cover image You Look Different in Real Life

You Look Different in Real Life

Jennifer Castle. HarperTeen, $17.99 (368p) ISBN 978-0-06-198581-2

When Justine was six years old, she and four classmates were chosen to star in a series of documentaries filmed every five years to trace their changing personalities, interests, and concerns (the premise clearly owes to the Up series of films that have followed a group of British children until adulthood since 1964). Now it’s time to make the third installment, and 16-year-old Justine, having mixed feelings about her celebrity status, isn’t sure she wants to take part. After some coaxing, she reluctantly agrees, but she has no idea that the filming of her all-too-mundane life will lead her and the other participants on an unforgettable journey. In a sudden act of rebellion, the five decide to dismiss the director’s plans and take the recording in a new direction. Although the story is told from Justine’s perspective, her four classmates are equally complex and interesting, with deep personal conflicts. Castle (The Beginning of After) succeeds in providing suspense and drama as each character’s emotional baggage is unpacked on and off the screen. Ages 13–up. Agent: Jamie Weiss Chilton, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (June)