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reader_fictions 's review for:
In Some Other Life
by Jessica Brody
3.5 stars
Previously, I’ve only tried Jessica Brody’s science fiction (Unremembered), and it…didn’t do a lot for me. Despite that, I’ve had a few of her contemporary novels on my list forever but never gotten around to them. In Some Other Life appealed to me for that most classic of reasons: the cover’s cute. So sue me (actually, don’t, please). In Some Other Life is a fluffier readalike for Kasie West’s debut Pivot Point, and I liked it quite a bit.
Kennedy Rhodes turned down an elite private high school because her long-term crush wanted to date her; she decided to stick with public school in order to be with him. Three years after she let her shot at the private school go by, Kennedy discovers that her boyfriend is cheating on her with her best friend. Despite her other big accomplishments (great grades, editor of an award-winning school newspaper), Kennedy regrets that missed opportunity.
Conveniently, a head injury catapults her into an alternate universe where she chose her education over her love life. It’s a classic “be careful what you wish for” sort of scenario. Kennedy’s life at the private school is everything she dreamed: she’s popular, she excels at everything, and she’s a shoe-in for her dream college. However, her family’s a mess, because her dad took the soulless corporate job he’d turned down in her timeline in order to pay for her schooling. All of this turned this private school Kennedy into someone this Kennedy doesn’t like or respect.
The voice is good, and there’s a cute little ship, though it’s not the focal point of the story. Kennedy’s father and brother are also highlights of the novel. It’s interesting that choosing a boy over her education turns out to have been the right choice; some readers might not like that, but I do appreciate the fact that the novel highlights the far-reaching complexities of choices. The novel would have benefited from more development for said boyfriend, because legit all I know about him is his deep abiding love of fart jokes; considering that he’s the motivator driving much of the novel, it would have been more emotionally resonant if I got their connection. However, it’s nice that Kennedy reconnects with her friend in the end, albeit not as emotional as if she’d come to that in an organic way.
In Some Other Life was a great airplane read. For me, this basic set up only gets so good (because, while I like the formulaic nature of romance, the formulaic nature of “be careful what you wish for” I’m a bit less into), but Brody makes the somewhat stale concept fun. For all its length, it really didn’t feel all that long.
Previously, I’ve only tried Jessica Brody’s science fiction (Unremembered), and it…didn’t do a lot for me. Despite that, I’ve had a few of her contemporary novels on my list forever but never gotten around to them. In Some Other Life appealed to me for that most classic of reasons: the cover’s cute. So sue me (actually, don’t, please). In Some Other Life is a fluffier readalike for Kasie West’s debut Pivot Point, and I liked it quite a bit.
Kennedy Rhodes turned down an elite private high school because her long-term crush wanted to date her; she decided to stick with public school in order to be with him. Three years after she let her shot at the private school go by, Kennedy discovers that her boyfriend is cheating on her with her best friend. Despite her other big accomplishments (great grades, editor of an award-winning school newspaper), Kennedy regrets that missed opportunity.
Conveniently, a head injury catapults her into an alternate universe where she chose her education over her love life. It’s a classic “be careful what you wish for” sort of scenario. Kennedy’s life at the private school is everything she dreamed: she’s popular, she excels at everything, and she’s a shoe-in for her dream college. However, her family’s a mess, because her dad took the soulless corporate job he’d turned down in her timeline in order to pay for her schooling. All of this turned this private school Kennedy into someone this Kennedy doesn’t like or respect.
The voice is good, and there’s a cute little ship, though it’s not the focal point of the story. Kennedy’s father and brother are also highlights of the novel. It’s interesting that choosing a boy over her education turns out to have been the right choice; some readers might not like that, but I do appreciate the fact that the novel highlights the far-reaching complexities of choices. The novel would have benefited from more development for said boyfriend, because legit all I know about him is his deep abiding love of fart jokes; considering that he’s the motivator driving much of the novel, it would have been more emotionally resonant if I got their connection. However, it’s nice that Kennedy reconnects with her friend in the end, albeit not as emotional as if she’d come to that in an organic way.
In Some Other Life was a great airplane read. For me, this basic set up only gets so good (because, while I like the formulaic nature of romance, the formulaic nature of “be careful what you wish for” I’m a bit less into), but Brody makes the somewhat stale concept fun. For all its length, it really didn’t feel all that long.