Monday, May 20, 2013

Mini Review: You Look Different in Real life

Book Review: You Look Different in Real life

 Book: You Look Different in Real life
Author: Jennifer Castle
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: June 4, 2013
Source: Edelweiss


For the rest of the world, the movies are entertainment. For Justine, they're real life.

The premise was simple: five kids, just living their lives. There'd be a new movie about them every five years, starting in kindergarten. But no one could have predicted what the cameras would capture. And no one could have predicted that Justine would be the star.

Now sixteen, Justine doesn't feel like a star anymore. In fact, when she hears the crew has gotten the green light to film Five at Sixteen, all she feels is dread. The kids who shared the same table in kindergarten have become teenagers who hardly know one another. And Justine, who was so funny and edgy in the first two movies, feels like a disappointment.

But these teens have a bond that goes deeper than what's on film. They've all shared the painful details of their lives with countless viewers. They all know how it feels to have fans as well as friends. So when this latest movie gives them the chance to reunite, Justine and her costars are going to take it. Because sometimes, the only way to see yourself is through someone else's eyes.

Smart, fresh, and frequently funny, You Look Different in Real Life is a piercing novel about life in an age where the lines between what's personal and what's public aren't always clear


[ Goodreads]

Review:


I read You Look Different in Real life in less than 24 hours. You Look Different in Real life tells us the story of Justine and how when she was 6 and 11 she took part of a documentary along with four other children.  Five years have passed once again and there are plans of making a documentary of their lives at 16. Justine at first is against this idea as her life has not how she pictured it to be. She also does not speak to the other participants in the documentary other than her friend Felix and this also makes her uncertain about the documentary. 

You Look Different in Real life was a quick read and I was interested in what was going to happen to the characters even though I found the plot to be predictable. I figured out much of what I would say are major plot points straight away.   I also didn’t find myself connecting to any of the characters and even though I was interested in what was going to happen to them I didn’t really care what happened to them. Justine got on my nerves at times but I liked that she wanted to rebuild some of her friendships with the others and not go back to where their relationships had ended before. 

What I Rate This: 3/5