Jessica Wheaton is constantly bullied by Denise Bower. The last thing that Jessica ever expects is to wake up in Denise's bed and in her body. She is immediately accused of drug usage and assaulted by Denise's father then further chewed out by Denise's mother. Jessica, who is usually a straight A student, struggles in Denise's body as teachers only expect the worst from her. Jessica in Denise's body also can't get Denise to admit that she is in her body and Jessica quickly spirals into self destruction and drugs in Denise's body. Jessica takes Denise's through a series of risky choices, prostitution and illicit drug uses and she spirals out of control, reliving Denise's memories and forgetting herself.
Enemy Self is an intriguing read with a lot of potential; however, had me confused throughout. I liked the premise of being switched into your bully's body to gain perspective on their life. This story only focused on Jessica as Denise though, so the perspective Denise as Jessica gains is completely lost. There is a hint of how Jessica and Denise switched bodies in the very beginning, but nothing was fully explained until a large info dump at the end. I think things would have been far less confusing if the paranormal element was carried throughout the story. Jessica as Denise seemed like a very weak character, she immediately forgot every character trait that Jessica had: hardworking, kind, intelligent and embodied everything she disliked about Denise. Jessica's voice was also odd for a teenager who was supposed to be in middle school as she says things such as " Golly, I felt like a goofy kid again." A firmer setting also would have lent more understanding to the story, a single mention of the year being 1969 more than half way through is the only mention of the time period, which instantly made many things make more sense. Even with all this, the story pulled me forward as I desperately wanted to know what was going on and if the two girls would ever switch back. The whole story is an interesting examination of a teenager's downward spiral and the dangers of unsupportive parents and teachers.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
Enemy Self is an intriguing read with a lot of potential; however, had me confused throughout. I liked the premise of being switched into your bully's body to gain perspective on their life. This story only focused on Jessica as Denise though, so the perspective Denise as Jessica gains is completely lost. There is a hint of how Jessica and Denise switched bodies in the very beginning, but nothing was fully explained until a large info dump at the end. I think things would have been far less confusing if the paranormal element was carried throughout the story. Jessica as Denise seemed like a very weak character, she immediately forgot every character trait that Jessica had: hardworking, kind, intelligent and embodied everything she disliked about Denise. Jessica's voice was also odd for a teenager who was supposed to be in middle school as she says things such as " Golly, I felt like a goofy kid again." A firmer setting also would have lent more understanding to the story, a single mention of the year being 1969 more than half way through is the only mention of the time period, which instantly made many things make more sense. Even with all this, the story pulled me forward as I desperately wanted to know what was going on and if the two girls would ever switch back. The whole story is an interesting examination of a teenager's downward spiral and the dangers of unsupportive parents and teachers.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
RSS Feed
