The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: I am Not Jessica Chen

Series: Standalone

Author: Ann Liang

Genre: Young Adult, Magical Realism, Contemporary, Romance

Rating: 4.75 stars

Review:

After getting rejected by every single Ivy League she applied to and falling short of all her Asian immigrant parents’ expectations, seventeen-year-old Jenna Chen makes a wish to become her smarter, infinitely more successful Harvard-bound cousin, Jessica Chen—only for her wish to come true. Literally. Now trapped inside Jessica’s body, with access to Jessica’s most private journals and secrets, Jenna soon discovers that being the top student at the elite, highly competitive Havenwood Private Academy isn’t quite what she imagined. Worse, as everyone—including her own parents—start having trouble remembering who Jenna Chen is, or if she ever even existed, Jenna must decide if playing the role of the perfect daughter and student is worth losing her true self forever. – summary from Goodreads

I am Not Jessica Chen is an incredibly moving story that follows Jenna Chen as she determines who she is and what she wants in life.

It was a slow start, but I ended up loving this book! It had a similar feel to Ann Liang’s other books. At the same time, it was completely different from her other works.

I loved the story, but when Aaron fully entered is when things started really coming together and coming alive. Besides, I am a hopeless romantic, so I loved that aspect of the story. Also, everything he said was spectacular!

One thing I really enjoyed about this book was that the characters already had a developed relationship before the start of the story. In the previous three books I have read by Ann Liang, all of the characters were either strangers or rivals, but in this book, they were friends. It was a nice change. Aaron also felt a little more real because of this. Jenna knew him, and it was easier for his emotions and thoughts to be displayed without his perspective.

I didn’t expect Jenna to be so relatable. I think Aaron helped do that. It’s hard for me to explain this, but I shall do it to the best of my ability. Jenna was a little misguided on her outlook on life, which is completely understandable, and Aaron really helped show her flaws and what she is like from the perspective of others. These flaws though are probably the ones I relate with the most out of all of Ann Liang’s super relatable characters. All of Liang’s characters are flawed- which I love- but Jenna especially is flawed. I love how much she wants and wants- it’s very relatable. I also really loved how she was super hesitant to change back. I feel like in most books it is the only thing they can focus on, and I think it was more realistic that she was struggling with it.

I really loved this book! It had me super emotional, too, which was a shock for me. I think Liang’s books just keep getting better and better. This book was more reminiscent of If You Could See the Sun, and it was a nice addition to her collection.

I know I mostly talk about the romantic aspects of the book, but all the relational aspects were wonderful. The different friend interactions and how they changed pertaining to the person. The parental relationships. It was all so beautifully done.

I feel like all of the main characters were developed really well, with maybe the exception of Jessica. She was kind of just there. I know she wasn’t really in the story, and we did get to see what her life was like, but I don’t think I really got to know Jessica as a character, which is a shame because I think she would have been an interesting character.

This was amazing! I don’t think I could say enough good things about I Am Not Jessica Chen. The characters were relatable, the book conveyed so many emotions and the human experience, and the story was just plain amazing. I cannot recommend this book enough.

Quotes

“It’s such a suffocating thought- that everything I will ever feel and know and accomplish must begin and end with my own mind.”

“I wanted him the only way I knew how to want anything- obsessively, fervently.”

“We turn pain into a story, because then it has a purpose. Then, we reason, there was a point to it all along. But sometimes pain is just pain, and there’s nothing particularly noble about clinging to it.”

“‘If I’d kissed you, you would have wanted me for an afternoon, and I would have wanted you for the rest of my life.’”

“That’s the problem. I’m not sad because I don’t love life enough, but because I love life too much. I always want more of it.”

“I can’t live for the recognition or the applause or the illusion of a dream life. I- I have to life for myself. I want to live for myself.”