friend, Maddie dreads going to school every morning. Her mother forces her to do ‘death date readings’ for paying customers so that they can make a little extra money each month (which is booze money for mom). After a young boy is murdered, the mother is pointing her finger in Maddie’s direction, and suddenly, the FBI infiltrate her life. • The author planted seeds of doubt in every possible suspect, which was pretty thrilling. • Sometimes, nothing is worse than a predictable book. It’s safe to say that I wasn’t even CLOSE to unveiling the mysterious murderer all by myself.
Kim Deister
Written on Jan 14, 2015
The mere idea of such an ability is chilling to me. To be so incredibly immersed in death all of the time. To be judged and ridiculed. On one hand, the ability could bring comfort to those afraid death is near when they find out it isn't. On the other hand, the ability can be painful, knowing that someone has only a short time left. I can't imagine the pain of having to tell someone that they or someone they love is going to die imminently, much less having to do it over and over again.
Needless to say, this has been both a gift and curse for Maddie. She is a highly intelligent girl, but this ability has made her a bit of a social pariah. After losing her father in a shootout, her mother turned to alcohol, leaving Maddie to care for them both from a young age. The drinking got to such a point that Maddie was forced to provide readings for money to survive. The idea that a mother would be so selfish as to force her daughter to do something so painful so often, simply so that she (the mother) could indulge in her booze habit was reprehensible to me. As much as I loved Maddie, her mother drove me insane.
While I loved the premise of the book and I loved Maddie, I had some issues with the realism, or lack of it, in places. I think that is a direct result of being a lawyer's daughter and watching too many cop shows! Less than 24 hours after her son goes missing, a mother reports him missing and suddenly the FBI is involved. After that, things went from 0 to 60 very quickly and in ways that didn't seem realistic to me. I don't want to give any spoilers, so I will leave it at that!
My Recommendation
Despite my issues, I enjoyed this book. The concept is so unique and it is one that really makes you think. What would you do if you had the same ability? Would you tell people and risk social isolation, or would you hide it? Can you imagine what life would be like to be so surrounded by the concept of death all the time? How would you handle it?
Linda
Written on Dec 25, 2014
Not completely my cup of tea. The mystery with the serial killer was well done, but the numbers thing didn't work for me. Full review to come soon.
This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews
kimbacaffeinate
Written on Dec 18, 2014
- The premise for When is interesting and a little creepy. Imagine knowing the date everyone will die. How Maddie came to do readings was believable and immediately allowed the reader to connect. It makes you ponder the questions, "Would you want to know your end date?"
- It is a standalone! In a sea of trilogies, series and serials it was fantastic to slip into a world and get a complete story.
- Maddie Fynn is an interesting character who struggles with her gift and dealing with her broken home life. Despite that, she is a good kid and tries to deal with her lot in life. She longs to be wrong, which is understandable. I immediately felt a connection to Maddie, and appreciated how realistic she was portrayed.
- Secondary characters are strong and added to the story. Stubby her best friend is both supportive and the catalyst that complicates things. The portrayal of Maddie’s mom and her disease was well done. I appreciate the way the author addressed it. From FBI agents, to the next-door neighbor Laurie gave them all unique voices and depth.
- The pacing of the tale keeps the reader engaged as Maddie struggles to clear names and keep her home life from falling completely apart.
- The author slowly increased the tension, with twists and turns. How people reacted as the case unfolded was realistic and a painful reminder of guilty to proven innocent. The final chapters will have the reader unable to set the book down. The conclusion was strong and left the reader satisfied.
Decaffeinated Aspects:
- Police and FBI procedures are not exactly by the book here and while I suppose arguments could be made; I just rolled with it as the story was engaging.
- There is a love interest, and while it displays Maddie as young, and normal it did little for the storyline. It was just sprinkled in here or there. Romance is not a necessary ingredient for me, but the hint of one and minimal page time may disappoint some. Go into the story thinking no romance and all will be fine. While it served to lighten the intensity, it could have been cut during editing.
Copy provided by publisher.This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Leah
Written on Dec 9, 2014
When I saw When by Victoria Laurie up on Netgalley, I was super intrigued - it sounded like a fantastic novel and I was somewhat surprised to be accepted to read the book. I was even more excited to read the book when I saw that one of my most favourite bloggers, ever - Ashley at Nose Graze absolutely loved the novel too! I really respect her opinion and I knew that because she had thought so highly of it, that it would be a book worth reading - and it was.
I remember back when LiveJournal was a thing there was a forum where people asked questions, and one time someone asked the question: would you rather know WHEN you die, or HOW you die. And that's the premise of When, because Maddie sees people's death dates. She can't see anything else - she doesn't know how they'll die, but she can tell them the date they'll die (which is what I would prefer to know - there's no use knowing the how, if you don't know when!). But Maddie's life starts to go pear-shaped when Maddie tells a mother her teen will die soon and the teen subsequently goes missing and is found murdered, and Maddie finds herself in the middle of an FBI investgation, fighting to clear her name.
The pace of When is pitch perfect. I flew through the novel at a startling rate of knots, it was super convincing and so, so absorbing. Despite the fact Maddie narrates the novel, I felt we still got the full scope of the book - Maddie seeing death dates, the investigation surrounding all these dead teens, and Maddie's hopelessness to prove she and best friend Stubby had nothing to do with it. I was desperate for her to clear her name, and on the edge of my seat for most of the book!
Maddie is also one of my favourite narrators, ever. I loved her. She had SO much to deal with - the death of her dad, which she feels guilty for; Stubby's arrest for murder; her mother's alcoholism; being bullied at school by teachers and students alike; and dealing with FBI agents who are determined to prove her guilt, despite the fact she's innocent. Anyone else would have sat in a room, cried, and refused to come out. But Maddie is a Fynn, and Fynn's fight and I loved that about her. It was great to see the payoff from that towards the end of the novel. And her Uncle Donny was by FAR the coolest Uncle there can ever be. Seriously, I loved that man.
Literally everything about the book was amazing. I could sit here and rave about it all day, that's how much I enjoyed it. It made me laugh, it made me cry (oh, how it made me cry!) and it had me on the edge of my seat for a lot of it. Even the reveal of who the actual killer was surprised me, because I had it already pinned on someone else, so the actual reveal made me gasp. When just hit all of the right notes for me, there was nothing I didn't like about it. It's been a while since I've enjoyed a book as much as When, and I very much did not want it to end, because I loved getting to know the characters so much.
Victoria Laurie is a new author to me, but When has put her firmly on my list of authors whose books I have to read and keep track of, because it was simply that freaking good. It had the most amazing plot with such a good premise (I'm very curious now regarding the how/when debate - if you could not how or when you die, but not both which would YOU choose, readers?!?! I'm firmly in Maddie's camp with the when) and fantastic characters you really, really care about. So much so that they become like family, or at least they did to me. The ending was fantastic - endings have let me down recently but this just made me squeeeeeeeee with delight. (After I'd got off the edge of my seat, obviously). If there's one 2015 release you must read it is When, because it is fantastic. One of the best books I've ever read.{Leah Loves} http://leah-loves.com http://leah-loves.com/books-victoria-laurie/
Angie
Written on Nov 11, 2014
When was so freaking good! Maddie can see deathdates. When she was little, she didn't know what it was. She just saw numbers floating around people's heads. It isn't until her father dies that she and her mother realize what she can do. Now, Maddie is sixteen and taking care of her alcoholic mother, while working as a "psychic." At least until one woman gets extremely upset with Maddie's prediction about her son, and then points the cops in her direction when his body turns up a week later.
I could not put When down! The mystery is 100% engaging and addicting. The action picks up right away as Maddie and her best friend, Stubby, are accused of killing that boy, and then another girl whom Stubby has a crush on turns up dead on her birthday. The evidence was really damning against them. Maddie can't exactly explain how she knows what she knows, and it's hard to prove, especially when someone is so sure she's a cold-blooded killer rather than a girl with a special ability. Things just keep getting worse and worse for her, and yet, she's still trying to help those whose dates are close. She's convinced they can be changed if she warns them in time.
I never figured out who the real murderer was in When. There are plenty of suspicious characters around, but I never guessed them. When it all came out, I was like WTF?! People can be sooo sick and disturbed. That final confrontation was intense, because seriously, they are messed up in the head. But my favorite part was all of the little details that seemed unimportant and then all of a sudden BOOM! Awesome. And that epilogue and final page were so cute! It gave me all kinds of tingly feelings!
When is great. That's all there is to it. Maddie was an amazing protagonist. She's honest, sweet, and caring, but can also get feisty when she needs to. The mystery was dark and awesome. The conclusion was eerie and awesome. The non-romance was supremely adorable! Just read it!
Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.
Ashley
Written on Sep 11, 2014
This book was FAAABULOUS! It was super intense and un-put-downable. I read through the night! I love how I couldn't guess the ending at all.
I even liked how the book had no romance! There was a tiny bit of a crush but it only tied in at the beginning, middle, and end. It wasn't an actual romance. That allowed for the mystery/thrill to dominate the book, and that was epic!!