I Am Not Jessica Chen
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Jenna Chen has spent her life in the shadow of her flawless cousin. Jessica Chen is so smart she gets the top score on every test. Jessica Chen is so beautiful people stop in the hallway to stare at her. Jessica Chen is so perfect she got into Harvard.
And Jenna Chen will only ever be a disappointment.
So when Jenna makes a desperate wish to become her cousin, the last thing she expects is for it to come true—literally. All of a sudden she gets to live the life she’s always dreamed of . . . but being the model student at cutthroat Havenwood Private Academy isn’t quite what she’d imagined. Worse, people seem to be forgetting that someone named Jenna Chen ever existed. But isn’t it worth trading it all away—her artistic talent, her childhood home, even the hope of golden boy Aaron Cai loving her back—to be Jessica Chen?
* Kids' Indie Next Pick *
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A Chinese American high school senior who wants to be more like her perfect popular cousin gets more than she wished for in this haunting speculative novel by Liang (I Hope This Doesn't Find You). Jenna Chen has been rejected from Harvard, an event that not only disappoints her immigrant parents but once again puts her in the shadow of her Harvard-bound cousin Jessica. Tired of feeling inferior, Jenna wishes upon a shooting star—"I wish I was Jessica Chen"—and suddenly finds herself trapped in Jessica's body. Jenna finally gets a taste of what it's like to live Jessica's life, but all is not as it seems. Jessica's journal reveals her true feelings and deep secrets of her own. And after receiving cryptic messages, Jenna learns that Jessica might not be as beloved as she thinks. Amid these revelations, Jenna contends with feelings for her childhood friend and crush until a larger problem surfaces: Jenna's memories of her old life are fading. Via vivid prose, Liang grapples with identity, desire, and issues surrounding self-worth, immigrant parents' expectations, and class divides. Ages 13–up.
