This Is Not the Real World (This is Not the Jess Show)

This Is Not the Real World (This is Not the Jess Show)

Nineties nostalgia takes a dark turn in this thrilling sequel to This Is Not the Jess Show , perfect for readers of We Were Liars and One of Us Is Lying. Months after Jess escaped from the set of Stuck in the ’90s , the nostalgic reality show she believed was her real life, the teen star is getting to know the outside world for the first time. But she can’t outrun her fictional life forever—or the media empire that owns it. After Like-Life Productions tracks her down and forces her boyfriend to return to the show, Jess teams up with an underground network fighting to uncover Like-Life’s schemes. To expose the truth, Jess must go back to the set and take Like-Life down from the inside . . . but getting revenge might just cost her everything. Gr 8 Up-In the sequel to This Is Not the Jess Show, a YA riff on The Truman Show, 18-year-old Jess has escaped from the set of Stuck in the '90s, the reality television show that she unknowingly grew up as the star of. Now aware that it's actually 2037, she's laying low with boyfriend Kipps, 17, at the home of TV-sister Sara Flores and coming to understand facts of the modern world like climate disaster and extreme income inequality. When Kipps is caught and dragged back to the set, Sara reveals to Jess the existence of an online "anti-fandom" comprised of former cast members and viewers dedicated to investigating the wrongdoings of Life-Like Productions. Chief among these concerns is the suspicious disappearance months earlier of the extras' union leader. As the former lead, Jess volunteers to return the set to covertly gather evidence-but quickly realizes LLP is even more dangerous than anyone realized. This title picks up shortly after the events of the first book and continues its thought-provoking exploration of the roles of surveillance, nostalgia, and exploitation in the entertainment industry. It also retains the cinematic quality and strong pacing of the first book while fleshing out many secondary characters' backstories. Kipps and Jess are assumed white, Sara is biracial, and friend Amber is cued as Black. VERDICT Fans of the gripping first installment will clamor for the second. Recommended for purchase where This Is Not the Jess Show is popular.-Elizabeth Gilesα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. “A romantic near-future thriller.”— Locus Magazine Praise for This Is Not the Jess Show “It’s a dark and distorted mirror of our own extremely strange times, perfect reading for anyone who wants to feel seen without necessarily needing to be looked at.”— Shondaland “I read this in a single, compulsive sitting. A fantastically smart, funny, and thoughtful thriller about how our devices manipulate and exploit our closest relationships.”—Nicola Yoon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also a Star “At once thought-provoking and hilarious, This Is Not the Jess Show is a timely, incisive book so masterfully-plotted you won't want to put it down.”—Tahereh Mafi, New York Times Bestselling author of the Shatter Me series and A Very Large Expanse of Sea   “Nostalgic, romantic, thrilling, and with an exciting twist, I devoured This Is Not The Jess Show and didn't want it to end!”—Sara Shepard, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game   “A thrilling and thought-provoking ride.”— Kirkus Reviews   “ This is Not the Jess Show goes deep in exploring how people live their lives and create their own realities—sometimes at a cost.”— Foreword Reviews “The fast-paced, intricate plot ramps up Jess's paranoia and frustration, both of which are vividly expressed through her first-person narrative.”— Booklist “A fun and thoughtful thriller; this YA novel will please fans of E. Lockhart and Kiera Cass.”— School Library Journal “Fast paced and thrilling.”—Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books Anna Carey is the author of several books for teens including This is Not The Jess Show , This is Not the Real World , and the Eve trilogy. She lives in Los Angeles. The gondola glided between buildings, and that same song filtered in right as we slipped under the third arched bridge. It was coming from an upper balcony, where the same violin player sat, his bow gliding back and forth across the strings. Below him, the window was open, and the same man with that same stubby gray mustache was cooking pasta. It wasn’t until Kipps pointed it out that I realized he looked exactly like Chef Boyardee. He even had the white hat.      “How much do you think they paid for that product placement?” I asked.      “This is supposed to be romantic, Jess.”      I tried not to look at Kipps too much in the simulations, because his features were always a little off from what they were in real life. His nose looked huge and angular, his wavy hair like tiny brown snakes spilling out of his scalp. His left