You Look Different in Real Life

I thought this book was wonderful. I can't imagine how tough it would for everyone to feel like they know you. Through two different documentaries, Justine's life was laid bare, first when she was 6 and then again when she was 11.

But, Justine wasn't alone because Nate, Felix, Rory and Keira were there too. Except, ever since they were 11, they haven't been there for each other.

Now, the group is 16 and Leslie and Lance (the documentary couple) are back to do more shooting and film where they are. And Justine is not where she thought she would be at 16. She wanted to be in a band, she wanted to be a star, she had dreams and goals and was fiesty and fierce at 11.

At 16, she has only a few friends, no boyfriend (there's a boy that broke show more her heart and no one since).

How do you show the world your life when you don't feel like you do anything - you didn't even live up to your expectations for yourself?

Justine's story is so well done. I loved the different personalities of each kid, but also of the filming crew and the parents and siblings. I love how heartbreaking the simple misunderstandings, the judgement and the hurt they have dished to each other has defined them in their teenage years. How they've lost contact but not lost each other. I thought it was beautiful. show less

Very cool premise--five teens chosen to appear in a documentary film every five years--but it's the voice of the main character, Justine, that pushes this novel into what will surely be readers' Top Ten of the Year lists. Justine is insightful and brilliantly observant--mixed with a bit of biting snark. What's it like to grow up on film? To have your childhood memories edited and manipulated? Is it ethical to portray people's most intimate and heartbreaking moments for an audience's entertainment?
Absorbing read that you'll be thinking about long after you finish.

Why did I read You Look Different in Real Life?
When I read the blurb about this book it sounded like something I would love. All of a sudden I thought back to my Freshman Intro to Sociology class and the Frontline video we watched, A Class Divided. This video explored an experiment a teacher conducted within her class the day after the murder of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. She wanted her student to understand discrimination. What was especially cool to me was the fact that it contained a followup 14 years later so you could see where those kids were and what they thought. You should really just go watch it.The blurb for this book excited me so much because I thought that I would finish the book with the same hopeful feeling I had show more when I watched that special. I thought I would feel incredibly invested in each of the characters and their stories.

Was this what I was expecting?
Not so much. I didn't have the feelings I had been hoping for and while I enjoyed myself I wasn't really all that invested in the characters. In fact it seemed as if I knew hardly anything about some of the group which is weird since they are all being "filmed" for this movie. Then there was the random romance. I just didn't really think there was enough of a buildup or really any indication that the romance was there until it randomly happened. I appreciate that this book tried to deal with some hard issues such as accepting one's sexuality and the autism spectrum, but even those felt a tad PSA-campy to me.

What could have made this better?
I think it could have been beneficial to have alternating point of views with less characters. I have a feeling that could have made me feel much more invested in the characters and their stories. show less

Five kids were chosen to be the stars of a reality documentary, showing them in their regular lives doing what they do. It’s time for another movie, but Justine isn’t sure she wants to do another one. It’s been five years since the last movie, but now she feels like a disappointment and like she hardly knows most of the other kids who were so important to her early life. The new movie gives them a chance to reunite again, but after years of hurt and having personal things from their lives being shared with strangers, they aren’t very willing to try being friends again. When one of them disappears to go on a journey to find the mother that abandoned her, however, the kids team up again to become friends and realize that sometimes show more the best way to see themselves is through the eyes of someone else.

The most interesting aspect of the story is not the movie aspect, but the characters. The flashbacks and scenes from the previous movies slowly let the reader know how the characters went from being best friends to not speaking. Each character has their own struggles and challenges, and they all struggle with how to communicate with the friends they used to be so close to. The romance in the end seemed a little bit random, but the gradual progression of each person working through their challenges is interesting. Justine as the narrator was not as likeable as she could have been, but she is appealing as the girl who is the glue of the group and the other characters make up for her shortcomings. While it focuses less on the being famous aspect than someone might be expected from the jacket description, the character interactions are fun to read about. show less

I liked Justine and connected with her right away, I felt confused for the first part of the book. I knew the premise but it just felt like everyone was going around knowing something that I didn't. Why Justine had changed, why she felt like such a disappointment, and what had changed at school.
But I think that was the whole point. Because as you get into the story, Justine remembers the moments as the film crew is there again, and things all begin to fit together.
One of the themes is that Justine is disappointed, and it comes out as anger. She is disappointed that she didn't live up to what her eleven year old self thought she would be. But then she begins to see what is special about her, what makes everyone special. That we all show more have a story to tell. It may not be one that makes millions, and then again, maybe we aren't looking at it the right way. But I loved each moment where something clicked for her. Where she realizes that it is okay to change, that she needs to love who she has become, and that she can always start working for another goal again.
Another theme is friendship. How it can change or how some relationships just reach an end, whether natural or by a fight or other circumstances. I liked watching her with Felix, seeing how they encourage one another, how a true friendship should be and what we should strive for. Then there are the others that ended, and how Justine deals with the parts that were her fault.
There was one part near the end where they were all together and had went through a lot, and she said that they helped make each other whole. They realized more about themselves and life by being together.
The characters are all fleshed out well, and the pacing was good. The ending wrapped things up really well and I enjoyed the story overall.

Bottom Line: A refreshing premise that delivers emotion, and shows the lives of characters that were changed both positively and negatively by being on screen. show less

I’ve never read any of Jennifer’s books before now so “You Look Different” was a good one to cut my teeth on. Justine has mixed emotions about the cameras that will soon be documenting her life again for the big screen. There’s too much to live up to and as she examines her own life, she realizes that she’s disappointed herself a little. Not living out the dreams or goals she had at eleven. Letting friendships go because they didn’t “fit” anymore, and drifting away from others for reasons she doesn’t really understand.
So agreeing to the sequel of Five at is less than exciting. As she’s struggling to figure out what to show the camera and what the public wants to see, Justine ends up discovering herself. She finds show more out who she really is, who her friends really are and growing into the person she’s always been, but never seen.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It’s fast moving, funny, and real. Castle did a fantastic job with Justine growing in each relationship with the other Five at stars, as well as each character growing on their own. Even though Justine is the center of the novel, the other characters are still given a fair amount of screen time.
My Rating: 4/5 stars, worth the read. show less

Can you imagine having your life growing up on camera? The good times and bad times that comes with tears, to your first heart break? That is just what Justine, Rory, Felix, Keira and Nate go through. What’s happened, changed, and what are they doing now? All of these are answered, and it isn’t hard to get swept up in their story.

Justine is our main character and narrator. All though, she just wants to be a normal teenager, she really isn’t. Most of her life has been laid out for the world to watch and most everyone know who she is. Justine isn’t where she thought she would be and at first I was just so irritated with her for her behavior, but as the story went on, I began to see through her eyes how invasive it all was, and show more understood her a little better. She takes charge when there needs to be a leader and does so that so well. I ended up enjoy her character a lot. The others, Felix, Keira, Rory and Nate were all part of the lime light too. Each having their own struggles with growing up. But, Justine and Felix remained close even in between the tapings, while other friendships fell apart. I enjoyed each character for what they were and what they each brought to the story.

The story behind these kids was interesting and definitely insightful. We see all the reality T.V. shows and they all look they have perfect lives, and perfect worlds, but that is always not the case. There was so much for these teens to live up to, or so they think, because that is what they believe the producers want from them. I found that just following them on their own journey’s to be so much more enjoyable. The parents involvement was one thing I found to refreshing, they weren’t the picture perfect parents either, but the were there and part of the kids lives, and that is something that is sometimes far and few between when it come to YA books. This group of kids each had their own issues to deal and learn from, fears of acceptance to the expectations of parents and school. There is a slight romance, but it didn’t play a big part, that wasn’t what this about. But, it was a sweet one. The ending was wonderful, watching them all grow so much and I was pleased with it.
Overall, You Look Different in Real Life is another great YA contemporary, it was a fun and enjoyable story of self discovery. show less