Five kids were chosen to be the stars of a reality documentary, showing them in their regular lives doing what they do. It’s time for another movie, but Justine isn’t sure she wants to do another one. It’s been five years since the last movie, but now she feels like a disappointment and like she hardly knows most of the other kids who were so important to her early life. The new movie gives them a chance to reunite again, but after years of hurt and having personal things from their lives being shared with strangers, they aren’t very willing to try being friends again. When one of them disappears to go on a journey to find the mother that abandoned her, however, the kids team up again to become friends and realize that sometimes the best way to see themselves is through the eyes of someone else.

The most interesting aspect of the story is not the movie aspect, but the characters. The flashbacks and scenes from the previous movies slowly let the reader know how the characters went from being best friends to not speaking. Each character has their own struggles and challenges, and they all struggle with how to communicate with the friends they used to be so close to. The romance in the end seemed a little bit random, but the gradual progression of each person working through their challenges is interesting. Justine as the narrator was not as likeable as she could have been, but she is appealing as the girl who is the glue of the group and the other characters make up for her shortcomings. While it focuses less on the being famous aspect than someone might be expected from the jacket description, the character interactions are fun to read about. ( )

2 Out 5 "A little too much Y and not enough A" Stars

While You Look Different in Real Life wasn't really for me, I think for a younger audience it may work. The only reason I listened to this in the first place is for a reading challenge (I needed a narrator whose name started with a Q).

Overall, for me, the characters were not memorable and it was really difficult for me to see where this story was going. Ultimately, there is a message there and that's why the ending is the only part that got a decent rating from me.

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~MY RATING~
2/5 STARS - GRADE=D
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~BREAKDOWN OF RATINGS~
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Plot~ 2/5
Main Characters~ 2/5
Secondary Characters~ 1/5
The Feels~ 1/5
Pacing~ 2/5
Addictiveness~ 1.5/5
Theme or Tone~ 2.5/5
Flow (Writing Style)~ 2/5
Backdrop (World Building)~ 2/5
Ending~ 3.5/5 Cliffhanger~ Nope.
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Book Cover~ It's whatever…
Narration~ Samantha Quan is not bad in this, but I really didn't like the book…so maybe that makes it kind of difficult to figure out how I feel about her as a narrator.
Setting~ New York and the surrounding area…I think
Source~ Audiobook (Scribd)
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Why did I read You Look Different in Real Life?
When I read the blurb about this book it sounded like something I would love. All of a sudden I thought back to my Freshman Intro to Sociology class and the Frontline video we watched, A Class Divided. This video explored an experiment a teacher conducted within her class the day after the murder of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. She wanted her student to understand discrimination. What was especially cool to me was the fact that it contained a followup 14 years later so you could see where those kids were and what they thought. You should really just go watch it.The blurb for this book excited me so much because I thought that I would finish the book with the same hopeful feeling I had when I watched that special. I thought I would feel incredibly invested in each of the characters and their stories.

Was this what I was expecting?
Not so much. I didn't have the feelings I had been hoping for and while I enjoyed myself I wasn't really all that invested in the characters. In fact it seemed as if I knew hardly anything about some of the group which is weird since they are all being "filmed" for this movie. Then there was the random romance. I just didn't really think there was enough of a buildup or really any indication that the romance was there until it randomly happened. I appreciate that this book tried to deal with some hard issues such as accepting one's sexuality and the autism spectrum, but even those felt a tad PSA-campy to me.

What could have made this better?
I think it could have been beneficial to have alternating point of views with less characters. I have a feeling that could have made me feel much more invested in the characters and their stories. ( )

I really, Really, REALLY enjoyed this book. It was fresh and refreshing, and I want Justine to be my BFF. ( )

Sixteen-year-old Justine really doesn’t want to do it. She, along with classmates Felix, Rory, Keira and Nate, made a documentary when they were 6 years old called “Five at Six.” She, and the movie, was a big hit, which inspired the filmmakers to decide they should be filmed every 5 years. She rocked “Five at Eleven,” but is sure she’ll be a bust with “Five at Sixteen.”

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