In Some Other Life: A Novel

In A Nutshell: In Some Other Life is Freaky Friday meets a little physics in a high schooler’s story of a choice that changed her life. As an added bonus, there’s also a very swoony boy. I’ve heard about the wonderfulness of Jessica Brody’s books from various blogger friends, especially her Unremembered trilogy and so, when I saw that she was releasing a YA Contemporary that seemed really interesting to me, I knew I had to read it! Let’s break down what I thought about this book: IDEA: Let’s be honest, if you’ve been in high school, you’ve made a decision or two (and maybe even more than two) based on a boy, a girl, or maybe even both who might’ve romantically been paying attention to you. IT HAPPENS. Which is why the idea of this book really appealed to me. A Girl who chooses her normal public school so she can be close to her long time crush instead of the fancy private school and gets to do it over after the boy cheats on her? SIGN ME UP! PLOT: The plot went pretty much as I expected it to – first it showed us Kennedy in her normal life where she chose her boyfriend over the prestigious school and the second in which she’s been at the prestigious Winsdor Academy for three years, living the life she thought she wanted all along. I did have a few problems with this part of the book: 1) In BOTH versions of her life, Kennedy Rhodes is supposed to be smart. And I mean top of her class, Ivy League shoo-in, and editor-in-chief since feshman year smart. And yet, she was ALSO REALLY REALLY NAIVE AND A LITTLE DAFT. She didn’t realise her dad didn’t live in her house, she didn’t figure out what the numbers and letters meant (I MEAN - I DID, AND I’M NOT THAT SMART) Her character was described as one thing, but she acted totally differently when it came to her personal life. I. JUST. HOW? 2) She also objectified other girls who do use make-up by referring it to as “fake and misleading.” I honestly believe what you want to put on your body is a choice and as girls, we need to support each other’s choices so this seriously annoyed me. Just because someone decides to put makeup on, doesn’t make a “fake” person. At the same time, I also loved a lot of the plot. Frankie, Kennedy’s younger brother and Dylan were these two ADORABLE little muffins that made the whole book stand out for me. I loved Frankie’s board game and mind and I adored all the scenes with him in it and WELL, Dylan was just an all-around perfect non-Zombie. WRITING: The writing managed to capture the voice (And all the hysteria and joy) that comes with being a teenage girl but nothing really spectacular. CONCLUSION: If you’re looking for that light contemporary read with a REALLY CUTE and SASSY boy, a girl with a decision to make and the cutest baby brother ever, In Some Other Life is for you.