What If...Everyone Knew Your Name

WHAT IF...EVERYONE KNEW YOUR NAME by Liz Ruckdeschel & Sara James
Category: Contemporary
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 6/27/06
Publisher: Delacorte
Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce
Rating: 4 Stars

WHAT IF...EVERYONE KNEW YOUR NAME is an interesting idea. It's a lot like those Choose Your Own Adventure
books you read as a kid. The story is about Haley, a fairly average fifteen-year-old girl who has just moved to suburban
New Jersey and is starting at her first public high school. She starts out average, so that the reader can pretty much choose
everything that happens to her as the story goes on.

You make every little decision for her, even the ones that seem really minor, like riding the bus to school or getting a ride
from her father. You decide who she wants to be friends with and what crowd she wants to be a part of. You decide
everything about her.

While an interesting idea, and fairly well-written, this book isn't for everyone. If you're all about finding out what will happen,
this book might not be for you, because you decide what happens. It's a cool concept, though, and a fun read, especially
since you can read it more than once, with a different story and outcome. The characters aren't particularly three-
dimensional, but I guess they have to be simple enough so that it is believable that they would make any one of the very
different choices you choose from. This book is fun, but not a must-read.