I read this book for the first time over a decade ago and thought it was a great book then. I was excited to hear about the long awaited sequel and reread this book before continuing with the sequel, Whenever. The reread was just as good as when I read it the first time. Maddie has the misfortune of seeing numbers on peoples foreheads and those dates are death dates. This book kept me on my seat as I went with Maddie and Stubby to try and solve who was responsible for the students death. I especially liked the death dates included when reading about individuals and reading the book almost a decade later that some of those dates had passed and knowing that they were "dead" in Maddie and Stubby's world. ( )

Received from Netgalley:
I loved this author's "Psychic Eye"titles so I thought I would give this one a shot. Maddy can see numbers above everyone whether in person or picture. She can see everyone's death date. "When" is a great paranormal story for young adults. ( )

Did I really only rate this book now? Wow. This was my second read. The first time, I was hugely let down by cliches that kept nipping at me until one finally bit me on the inside of my arm. The second time, I picked up the book -remembering- them, -preparing- myself for them...and finding out this book's cliches were no longer the actions of a bitey puppy, but a well-trained dog who could do amazing tricks.

This is a YA thriller about a protagonist, Maddie, who can see the dates of peoples' deaths on their foreheads. She's been able to do this since a young age. What a fascinating premise! What a great idea to have this take place when she's sixteen and still navigating the world, not yet an adult who's been changed a little by life experiences or more jaded. Real-world issues are major themes of this book: her mom is an alcoholic, and my heart broke at how it was portrayed. I thought of my mom every time this showed up. She never talks about her mom, who died from severe cirrhosis. Every interaction in the book, I'd figure "My mom likely went through that." Maddie's best friend, Stubby, is put into jail due to him being suspected of murdering a girl because he's stalking her anyway, and Maddie -smiles- at his behavior. Maddie, don't be gross.

I will point out I do think most decisions Stubby and Maddie made -were- the actions of stubborn teenagers who tend towards impulsivity in times of strong emotion. I totally forgot where I was going with that. Anyway, the author can write teenagers really well. The cliches that annoyed me so much until one infuriated me enough to never want to read the book again: I pardoned some because it's YA, not for adults, and others were about how different deaths were portrayed. One character's actions were positive ones, "like she knew" she was going to die. That was actually a sweet thing upon my second time reading this. (Getting together with family and stuff, I mean) I thought it was also -super- interesting how originally, two douchebags at her school are best friends whose death dates are the same. I figured immediately that they'd die in a car accident or something and felt bad. Trying not to be spoilery, but a cliche happened around that, I thought was well-placed.
Maddie not talking to her crush was another cliche, but shy teens are also a thing. I was one. I am still shy. Another cliche was the lip-licking, salivating pedophile who is moving furniture into the house next to hers. Author, you could have just had him staring at her creepily, or for too long, or hovering out her door or something. All of those are creepy. Nobody licks their lips unless their mouth is chapped. Having him be a super-creep near the end was not the red herring it could have been. Having the -real- villain be who it was--now THAT was well-done. I really liked that. I went from feeling positive about the villain in the beginning to my blood running cold.

The big cliche that made me never want to read the book again, the first time around, involved Maddie's own death date and that of another character. I was -furious- at how unrealistic it was. How -dare- so many cliches crowd out a beautiful story, and in the final paragraph no less. The second time around, I rolled my eyes, ignored it, and pretended the book ended the paragraph before that one. Also, having your love interest move in with his dad so he can move in to the house next to you? Does...that make anyone else uneasy? Just me? Okay. ( )

In the book, When, Maddie has an amazing gift; she is able to see the date that people will die on their foreheads. Maddie's mother, who is an alcoholic, has her do readings for money. When a mother comes asking Maddie about her child that is suffering from leukemia, Maddie sees that she will live a long life, but her healthy brother will die in a week. When the brother is murdered on the day predicted, the FBI starts looking at Maddie as a possible serial killer. From then on, more and more clues point toward Maddie and her best friend, Stubby. In order to prove their innocence, Maddie and her uncle try to figure out who the actual killer might be.

This is a very suspenseful story with lots of drama and action that keep the pages turning quickly. A very interesting read. ( )

This was a great book because it kept me guessing as to who was the bad guy. It truly surprised me. Not going to say more. It was quite the ride. If you like to live through a character and experience life as a teenager, this one does it just like a kid would, successes, mistakes, highs and lows. It even has a goofy best friend. ( )