Anna Carey

Nineties nostalgia takes a dark turn in this thrilling sequel to This Is Not the Jess Show, perfect for readers of E. Lockhart and Courtney Summers. 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 real 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 Kipps to return to the show, Jess teams up with an underground network fighting to uncover Like-Life's schemes. To help the cause and save Kipps, Jess must return to the show and take them down from the inside. It's her best shot at revenge but it might just cost her everything in this heart-pounding and page-turning thriller.

This Is Not the Real World

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This Is Not The Jess Show ★★★★
05/25 This Is Not The Real World ★★★★
Anna Carey

After reading Anna Carey's previous novel, This Is Not The Jess Show, I eagerly anticipated her sequel, This Is Not The Real World. 😭

In the first book, I was drawn to the retro Truman Show, Black Mirror, and My So-Called Life concept. The plot of ‘Jess Show’ takes place in the 1990s and develops an engaging character named Jess Flynn.

Even with the strange relationship between Jess and the world she knows, the prose by Carey is beautifully descriptive when describing Jess' internal feelings about the newness of her realizations. ✨

In the same way that Jess notices the weirdness around her, so do you. It becomes a game to determine what exactly is going on — it made for an enjoyable reading experience. 🌤 Each time Jess experiences a new bit of truth, we feel for her and feel empathy as she tries to understand this weird situation.

✨(Finding out the truth about this story is a large part of the enjoyment of it as well as the reason it kept me turning the pages, so there will be no spoilers, as I hope you will read the book. 🙏🏾)✨

Jess' narrative continues straight from the final pages of the previous novel: “The Jess Show” may no longer exist, but her life is no less dramatic as a result. Although we thought Jess would have some respite, 'Stuck in the 90's' remains her greatest challenge.

Even though I enjoyed reading these two together as a binge, some parts of the first were addressed here pleasantly. There is also an enjoyable development of the larger questions surrounding Jess's journey into her Truman Show world, the story behind how she was brought into Stuck in the 90's, and the romance.

Following the first novel, this was an exciting sequel, I enjoyed the characters, plot, and the possibility of a third book. The quality of Carey's writing continues to be outstanding throughout. As a character, Jess is superbly crafted and is a delight to root for. 🔪🥰😍

This Is Not the Real World

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