When

When by Victoria Laurie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Maddie Fynn is a 16-year old with a remarkable gift. Maddie can see the day someone will die above their head. Everyone has a date in Maddie’s eyes. She can even see the date in photos. This gift was a source of income for Maddie and her alcoholic mother after her father was killed in the line of duty. People would pay Maddie to tell them when they would die until one day when Maddie told the death date of someone that her client wasn't suspecting. The date was coming up close and that wasn’t the only untimely death that Maddie noticed. Soon Maddie and her best friend Stubby are implicated in the suspected murders of these unexplained deaths. How can someone really know the death date of someone if they aren’t the one who is doing the killing? With the help of Maddie’s Uncle Donny, her Dad’s brother, they unravel the twisted plot of a serial killer who has a date with his own death very soon.

When by Victoria Laurie is a great mystery with a twisted plot that will keep you guessing up to the end. When I first started the story, I was a little put off by the talk of death. It’s an uncomfortable subject and who would be comfortable knowing when everyone in their life was going to kick off! As the story played on, the death date seeing became less prevalent and the story began to take over. I think the story was well written and very original. I liked how Stubby changed when he was released. His time in prison wasn’t detailed (it didn’t have to be), but his demeanor really pulled at my heartstrings for a seemingly naive child to have to face what Stubby went through.There were some issues that I did have with the book. Uncle Donny seemed way too convenient to bail Maddie out all the time. I was able to see past that though because he was very likable and hey, who wouldn’t want an ‘Uncle Donny’ in their lives! I also had a hard time with the explanation of the serial killer about why he did what he did. I get the fact that he was dying anyway so why not, but the ‘cravings’ and ‘bliss’ of killing seemed like it was right out of a documentary on the Investigation Discovery channel. I still liked the book and I do recommend When by Victoria Laurie for mid to older teens.

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