I Am Not Jessica Chen by Ann Liang
Jenna Chen has spent her whole life in the shadow of her “perfect” cousin, Jessica Chen, and she desperately wants to become her. One wish was all it took to make that dream come true. Jenna always believed that if she wanted something badly enough, the universe would make sure to keep it out of reach. But that night, the universe was listening. When she wakes up the next morning as Jessica Chen, she quickly learns that every wish has its price, and whether it is a blessing or a curse, she'll find out soon enough.
I Am Not Jessica Chen is a heartfelt tale of self-discovery. It’s for everyone who has ever felt like they weren’t good enough, especially those who grew up as overachievers, self-deprecating, hypercritical, and full of people-pleasing tendencies 😂 Even though some aspects may resonate more strongly with younger readers, I still saw parts of myself in both Jenna and Jessica, which made the story all the more meaningful and comforting. In every Ann Liang book I’ve read, her characters have always felt real and deeply relatable, which is exactly why I’ve fallen in love with her writing.
The book also reminded me of something so true: when we were younger, so much of our self-worth revolved around grades and achievements. It was far too easy to feel discouraged and discontented with ourselves. At that age, we become so consumed by our shortcomings that we fail to notice the person we are growing into, or to simply enjoy the journey and be excited about the endless possibilities waiting for us.
To end, here is a line from Jenna that I really loved:
“𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙧 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤. 𝙍𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙜𝙤𝙡𝙙. 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙝 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙫𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚. 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚.”
After getting rejected by every single Ivy League she applied to and falling short of all her Asian immigrant parents’ expectations, seventeen-year-old Jenna Chen makes a wish to become her smarter, infinitely more successful Harvard-bound cousin, Jessica Chen—only for her wish to come true. Literally.
Now trapped inside Jessica’s body, with access to Jessica’s most private journals and secrets, Jenna soon discovers that being the top student at the elite, highly competitive Havenwood Private Academy isn’t quite what she imagined. Worse, as everyone—including her own parents—start having trouble remembering who Jenna Chen is, or if she ever even existed, Jenna must decide if playing the role of the perfect daughter and student is worth losing her true self forever.