What an interesting book. At the beginning, I'd thought it'd be very hard to read because of the sheer second-hand embarrassment this book would cause me, but luckily for me it was nothing of that sort. It was fun and dynamic as it was straight forward. Jenna Chen is an interesting, three dimensional character that we're used to seeing in Ann Liang's books but perhaps she is bit of an unreliable narrator, in the sense that you really don't understand her until you get close to the end and you get to hear about her from other perspectives, mainly Aaron's. She is too focused on her flaws and she has very little understanding of who she is because she's too focused on the person who she wants herself to be, and that person is Jessica Chen. Now, I found the character of Jessica to be a little exaggerated. I understand that to be the point, I really do, but her being treated like a movie star in her school felt a little over the top, but maybe I feel like this because I haven't been in a Havenwood Academy type of school. At the end she becomes more of a real person rather than a deity that everyone around her pretended her to be, but it fell a little flat, in my opinion. The romance part of the book was also very lovely and enjoyable to read, and Aaron was a good love interest, I really liked him and his addition to the story. At the end, this gives you everything you'd want it to give: A nice, enticing plot, satisfying character development, a pleasurable reading experience and that nice, relaxing feeling you get once you're finished.

alexa! play 505 by the arctic monkeys 🙈

Thank you HarperCollins and Netgalley for sending me this arc!


"you would have wanted me for an afternoon, and I would have wanted you for the rest of my life.”

Oh my Gosh you guys. This book was so so much different than Ann Liang's other books, it is so much more relatable and a bit more sad. I was so surprised that the book had longer chapters than usual, but i loved it!!

And can we talk about Aaron Cai 🥹🥹 I love him so much he might have earned #1 for my fave Ann Liang male leads 🙈 (dethroned Julius Gong, even I was surprised tbh).

Oh and Jenna Chen 🥹 Oh my darling pookie I love you so much i'm gonna hug you so tight


5/5 stars, Ann Liang books, you will always be loved by me!!!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

I finished this book in just a few hours and let me tell you it did NOT disappoint!

I Am Not Jessica Chen follows Jenna Chen and her journey of not feeling like enough while constantly being compares to her cousin Jessica. Everything changes when she makes a wish to be her and wakes up the next day as Jessica—only now she’s faced with the struggles of being “the model student”, her childhood crush returning from Paris, and whatever secrets her cousin has been keeping.

As usual, Ann Liang succeeds in writing the perfect relatable story. Jenna constantly wants what she can’t have, and is always feeling lesser than those around her. What I liked about her character is how consistent she was. She wanted to be Jessica, craved the fame, beauty, and wealth of Jessica’s life. And once she got it…she loved it. An incredibly realistic take on something unrealistic.

What I also enjoyed was the lack of a cliche storyline in this book. I was waiting for the familiar beats of regret and missing her old life but instead there was a raw selfishness to Jenna’s behavior that was much more refreshing.

Overall, I really enjoyed this read, and I highly recommend it!!

I am truly one of the many Ann Liang readers that get baffled whenever she releases a new book because she always pulls the “don’t let them know your next move” kind of thing because tell me why I CRIED? I was only in the Author Note part and I was already BAWLING. This is indeed a book about wanting so, so much more not just from life but also from ourselves.

If you think Sadie Wen from I Hope This Doesn’t Find You was relatable, wait until you meet Jenna Chen. She’s waaaay too relatable it was kind of scary. Reading her was liking reading a book about myself AND I do not like reading books where a character perfectly mirrors me because then I’ll realize how flawed I actually am as a human being and there are traits which I should unlearn or forget. Lol.

Ann Liang’s writing style greatly improved from her narratives down to curating her characters AND she has never let me down when it comes to her romance. Absolutely 10/10 chemistry from Jenna and Aaron. Aside from the romance, there are a lot of factors that made this book so great and personal to me such as: Jenna’s monologues (especially when it came to talking about her cousin, Jessica) and even her thinking that everyone around her has always been natural OR literally just better than she ever was. Is this fucking play about me?

Kidding aside, I also want to praise how Liang perfectly captured the delirious feeling of wanting to be someone else so badly that we even reach the point of wishing they were somehow a bad person so we can have a single justification as to why they shouldn’t be envied at all. But most of the times it cannot be helped. Some people are too perfect they seem surreal—and in this surrealistic idea do we realize that we’re never gonna amount to who and what they are, like what Jenna felt towards Jessica. This book hit me neurally that each sentence felt like a sentence weaved to hit me in the nerves and in the heart. Like what a book should actually be.

As per Liang’s note, this is a book to remind us that we’re not alone in this feeling—and that is exactly what it made me feel. It is both comforting and reflective. I hold this book so dear to me.

this was another absolute masterpiece by ann liang, i've literally rated all of her books 5 stars, no matter how innocent they seem, i can always count on her books to make me feel something
and I Am Not Jessica Chen, obviously doesn't seem so innocent and so i felt everything. as i suspected i did tear up at several different points and i highlighted so much. i think that this is such an important read/story, especially for those struggling in similar situations.

honestly, this hit really hard for me and i related to a lot of what the main characters were feeling. that's part of the beauty of this book: everybody can relate to a different part and take something out of it. maybe you won't relate to anything at all, and that's okay, but i think that the way that ann liang conveys certain themes regarding mental health and culture in ALL of her books makes them exceptional. whether it be jenna chen or jessica chen you relate to, all of the portrayals in this novel are so realistic and accurate.

i can't even begin to describe how much i relate to this and how important the messages in this book are. thank you ann liang yet again.

and like always, this made me miss china so much and long to be surrounded with the people, culture, food, etc

i have no complaints, i couldn't have asked for anything for from this book or ann liang.

3.75 ⭐️
I resonated with Jenna at times especially with comparing yourself to others and not wanting to let down your loved ones for all their sacrifices. As well as wanting other people's acceptance and letting others define your worth. As for the plot, It felt a bit shallow for a dark academia but it got the point across. I didn't feel a lot of urgency for what would happen next. Once Jenna took over Jessica's body, it wasn't as brutal as I expected it to be. Jessica's friends and student body were a bit one-dimensional and just didn't come across as very compelling individuals to read about despite the competitive nature of the school. My favorite aspect was Jenna's character arc. Her internal struggles of wanting to be recognized and constantly comparing herself to others and then realizing not everything's as it seems. Jenna finally saw her worth and longed for the life she took for granted and realized she wanted to live as herself again with the knowledge that she ultimately dictated her life. The romance was wholesome and convincing to me. Aaron reminded Jenna of who she was and listed the things he loved about her including how she uplifted the people in her life including him. He was just the sweetest. And lastly, I agree that we need more Jessica! I was so interested in her character and her struggles to uphold everyone's expectations at the cost of her wants and needs. She wasn't treated like a human being and was always idolized when she just wanted to live. Her resolution was a bit abrupt so it'd be cool to see more of her growth.

Oh my gosh. I think this may be my favourite Ann Liang. I know i've rated almost all of her books 5 stars, but i think this one is just special. I've never felt so seen by a book, and I sped through it in a day. I could FEEL Jenna's joy and her pride and her want, and i could feel my own heart plummeting when things went wrong. I love the main characters—both Jenna and Jessica—so much. honestly i yearn for there to be a Jessica Chen spin-off because I truly adored her character from what we saw. Other than that, Aaron and Jenna's relationship was so sweet, and when the 80% twist hit I had my head in my hands. The fact that he remembered to get her a bookmark *in the first chapter* even though he'd been away for a year (hehe) was SO endearing and I almost immediately loved him.

But really my favourite part of this book is Jenna's coming-of-age. I wish I'd read this book when I was struggling through the worst years of my asian education system—I feel like both Jenna and Jessica at the same time.

Truly such a gem of a book. I adore it, and it has cemented its place as one of my top books of the year.

This story, at its very core, is about wanting so deeply. To be perfect. To be enough. To the point where it’s disastrously obsessive—but also viciously human. Not only does Ann perfectly capture this visceral feeling on the pages, but she does so in a way that makes you feel less alone for doing so. I truly mean this when I say this is Ann’s best work.

Thank you to Harpercollins for the eARC in exchange for an honest review! 5/5 stars.