Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone by Tae Keller
The Hook:
Being the new kid at school is never easy, especially when the school is filled with mean, popular kids. During the summer, Jennifer Chan moves across the street from Mallory and the two hang out until school starts in August. In the summer, Mallory finds Jennifer interesting in a strange sort of way. Jennifer believes in aliens; she is super self-assured that aliens are real. She talks about aliens all the time with no worries that anyone will find her strange. While Mallory admires her confidence, she does find Mallory odd, but she still likes her. However, when school starts, Mallory is afraid to be seen with Jennifer. She doesn’t want the mean popular girls to think she is weird like Jennifer, so she makes fun of her behind her back. While Mallory’s popularity grows, Jennifer is being bullied and rejected.
Then, one day Jennifer disappears. No one knows what happened. Is she in danger? Has she been killed? Maybe she really was abducted by aliens? Where is Jennifer?
Mallory starts going through some of Jennifer’s journals to help her search for her. But in doing so, she must confront the truth behind the actions that might have caused Jennifer to disappear in the first place.
This book is about bullying, self-confidence, forgiveness, and friendship. You gotta read Jennifer Chan is Not Alone.
This book is in our library as a Name That Book for this school year. It is also in Sora and Axis 360 as an eBook and an audio book. It is 9 AR points.
My Thoughts and Recommendations (Careful! There Could Be Spoilers):
Middle school can be rough. Friends change, friendship cliques are formed, kids can be ousted from the popular group, and sometimes kids within the group do things they know are not right just to stay in the inner circle. This book captures the emotional roller coaster of navigating friendships and social rules.
The story unfolds between two time periods. Chapters alternate between the “Now” --the present time when Jennifer is missing—and the “Then” --the events leading up to her disappearance. It is in Mallory’s voice and Mallory slowly, with a pressuring guilt reveals what happened, her own involvement, and how she is determined to make things right. It is beautifully written. When I was reading, I could FEEL Mallory’s apprehension to admit her part and when she does, my own heart sank a little. Thank goodness she tries to do all that she can to make it right.
Horn Book Magazine (May/June 2022) writes that the author... “writes with uncommon compassion for all of her characters-even the cruel-seeming ones-addressing such issues as peer pressure, individuality, identity, and microaggressions from a variety of perspectives.”
This book is thought-provoking and will lead to great conversations about friendships, self-confidence, and forgiveness within yourself and others.
I recommend this book for 5th grade-8th. 4.8 stars.
