Item - Who Are You?

A good entry. No real problems. Internal consistency is excellent, there's a decent amount of detail, but not enough for it to feel strange.

There is one weakness, and it's an odd one. Too many of the endings are positive. I think there were two endings that seemed like things don't work out for you, the rest involve regaining your memory.

More reviews by Jordashebasics

This book is one of my all-time favorites. The adventures are diverse, gripping, and feel very realistic. The pacing between decisions is absolutely perfect, and the stories stretch out flawlessly, with action-packed possibilities in seemingly every direction. I also liked the Daredevil Park storyline involvement! I consider this book to be one of Edward Packard's greatest masterpieces.

More reviews by KenJenningsJeopardy74

Ringing in at #150, Who Are You? Is something of a partial sequel to Daredevil Park (#114) before Edward Packard subsequently committed to a proper sequel with Fright Night (#164). This book is very well-structured and feels like a real teenage adventure compared to a lot of other gamebooks that seem a good bit more childish to me. I found all the story arcs interesting with my favorite being the one in which you escape the children’s shelter with Cheetah and make your way to Chicago. For me, there was something deeply satisfying about eventually getting reunited with your family through that narrative arc because of the personal victory attained through courage and camaraderie.

Jordaschebasics correctly points out that too many of the endings in this book are positive. However the couple of bad ones are really bad; you are either mauled to death at Daredevil Park or murdered by a serial killer! I’m sometimes glad that I grew up in the 80s because I don’t think contemporary children’s literature explores themes this dark, realistic, and engaging.

Rating: 9.0/10.0

More reviews by tonylachief

This is another good entry late in the series. The only thing I had issue with was that in the opening of the story, your character stumbles to the road and starts hitchhiking. I guess it can be explained that you were so confused that you don't really have a choice, but hey, it's a choose your OWN adventure, and if I'm going to do something dangerous, I'd like a say in it! I think that the very first decision should have been whether or not to hitchhike, then it could have branched from there.

I was a little surprised with the family that takes you in. Don't they know you can't just keep lost kids? I remember moving around with my family when I was a kid and the hassle my poor mother, God rest her soul, had to go through to get me and my sister registered in new schools. And she gave birth to us and had all the paperwork to prove it! So I don't know what that family was thinking. I kept expecting for them to turn out to be some kind of freaks that wanted to eat you, but I had to remember that it's not a Give Yourself Goosebumps!

More reviews by yunakitty