Representation: Black characters
Trigger warnings: N/A
Score: Six and a half out of ten.
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I didn't have much choice other than to read J.R. Silver Writes Her World by Melissa Dassori. I only heard about this book a few days ago when I picked it up when the novels I wanted were all gone. I glanced at the intriguing blurb, and I headed in with high expectations considering the ratings, but it was only okay.

It starts with Josephine Rose 'J.R.' Silver recounting her life as a 6th grader, presumably somewhere in America, and nothing is going well according to her, as her friend, Violet, and parents distanced themselves. That is until her teacher, Ms Kline, assigns her some tasks, prompting her to write short stories based on magazine covers from a series called Gothamite (that looks familiar.) Sounds intriguing? It seems so, until I see how Dassori executes the premise. Let's start with the positives, the pacing is enough to keep the plot going, with the length being around 250 pages, and the writing style is mostly accessible except for a few more unfamiliar words that might put off the target audience, like wanderlust. Adding a glossary would help.

Unfortunately, I can only compliment the creation in so many ways, so now it's time to turn to the areas needing improvement, like the characters. The characters are hard to connect or relate with, lacking depth and development, but expanding on them would improve the reading experience. I only saw a glimpse of the character dynamics involving J.R. and her English teacher, J.R. and her parents and J.R. and her friends. I got to observe the first one the most, but I only wanted a deeper exploration. Dassori fumbled the climax as the payoff wasn't it. J.R. discovers the stories she writes come true like when she could score soccer goals, make her parents allow her to use her phone and even go on school trips, but her actions must have consequences, but they weren't there. Where were they? This is not it. The concluding pages weren't that engaging because of that. Also, why does the cover look like it wants to have a staring contest with me? ( )

This is a warm hug of a story. Faced with a best friend who is drifting away and shifting alliances among friends, J.R. discovers an unusual power: the ability to write her wishes and dreams into reality through special writing assignments. As J.R. wields the power of words, she learns that the magic that will truly change her life and help her find her way back to her friends lies within her. The literary/cultural side of New York City comes wonderfully to life in the cozy neighborhood bookstore and Metropolitan Museum of Art settings. A must read! ( )