This book grabbed me from the very beginning with its fairy tale like prologue and a princess escaping her planned marriage to the enemy and her difficult stepmother. When Thomas goes through the Tandem in search of the princess's analog, Sasha, he takes with him Toggles - a sweet chocolate candy with a fruit center, and he meets his heroine in the parallel universe of Chicago in a bookstore, two of my favorite things - chocolate and bookstores. Thomas is a universal transporter and Sasha is the princess's analog. She is a look alike for Princess Juliana, but because of her different setting and experiences, is a different person. Sash's parents were killed in an accident when she was small and she lives a quiet life with her physicist professor grandfather. She has always had somewhat enigmatic dreams about a princess. Turns out that princess is Juliana. Thomas has come t form Aurora, exchanging places with an acquaintance of Sasha's. He invites her to prom then whisks her away to Aurora where she is to stand in for the runaway princess for six days, meeting the princess's betrothed. She is promised a return home if she co-operates. The switch is called Operation Starling, involves the KES, and is represented in the provocative cover art. Although this book is intriguing, given the age of the protagonists and the rather mature language, I think this book inappropriate for Truman readers (grades 6-8), but would recommend it for Gateway (high school.)
Truman Award Preliminary Nominee 2015-16
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