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The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson by Paige Toon (view source)
Revision as of 13:27, 10 August 2020
, 13:27, 10 August 2020no edit summary
And suddenly, Jessie is thrust into an entirely different world. LA is full of luxury mansions, designer clothes, fabulous parties and guitar-wielding, flirtatious boys. Will Johnny live up to Jessie's expectations? And can she ever move on from her mother's death? And will home ever be home again?
Ok. I'm not the best reviewer for this book - I don't read much in the way of women's fiction or the more romantic YA stories either. And I had no idea that it was an offshoot of a very successful adult series. But ''The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson'' hit Bookbag Towers not long before publication. There was no time to send it on to a reviewer who is a fan of the genre, so it was me or nobody. (Note to publicists: you'll get the most appropriate reviewer if you give us ''time''!). And I won't lie to you: for me, the entire premise was a bit silly, I found the endless descriptions of clothes and make up makeup and interior decor tiresome and I won't even start with the dialogue tags. But that's me being churlish and criticising something simply for being what it is supposed to be, isn't it? So I'll tell you what I liked.
Jessie herself is just great. She's beautifully observed as a slightly rebellious teenager. She sees everything through the prism of herself, is quick to a tantrum, rude and prickly. But all this bluster is just that. Inside, Jessie is grieving for her mum and terrified of most things she finds in her path - boys, school, a new family. But you have to love her as she meets it all head-on and is honest enough to acknowledge her mistakes, given enough time to think about things.
And I really ''loved'' the ending. Can't spoil that for you, but I wondered where everything was going and I wasn't disappointed at all. Good for Paige Toon for some common sense underlying all the escapism!
So yes, I'm recommending ''The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson'' for all fans of YA chicklitchick-lit. Bet that surprised you, didn't it?
YA readers will probably want to find out about the same characters in Toon's books for adults and our Zoe thoroughly enjoyed [[Johnny be Good by Paige Toon|Johnny be Good]]. If you'd prefer to stick with books for teens then we can recommend [[All About The Hype by Paige Toon]].
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