If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor - Barbara Ehrentreu

I don’t want to be like Jennifer Taylor.  I want to be like Carolyn Samuels.

I knew what I was getting into when I picked up If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor. I knew it would be a high school coming-of-age story. And I knew there would be a great ending. What I didn’t know was how good the entire experience was going to be.

It was more than good. It was great.

What struck me most about the book was how easy it was to read. I started reading this book and did not put it down until I finished reading it. I am not exaggerating. This was a fun, feel good story; that is true. But it was more than that. This book deals with several heavy subject matters. Peer pressure, psychological disorders – and  Ehrentreu handles it flawlessly. All though the mind of a fourteen year old lead character.

Ehrentreu’s strength lies in her ability to make you relate to the characters she is writing about. Everybody who has ever been to high school knows what it is like to want to be the most popular person. But what isn't known is what those most popular people have to put up with to stay in their top spot. I recognized the need in Carolyn, but I sympathized with Jennifer. No matter how perfect her life seemed on the outside, it was gilded. And in a way, she was chained to the desire we all hope for ourselves.

To be accepted. To be the best. To be the champion.

Personally, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Young Adult fiction, but especially to kids who are around that high school age. There are some strong lessons here. This story is not a PSA by any means, but the underlying messages are too strong to ignore.

 Fantastic job. Fantastic story. Fantastic message.

What’s not to love?

Where to Find If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor About the Author Barbara Ehrentreu grew up in Brooklyn and moved to Queens. She has lived and taught in Long Island, Buffalo, NY and Westchester, NY as well as a year in Los Angeles, CA. She has a Masters Degree in Reading and Writing. Currently she is retired from teaching and living in Stamford, CT with her family. If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor won second prize in Preditors & Editors as Best Young Adult Book for 2011. It was inspired by Paula Danziger for her children's writing workshop at Manhattanville College. Her second book, After, considers what can happen to a teen when her father becomes ill with a heart attack. It is based on her own experiences when her husband had a heart attack and the aftermath of what she and her family experienced. She is preparing the sequel to If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor. Barbara also writes poetry and several of her poems are published in the anthologies, Prompted: An International Collection of Poetry, Beyond the Dark Room, Storm Cycle and Backlit Barbell. She has a blog, Barbara's Meanderings, and she hosts a radio show on Blog Talk Radio, Red River Radio Tales from the Pages once a month.