You Look Different in Real Life by Jennifer Castle

JENNIFER CASTLE’S “YOU LOOK DIFFERENT IN REAL LIFE”:

I was pumped about this one: a story centered around five teens who are the subject of a series of documentaries (Five at Six, Five at Eleven, and now, Five at Sixteen).  Castle’s voice is right-on-the-money and her heroine, Justine, is instantly likeable, just the right combination of snarky and self-deprecating.  The book starts off predictably enough: the camera crew comes to town, and our MC, who was the “star” of the first two films, hesitates to become involved because nothing interesting has happened to her in the past five years, and she feels like a poser. 

Then the book takes a detour, literally, as the five stars steal the camera from the directors and take a road trip to NYC, to help one girl find closure from her past (I don’t want to give too much away here).  The interiority and character arcs are totally admirable, and I found myself tearing through the final 50 pages, excited to see how Justine and company grew and internalized their growth.  I think I was just a little surprised: I went into the book expecting all that comes with reality television (cat fights, showdowns, he said/she said and unfair editing) and instead got more of a coming-of-age road trip story.  NOT a bad thing, just unexpected.

Amazing voice, crisp-clear writing, unexpected focus:

I give it a FUN AND SURPRISING.

And I will most certainly be checking out Castle’s first book, THE BEGINNING OF AFTER.

Now diving into Eleanor & Park!