“For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel envy…”
Tess is the exact opposite of her beautiful, athletic sister. And that’s okay. Kristina is...
read full description
reviews
Nov 15, 2011
Cara
rated it: 
I can almost guarantee that everybody knows somebody who has had cancer, whether it is you, a friend, neighbor, coworker, relative, etc. I think most people have seen someone go through this. I'm surprised actually of how little young-adult literature deals with this issue, but here Gurtler attacks it head on and gives a realistic portrayal of a family dealing with cancer.
Tess is not like her older sister, not even a smidge. She's artistic, nerdy, and not anywhere near to even be a b More...
Tess is not like her older sister, not even a smidge. She's artistic, nerdy, and not anywhere near to even be a b More...
4 comments
like
(12 people liked it)
Nov 22, 2011
Stephanie
rated it: 
My Summary: Tess and her sister have always been total opposites: her sister is that girl - the popular sporty one with a tonne of friends, while Tess is more quiet and focused on school. Both sisters know the role they're meant to play, and they don't question the way things have worked out for them.
Until Tess' sister is diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly Tess isn't quite so sure who she's supposed to be, and when her seemingly-perfect family starts to fall apart, all she can do is try t More...
Until Tess' sister is diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly Tess isn't quite so sure who she's supposed to be, and when her seemingly-perfect family starts to fall apart, all she can do is try t More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
May 01, 2011
Rex Robot Reviews
rated it:
I'm Not Her by Janet Gurtler is incredibly frustrating, wonderful and utterly engaging. It is the story of sisters who will both make you smile and break your heart. I was a little unsure of myself going into this novel, but I couldn't put it down. It is an emotional, touching ride through the lives of two girls suffering in totally different ways.
Talk about powerful. I could not imagine going through the trite problems of being a typical freshman in high school AND having to watch More...
Talk about powerful. I could not imagine going through the trite problems of being a typical freshman in high school AND having to watch More...
2 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Aug 05, 2011
Whew... so heartbreaking, but realistic. This was an especially difficult book for me to read right now. Having cancer affecting a few people in my life right now. Luckily they are fairing very well to their treatments, but it's still hard to read about what they might have had to gone through.
But this wasn't a story about a girl with cancer. This was a story about a family dealing with someone they love having cancer, and how they are each are affected... in very very different ways. More...
But this wasn't a story about a girl with cancer. This was a story about a family dealing with someone they love having cancer, and how they are each are affected... in very very different ways. More...
0 comments
like
(4 people liked it)
Jun 16, 2011
Senator
rated it: 
This novel is for EVERYONE. Because of the wide range of flawed characters, you’ll be able to relate to someone. I honestly don’t care your preference of genre, you have to read it. As timeless as Judy Blume or Jody Piccolt, borrow I’m Not Her from a friend, library, or just go ahead and buy it — this will be on your shelves and passed around for years to come. ...Please click for the full review.
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Feb 13, 2012
Emma
rated it:
As a nurse, I come into contact with patient's with cancer on a regular basis. At the beginning of my career I was placed on an oncology ward and I remember absolutely loving it because the patients were always so appreciative and thankful for everything you did, not something you always recieve in the profession.
Whats most tragic however is that despite there being multiple doctors, psychs, physios, OT's and nurses, their is no magic treatment for the family, and at the end of the da More...
Whats most tragic however is that despite there being multiple doctors, psychs, physios, OT's and nurses, their is no magic treatment for the family, and at the end of the da More...
Dec 01, 2011
Maggie61
rated it:
I read another book by this author several books back, enjoyed it and enjoyed this one as well.
Tess has lived in her sister's shadow her whole life. Her sister is prettier, more popular, sports star while Tess is the smart one, with one friend, her talent being art but that isn't taken seriously by anyone in her family.
Suddenly her sister Kristina gets cancer and things change for Tess. She becomes more popular, gets more friends but as her family life revolves around K More...
Tess has lived in her sister's shadow her whole life. Her sister is prettier, more popular, sports star while Tess is the smart one, with one friend, her talent being art but that isn't taken seriously by anyone in her family.
Suddenly her sister Kristina gets cancer and things change for Tess. She becomes more popular, gets more friends but as her family life revolves around K More...
Oct 20, 2011
Haleigh
rated it:
This is the first book that I have read of Janet Gurtler and I really enjoyed reading it. Janet Gurtler did a great job giving details throughout the book.The details made me feel every emotion that Tess (the main character)and her sister Kristina are feeling. The book makes you feel like you are right there witnessing what they are describing. What happens in the book could really happen in life. When a family member gets cancer everything changes and this book shows how a younger sibling handl
More...
Aug 07, 2011
Barbara
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jul 14, 2011
Allison
rated it:
I first picked out I'm Not Her because the title gave me the impression that a character in this book would be pressured into being/ replacing a seemingly perfect sibling or friend or just anyone who their peers and parents think are "perfect". That message was in this book however more subtle and understated while focusing on tragedy and how people react to it. Not just the "I'm crying and everyone is genuinely sad" sort of thing where it all seems like a fairy tale. This st
More...
Sep 16, 2011
Grace
rated it:
There were some parts of this book I just thought were absolutely amazing and I loved. But then there were just as equally the same amount of other parts that made me just want to put the book down altogether. I just want to let anyone know, if you're looking for a happy everything-turns-out-ok-in-the-end story, this is not it (well basically)! I just feel bad for most of these characters. There's something tragic going on with basically each and every one of them and even though I thought the s
More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Nov 11, 2011
Jessica
rated it:
Star of the girl's volleyball team in her high school, worshipped and loved by everyone in the school, guarenteed winner for any type of beauty/social school event, and voted most popular girl in school has a secret...one that devastates her little sister and their family. After she is diganosed with osteocarcenoma (a form of aggressive bone cancer) this high school girl's hopes and dreams are shattered when she has to go through all the changes that are forced upon her with no choice by having
More...
Nov 15, 2011
Fred
rated it:
Remember that old saying "Whatever does not kill me, makes me stronger?" Well, apparently sometimes not so much. Sometimes it reveals and ruptures all the stress cracks (in a person, in a family) that weren't so apparent in the absence of pressure. Sometimes it leaves you broken and crying, or angry, bitter and bereft. (There's lots of synopsis reviews of this if you want to figure out what it's about, so I'm not going to repeat all that, but rather just react a bit.) This sad and
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jan 20, 2012
laaaaames
rated it:
I am such a sucker for a good disease book so I couldn't resist this. When the book started with beautiful popular Kristina and not-built-for-that Tess, I got my hackles up because you girls will never be Molly and Meg, but it turns out this wasn't that kind of story at all.
I wasn't always in love with Gurtler's prose, which was fine but clunky at times, but, man, she is good with relationship dynamics: siblings, parents, children, friends, crushes and crushees. At this point I feel More...
I wasn't always in love with Gurtler's prose, which was fine but clunky at times, but, man, she is good with relationship dynamics: siblings, parents, children, friends, crushes and crushees. At this point I feel More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Oct 04, 2011
Kimberly
rated it:
This book deals with the very real subject of Cancer and the effects it has on a family.
I can relate to the struggles and hardships that a teenage girl goes through when faced with watching another family member slowly retreat within themselves due to the realization that nothing will ever be the same, though my experience is with my mother and lung cancer I still feel for Tess on a personal level.
As you read this book you watch a family struggle to keep a perfect facade, you also wat More...
I can relate to the struggles and hardships that a teenage girl goes through when faced with watching another family member slowly retreat within themselves due to the realization that nothing will ever be the same, though my experience is with my mother and lung cancer I still feel for Tess on a personal level.
As you read this book you watch a family struggle to keep a perfect facade, you also wat More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jun 07, 2011
Sarah
rated it: 
I was surprised to find to find this book on the LA Times summer reading list: I'd been pretty unimpressed myself.
The book is an exploration of how the perfect family—which has everything only a TV family has—can completely fall apart through a series of trials no one can cope with.
The story is all right, but it suffers from a lot of redundancy. The messages, the characters, the emotions—all are hammered in over and over.
And most of the characters were so over the top that More...
The book is an exploration of how the perfect family—which has everything only a TV family has—can completely fall apart through a series of trials no one can cope with.
The story is all right, but it suffers from a lot of redundancy. The messages, the characters, the emotions—all are hammered in over and over.
And most of the characters were so over the top that More...
Jun 27, 2011
April (CSI:Librarian)
rated it:
(Originally posted @ CSI:Librarian.)
I do not read a lot of mainstream fiction, YA or otherwise, but I really found this book to be really engaging in terms of the writing, voice of the main character, and plot. Tess read like an incredibly likable and real teen narrator. I loved how she was a bit of an outsider and very strong, but still fifteen and still struggling to have something normal in her life in the face of her sister's cancer. And through the hard times, Tess began to learn More...
I do not read a lot of mainstream fiction, YA or otherwise, but I really found this book to be really engaging in terms of the writing, voice of the main character, and plot. Tess read like an incredibly likable and real teen narrator. I loved how she was a bit of an outsider and very strong, but still fifteen and still struggling to have something normal in her life in the face of her sister's cancer. And through the hard times, Tess began to learn More...
Dec 08, 2011
Kelly
rated it: 
2.5.
The writing is good, and while the story felt fresh (despite the fact it was a story about cancer ripping apart a family), it did get a little over the top with some of the other events that unraveled. I didn't think the art aspect of the story played out quite enough. I wanted more from Tess as a character, and I could have used a tad more "before" to get to know Tess and Kristina better.
It didn't tug at my emotions like it could have and actually, I'm kin More...
The writing is good, and while the story felt fresh (despite the fact it was a story about cancer ripping apart a family), it did get a little over the top with some of the other events that unraveled. I didn't think the art aspect of the story played out quite enough. I wanted more from Tess as a character, and I could have used a tad more "before" to get to know Tess and Kristina better.
It didn't tug at my emotions like it could have and actually, I'm kin More...
Nov 28, 2011
Melissa
rated it:
3.75 stars.
Tess has always seen her older sister, Kristina, as the perfect one. With her beauty and popularity, she seemed to have it all. Until she was diagnosed with cancer. I liked this book because it wasn't simply about cancer. It was about a family struggling to cope with cancer.
When Kristina stops showing up to school, Tess becomes one of the most talked-to girls at school - because she has the "dirt" on her sister.
While Kristina is undergoing chemo and s More...
Tess has always seen her older sister, Kristina, as the perfect one. With her beauty and popularity, she seemed to have it all. Until she was diagnosed with cancer. I liked this book because it wasn't simply about cancer. It was about a family struggling to cope with cancer.
When Kristina stops showing up to school, Tess becomes one of the most talked-to girls at school - because she has the "dirt" on her sister.
While Kristina is undergoing chemo and s More...
Sep 27, 2011
Skye
rated it:
This review is also posted on my blog, In The Good Books.
Tess pales in comparison to her popular, athletic, perfect sister. You know the type -- it's a common trope. But her sister, Kristina, is diagnosed with cancer, and suddenly Tess has to adopt a new role in her family as her mother grows more useless each day and her father grows less present each day.
It's not exactly an original premise, no. You've already read the story about the outshadowed sister coming into her More...
Tess pales in comparison to her popular, athletic, perfect sister. You know the type -- it's a common trope. But her sister, Kristina, is diagnosed with cancer, and suddenly Tess has to adopt a new role in her family as her mother grows more useless each day and her father grows less present each day.
It's not exactly an original premise, no. You've already read the story about the outshadowed sister coming into her More...
Nov 24, 2011
Karthi
rated it:
I'm Not her turned out to be the exact opposite of what I was expecting, which in this case is a good thing!!! When I first saw the book, I immediately thought okay this is going to be a chick-lit, but amazingly this turned out to be a beautifully written, realistic-fiction novel that captured my attention from the start.
I'm Not Her is about Tess who is the exact opposite of her sister, who is athletic and beautiful. Tess is smart but a little shy. Everything was normal and their lif More...
I'm Not Her is about Tess who is the exact opposite of her sister, who is athletic and beautiful. Tess is smart but a little shy. Everything was normal and their lif More...
Oct 02, 2011
Lindsey
rated it:
Possible ""SPOILERS""
Goodreads First Reads Giveaway !
Obviously from the subject matter you know the story isn't exactly going to be happy. Nothing was as predictable as I thought it was going to be though and I love that!
This story grabbed me right off, who can't relate to Tess, a young under appreciated freshman struggling to figure out their place? I was so mad at the family a lot throughout the book, how awful they handled or didn't handl More...
Goodreads First Reads Giveaway !
Obviously from the subject matter you know the story isn't exactly going to be happy. Nothing was as predictable as I thought it was going to be though and I love that!
This story grabbed me right off, who can't relate to Tess, a young under appreciated freshman struggling to figure out their place? I was so mad at the family a lot throughout the book, how awful they handled or didn't handl More...
Jul 18, 2011
Taffy
rated it:
Great story about family, survival, will power, courage, being yourself and growth.
Tess's older, popular, athletic sister has cancer. How will Mom, Dad, Kristina and Tess handle the information? That is what the story is about and how the people around them are affected as well. The characters are unique with their own voices and personalities and especially growth.
I thought it was a little unrealistic for Tess to take her parents. BUT! I was thinking the same things Tes More...
Tess's older, popular, athletic sister has cancer. How will Mom, Dad, Kristina and Tess handle the information? That is what the story is about and how the people around them are affected as well. The characters are unique with their own voices and personalities and especially growth.
I thought it was a little unrealistic for Tess to take her parents. BUT! I was thinking the same things Tes More...
Oct 13, 2011
Emily
rated it:
Why I picked it up: Something about the description of Tess as the sibling out of the spotlight spoke to me.
Tess is the younger sister of shining star Kristina--beautiful, captain of the volleyball team, popular girl. Tess is content to be in her shadow, work on her art, and work toward getting into the honor society.
Then Kristina gets cancer.
Characters are pretty multi-dimensional, emotions are real, and I wanted to throttle both Tess's parents. A story a More...
Tess is the younger sister of shining star Kristina--beautiful, captain of the volleyball team, popular girl. Tess is content to be in her shadow, work on her art, and work toward getting into the honor society.
Then Kristina gets cancer.
Characters are pretty multi-dimensional, emotions are real, and I wanted to throttle both Tess's parents. A story a More...
Apr 26, 2011
This was a really powerful and emotional story, about love, family and discovering who you are.
I'm not her addresses popularity and letting who you are shine. Tess breaks my heart, and I'm able to relate with how she feels and what she battles with. It's hard watching her learn about her friend, who her sister is to her, and discovering new things about what she once mocked.
It's really eye-opening to see how cancer really effects the community and to see how even little thin More...
I'm not her addresses popularity and letting who you are shine. Tess breaks my heart, and I'm able to relate with how she feels and what she battles with. It's hard watching her learn about her friend, who her sister is to her, and discovering new things about what she once mocked.
It's really eye-opening to see how cancer really effects the community and to see how even little thin More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Oct 27, 2011
Kwoomac
rated it:
Goodreads giveaway.At first I was underwhelmed by this teen story of one sister, Tess, dealing with her perfect older sister's cancer diagnosis. Kristina. The title implies a major conflict between the two, or with people's perceptions of them, but I never felt this aspect was fully embraced. Once I let go of waiting for that piece, I found this to be a really sweet narrative that dealt nicely with issues of death and dying. The whole family is (obviously) effected by Kristina's diagnosis and th
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Apr 22, 2011
Britta
rated it:
I'm Not Her, is filled with so many different emotions it is sometimes hard for the reader to breath - but in the best way possible. I felt for each of the characters as they dealt with their own type of pain, in their own individual way. I cried a little, but my eyes watered a lot. I laughed, I gasped, I smiled, sighed - a different emotion for each page.
This novel follows Tess, a girl who is just trying to survive high school. Between her art, striving for the Honor Society, and More...
This novel follows Tess, a girl who is just trying to survive high school. Between her art, striving for the Honor Society, and More...
Dec 09, 2011
Hailey
rated it:
Overall I thought that this book was full of surprises. It really kept me interesting, just as I thought I knew what was going to happen next, BAM! It threw a curve ball. Parts were sad, I found myself close to tears because one of the main characters is dealing with cancer. She has to face a lot of tests while life is going on around her. Her sister, who is telling the story, Tess is faced with her hardest challenge. Breaking out of her shell. The test of sisterhood and how strong friendship re
More...
Nov 01, 2011
Sara
rated it:
This is the story of a 15 year old's struggle with her older sister's cancer. Tess is the exact opposite of her pretty, popular, and athletic 18-year old sister Kristina: studious, quiet, and has few friends. Her sister's cancer brings about much change in her life: her priorities change, she is forced to step up to support her sister when her parents fail to, and unexpected relationships emerge and end. An excellent and realistic story of something no 15 year old should have to go through, a
More...
Jul 13, 2011
Marie-Eve
rated it:
Kristina and Tess are sisters, but they are total opposites of eachother. Kristina is beautiful, she has a lot of friends and she is the captain of the volleyball team. Tess is smart and a good artist, and she is invisible to most people in her school. Things change when the sisters and their family learn that Kristina has cancer. Their world comes crashing down....
Although this book was a really fast read for me, I loved the way the author expressed every character's feelings. You can More...
Although this book was a really fast read for me, I loved the way the author expressed every character's feelings. You can More...
