This Is Not the Jess Show

At long last, the YA Truman Show book I’ve been dreaming of

What a rollercoaster of a book! I’ll admit what started off as a slower read for me totally pulled the rug out from under my feet, and I ended up really enjoying the crazy trip that was <i>This Is not the Jess Show</i>.<br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1520538556ra/25183174.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Jess Flynn is a typical teenager living in 1998–she loves Alanis, likes hanging out with her friends and is nursing a crush on a boy in school. Her sister Sara has been sick for a while and their parents can be a little over protective, but Jess can handle all that! Her hometown of Swickley is safe, if not totally boring, and Jess spends her free time daydreaming about breaking out of her restrictive small town.<br><br>But it doesn’t take long for things to start to feel a little off. Jess hears voices nobody else seems to. Her best friends are acting weird and even Jess’s dog Fuller is behaving strangely, and nobody is willing to cop to what’s going on. There appears to be a line in the sand that Jess will have to decide whether to cross or not: keep asking questions and ruffling feathers, or go along with the way things have always been.<br><br>I’ll admit I was completely caught off guard by <i>This Is Not the Jess Show</i>. There I was, cruising through the first third of the book, which read like a typical YA contemporary (even if it took place a little over 20 years ago), and then BAM! The author hits you with an insane twist out of nowhere. After that point the book transforms into another story completely, a trippy adventure/thriller with an ending you won’t see coming. <br><br>I was really impressed at all of the social commentary Anna Carey was able to fit into this story. I think there’s an expectation in YA that those books don’t or can’t deal with complex topics because they’re typically faster paced, but clearly that is not the case. I can’t really list every single issue that Carey covers because some could be considered spoilers, but they include criticisms of celebrity culture, human commodification, capitalism, privacy and where the line is drawn for childhood abuse and trauma. All of that and more in a fast-paced YA thriller that comes in at about 300 pages. <br><br>The flip side of that, of course, is that if you wanted more of a deep dive into some of these topics, you might be a little disappointed. That said, there is already a sequel in the works and the author has promised to expand much more on the world outside of Swickley. I’m sorry to be so vague about the plot in this review, but trust that you would not want this spoiled for you!<br><br><br><i>*Thanks to Chelsea &amp; Dennis with the Scared Suspense Book Club and Quirk Books for my copy!</i><br><br>**<i>For more book talk &amp; reviews, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/elle_mentbooks/" rel="nofollow noopener">follow me on Instagram at @elle_mentbooks</a>!</i>

Actual rating 3.5/5 stars.<br /><br />Jess Flynn is your average, American, 90's teenager. Only she isn't. <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="054c8418-4cab-47da-9978-e7937abae1e0" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="054c8418-4cab-47da-9978-e7937abae1e0">It's not the 90's anymore and her entire hometown is actually a reality TV show set. Her friends are actors, her teachers are actors, and even the boy she likes is an actor. Everything she thought of as real life is actually all a carefully curated construction from the past. Every single moment of her life has been viewed by millions of people who are all living in a world decades ahead of her own. How will Jess cope when the truth is revealed and how will the world cope when their favourite TV show personality quits the role of her life?</label><br /><br />This premise was too intriguing to pass up on reading but I worried that it would soon feel stale when the reader was given so much knowledge about Jess' predicament from the synopsis, and when she herself did not possess this for almost half of the book (the synopsis has since altered since I read this book, though). Carey did an excellent job of orientating the reader into Jess' nostalgic, 90's world and it remained interesting to see her both navigate through the average teenage worries as well as to organically puzzle out the façades surrounding her.<br /><br />I was unprepared for the adrenaline-filled and action-packed turn events took once Jess became privy to the truth. The outer world was opened up to both Jess and the reader for the first time and it proved just as intricate and intriguing as her hometown set. I really appreciated how both settings were constructed and how major differences between the two were all the more apparent for their close proximity to the other. Facets that are part of the reader's everyday life were also called into question through Jess' new exposure to them.<br /><br />This last facet was something I wished was featured more heavily throughout. Jess was filled with wonder and bewilderment but I yearned for a deeper and more lingering focus on the heavier topics touched upon. I wanted the nature of society, the entertainment industry, and those who were meant to protect Jess to be called out for their influence and their failures. This could have become an insight to society's dark nature, in a Black Mirror-esque fashion, but remained a lighter and more surface-level read, instead.<br /><br />I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Anna Carey, and the publisher, Quirk Books, for this opportunity.

One of my favorite middle grade books is <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/227658.Running_Out_of_Time" title="Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix" rel="noopener">Running Out of Time</a>, it is a great surprise and my kids loved it as well. I saw that this book was compared to The Truman Show meets Black Mirror and thought that it would appeal and it definitely did.<br /><br />Jess Flynn lives a normal life as a teenager in 1990s Swickley. Navigating high school, overprotective parents, and her younger sister's grave illness is tough, but she has loving friends and family to help her through. Then some bizarre things begin to happen. A metal device with an apple logo falls out of her friend's bag. She hears mysterious chanting. Her dog looks different. What is going on?<br /><br />The writing in this book is smart and catchy. The plot flows well and I never felt myself getting bogged down or bored. Although it's a YA book, it has many themes that will appeal to adults as well, especially with regards to the media and our relationship with it. <br /><br />This installment is the first part of a duology which continues with <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/58754749.This_Is_Not_the_Real_World__This_Is_Not_the_Jess_Show___2_" title="This Is Not the Real World (This Is Not the Jess Show, #2) by Anna Carey" rel="noopener">This Is Not the Real World</a> I will be interested to see what happens to conclude the tale and am rooting for Jess all the way! <br /><br />I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

Okay, this was EXACTLY what I hoped it would be! For those of you old enough to remember The Truman Show with Jim Carrey, This is Not the Jess Show is in many ways an updated version for a modern teen audience. It's smart, has a very well-crafted ending, and offers an unsettling blend of nostalgia and horror at the directions influencer culture could take (and perhaps some of what it already does at its worst).<br /><br />The year is 1998 and Jess is a high school junior living in a small town in New York, crushing on her childhood friend, hanging out with her best friends, and struggling to cope with her sister's illness. But she's beginning to notice strange things and then one day her friend drops a sleek device with an apple logo on it. But the first iPhone won't exist for another 9 years....<br /><br />Seriously, this was everything I was hoping for. It pairs 90's nostalgia with the disturbing feeling that nothing is actually as it seems, and maybe even your parents are lying to you for their own gain. It pushes the reader to consider the ramifications of <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="b3381f61-8207-4f04-9b9b-d09365a827c7" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="b3381f61-8207-4f04-9b9b-d09365a827c7"> reality TV, vlogging, and anything that turns real life into a story and product for public consumption. Not to mention the problem of consent when children are involved. What is ethical and what isn't? This might be an extreme case, but we HAVE seen influencers apparently adopt special needs children in order to look good and abandon them when things get too difficult. We HAVE seen the exploitation of children for public consumption in ways that feel more about the fame and income of the parents than in ways that feel thoughtful and careful about their safety, mental health, and futures as adults. I found this to be particularly interesting as a content creator with children, because I have given a lot of thought to boundaries on my children being exposed to the public- in what ways that is and isn't appropriate and the importance of gaining their consent to be on camera at all even at a young age. </label><br /><br />Suffice to say I thought this was fantastic with good pacing, strong characters, intriguing twists, and a pitch perfect ending. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

<b> <i>“Lower your voice. They’ll hear you,” he whispered. I stared at him, and my whole body went cold. “Who is they?” I whispered.</i> </b><br><br>Basically, <i>This Is Not The Jess Show</i> is a young adult version of . . . . <br><br><a href="https://lunapic.com" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1613510287ra/30878977.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br><br>And since <i>The Truman Show</i> is a film that is over 20 years old, I’m just going to go out on a limb and assume there are a metric shitton of youngsters who have never heard of or watched it so this book will be totally fresh and innovative to them.<br><br>The best part, though? Even an oldster like me who <b>was</b> super familiar with the original material and had watched the movie (more than once), still thought this was . . . . <br><br><a href="https://lunapic.com" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1613510287ra/30878978.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br><br>Really the only thing I didn’t like? That it is labeled “#1” meaning it’s going to be a series. Your girl don’t like series.<br>

<a href="https://readasaurus.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1459070464i/18565492.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br><a href="https://www.instagram.com/alwaysbeebooked/" rel="nofollow noopener">Instagram</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/NeniaCampbell" rel="nofollow noopener">Twitter</a> || <a href="https://www.facebook.com/aficionenias/" rel="nofollow noopener">Facebook</a> || <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nenia-Campbell/e/B00AWVRKMS" rel="nofollow noopener">Amazon</a> || <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/mightbeamisprin/" rel="nofollow noopener">Pinterest</a><br><br><br>Le <i>sigh</i>. <i>The Truman Show </i>is one of my favorite movies, so obviously when I heard that THIS IS NOT THE JESS SHOW was being compared to it, I was all over that like white on rice. And at first, I was really intrigued. Jess is your stereotypical 90s girl and the book is awash in 90s nostalgia, which I was super into. But then one day her friend drops a mysterious glowing device with an Apple logo on it. What could it be?! Suddenly, things start happening that have Jess questioning her reality, which is on the verge of shattering.<br><br><br><br>I liked the beginning of this book but the second half was such a slog. I felt like the author had an interesting idea about how people fetishize the past, and the book was kind of like <i>Truman Show </i>meets <i>Pleasantville</i>. But it was like all her inspo stopped at the concept and she wasn't quite sure how to have her story pan out.<br><br><br><br>Quirk Books usually delivers on the fun, but this was a bit of a disappointment. It's not a bad book but if you've seen <i>The Truman Show </i>already, there's no real surprises and it just kind of feels like an urban 90s version of what <i>Truman </i>was doing with 60s middle America. I'm not a fan and probably won't be continuing.<br><br><br><br>2 to 2.5 stars

the fun of the truman show is in its slow and unrelenting psychological tension, and its purposefully ambiguous ending. <br /><br />this remix rids itself of all of that. jess finds out the truth in the first fourth of the book, and the rest is essentially just a chase sequence. <br /><br />not an awful novel, but a gross misuse of a fantastic concept.

The concept of this book was really fun, but it didn't go deep enough to truly grip me. This is described as a thriller, but I was never particularly thrilled. I would have loved a more in-depth discussion of how society got to this insane point, but that conversation never happened. <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="7f390e50-c868-4777-89fe-b110bd412667" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="7f390e50-c868-4777-89fe-b110bd412667">We, as readers, are just supposed to accept that in less than 20 years, it will be okay to raise a child 100% in the public eye, not even knowing she's living in the wrong decade?</label> I know there is a second book, so I'm hoping that will come more to light in the sequel. For now, I don't love it, but I don't hate it either.

3.5 Stars<br /><br />Well I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this short YA novel!<br /><br />I had been on the brink of giving up as there was no discernible plot. Then an oddly intriguing vibe developed followed by a corker plot twist. I have read a few reviews since finishing this and I would suggest going in with as little information as possible. It is by no means a new concept but it is fun to see it play out in a YA book. I honestly can't say more than that without it being a spoiler. For those who won't read it here are the big spoilers <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="e2d33d40-dc1c-4465-838a-b85a514e379b" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="e2d33d40-dc1c-4465-838a-b85a514e379b">. This is just like the Truman Show starring Jim Carrey. 17 year old Jess has grown up the centre attraction of a TV show set in the 1990s. She is totally unaware that her real parents have allowed their lives to be observed by millions of people around the world and that there are cameras everywhere. Every single person in her life is an actor playing their role and scenarios are created to challenge Jess and create a more interesting viewing experience. The whole town is an elaborate set and they have concocted reasons to give Jess as to why they never leave. However, the minor actors are lobbying for more pay so the producers are struggling to keep everything 'normal' for Jess, as actors refuse to turn up to work. She discovers the truth and tries to flee but is hunted at every turn</label>. Once you get past the very dull first quarter it becomes quite the roller-coaster ride. Definitely ordering for the library!