You Look Different in Real Life - Hardcover

Castle, Jennifer

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061985813 ISBN 13: 9780061985812

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2013

Synopsis

A 2015-2016 Florida Teens Read selection!

Readers of John Green, Sarah Dessen, and Laurie Halse Anderson will be touched by the emotional depth and realistic characters of Jennifer Castle's teen novel You Look Different in Real Life.

Justine charmed the nation in a documentary film featuring five kindergartners. Five years later, her edgy sense of humor made her the star of a second movie that caught up with the lives of the same five kids. Now Justine is sixteen, and another sequel is in the works. Justine isn't ready to have viewers examining her life again. She feels like a disappointment, not at all like the girl everyone fell in love with in the first two movies. But, ready or not, she and the other four teens will soon be in front of the cameras again.

Smart, fresh, and funny, You Look Different in Real Life is an affecting novel about life in an age where the lines between what's personal and what's public aren't always clear.

About this title

About the Author

Jennifer Castle's first novel, The Beginning of After, was named an American Library Association Best Fiction for Young Adults selection and a Chicago Public Library "Best of the Best" Book. She wrote many unproduced movie and TV scripts before returning to her first love, fiction . . . but she's still hooked on film and the way we can find and tell our stories with images. She lives with her family in New York's Hudson Valley.

From the Back Cover

For the rest of the world, the movies are entertainment. For Justine, they're real life.

The premise was simple: five kids, just living their lives. There'd be a new movie about them every five years, starting in kindergarten. But no one could have predicted what the cameras would capture. And no one could have predicted that Justine would be the star.

Now sixteen, Justine doesn't feel like a star anymore. In fact, when she hears the crew has gotten the green light to film Five at Sixteen, all she feels is dread. The kids who shared the same table in kindergarten have become teenagers who hardly know one another. And Justine, who was so funny and edgy in the first two movies,feels like a disappointment.

But these teens have a bond that goes deeper than what's on film. They've all shared the painful details of their lives with countless viewers. They all know how it feels to have fans as well as friends. So when this latest movie gives them the chance to reunite, Justine and her costars are going to take it. Because sometimes, the only way to see yourself is through someone else's eyes.

Smart, fresh, and frequently funny, You Look Different in Real Life is a piercing novel about life in an age where the lines between what's personal and what's public aren't always clear.

Reviews

Gr 8 Up-Ten years ago, five kindergarteners and their ordinary lives were the subject of a documentary. Five years later, they were featured in a second documentary. Now they're 16 and it's time to once again be in front of the camera. Many changes have occurred since the last time they were filmed: Rory's been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder; former best friends Nate, who has reinvented himself as a cool jock, and Felix no longer speak; Keira, whose worst memory was caught on film, is a member of the popular group; and Justine, the break-out "star" of the two earlier films, feels that she's no longer interesting and hasn't accomplished all she had hoped to. The producers struggle to find usable footage and resort to staging some scenes, which in previous years was unnecessary. A team-building weekend ensues, which Keira uses to further her own agenda. While the book starts off slow and a bit tedious, it becomes much more interesting and exciting around the time of the bonding weekend. This novel is an interesting look at difficult subjects, such as autism, homosexuality, and friendship. A perfect fit for fans of Siobhan Vivian, Deb Caletti, and Sara Zarr.-Melissa Stock, Arapahoe Library District, Englewood, COα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Five students were the subject of two documentaries: Five at Six and Five at Eleven. Now the directors are shooting the third installment, Five at Sixteen. Narrator Justine is the funny one, while awkward Rory struggles with autism. Biracial Keira is still reeling from her mother’s abandonment, and handsome athlete Nate’s friendship with cheerful Latino Felix has faltered. At first Justine is reluctant to participate in the film, but she is drawn into the ever increasing drama. Castle has a great ear for teen dialogue, capturing the awkward pain of friends who have grown apart but must still interact. The documentary/reality aspect will attract readers, and the wealth of character development should keep them interested. While some might quibble that reality would not end as happily as the book does, that’s just what will attract readers seeking thoughtful comfort-food reading. Grades 8-12. --Debbie Carton

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0061985813
• ISBN 13: 9780061985812
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 368