This Is Not the Jess Show

September 1, 2020
A teenager uncovers a secret that alters her entire reality. It's March 1998. Jess Flynn is thinking of college and longing to leave the confines of her small town. Her mother is overprotective; her sister, Sara, is receiving palliative care for an incurable disease; and Jess is falling for her best friend, Tyler, whom she's been close to for 6 years. Every year the month of March brings Jess anxiety that something major is going to happen: Three years earlier, Sara received her diagnosis; the next year there was a tornado; and one year ago, Jess' family's home was burglarized. Now Jess is hyperaware of her surroundings, and she notices many things too strange to be ignored: far-off voices chanting outside, a mysterious flu spreading around town, and her closest friends keeping secrets. The strangest of all? Jess discovers that her dog has been replaced with a look-alike and her parents have no explanation. Jess decides to investigate, but she must tread cautiously because someone is watching her every move. Pop-culture references from the '90s are paramount to the story's fa�ade, and the final plot twist packs a punch. This is a fun stand-alone, but the ending leaves room for readers to explore more of Jess' world in the next series entry. The main cast is assumed white except for Jess' friend Amber, who is cued as black. A thrilling and thought-provoking ride. (Speculative fiction. 12-18)

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October 1, 2020

Gr 6-10-Carey's latest is an entertaining thrill ride set in the 1990s that will keep readers guessing even after the twist is revealed. Jess Flynn has a lot on her mind. A high school junior with a newfound crush on her best guy friend, Jess is also dealing with her sister Sara's illness, which seems to be worsening by the day. And then there are the odd things that keep happening around town: Half the population is out sick with a mysterious flu, her two best friends keep pushing her away from her crush and toward another boy, and only Jess seems to hear a mysterious chanting. When Sara is hospitalized, Jess begins to see the cracks in her world more clearly, and once she realizes the truth nothing will ever be the same. Jess is a relatable protagonist whom readers will root for as she forges through Carey's upside-down world and topsy-turvy plot. As the narrative careens past the twist, Carey's scrutiny of modern-day life resonates. Friendships, romantic relationships, and familial bonds are all examined via new perspectives as Carey's thriller not only entertains, it makes one think. Race and skin color aren't explicitly stated, though one of Jess's friends "look[s] like Dionne from Clueless." VERDICT A fun and thoughtful thriller; this YA novel will please fans of E. Lockhart and Kiera Cass.-Elissa Bongiorno, Washington, DC

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2020
Grades 8-11 It's 1998, and Jess Flynn is entering her junior year of high school with a lot on her mind. She has just realized that she's in love with her best friend Ty, although that's nothing compared to her sister Sara's slow terminal illness. Then things get very strange: she starts hearing indistinct chanting no one else hears, half the school is out with the flu, and a weird object with a bitten-apple logo falls out of her friend Amber's backpack. Finally, Jess learns that she is the focus of a reality show, � la The Truman Show. Horrified, Jess learns that not only is Sara not sick, but she isn't really her sister. With the help of Patrick, a disaffected actor, Jess escapes the manufactured town of Swickley in search of a real life. The fast-paced, intricate plot ramps up Jess's paranoia and frustration, both of which are vividly expressed through her first-person narrative. In the end, things don't go quite as planned, but, well, that's life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)