You Look Different in Real Life

Readers of John Green, Sarah Dessen, and Laurie Halse Anderson will be touched by the emotional depth and realistic characters of Jennifer Castle’s teen novel You Look Different in Real Life.

Justine charmed the nation in a documentary film featuring five kindergartners. Five years later, her edgy sense of humor made her the star of a second movie that caught up with the lives of the same five kids.

Now Justine is sixteen, and another sequel is in the works. Justine isn’t ready to have viewers examining her life again. She feels like a disappointment, not at all like the girl everyone fell in love with in the first two movies. But, ready or not, she and the other four teens will soon be in front of the cameras again.

Smart, fresh, and funny, You Look Different in Real Life is an affecting novel about life in an age where the lines between what’s personal and what’s public aren’t always clear. Now available in paperback with a fresh new look!

What happens when the person you are clashes with the person everyone expects you to be?

• Finding Your Voice: Justine was the funny, sharp-tongued kid everyone loved on screen. But at sixteen, the pressure to perform is crushing, and she’s not sure who she is when the cameras are off.
• Life Under the Lens: A behind-the-scenes look at the messy reality of growing up when your most awkward moments are captured for a national audience.
• Complicated Friendships: The five teens were once connected by the film, but now they’re practically strangers. From a five-year cold shoulder to old rivalries, Justine must navigate the drama before filming begins.
• Teen Romance: It’s hard enough figuring out why your ex-boyfriend dumped you without the whole world watching. Can Justine navigate her first heartbreak while being the star of the show?

“This first novel takes some of its emotional cues from Gayle Forman’s breakout novel IF I STAY (2009) and will be well received by Sarah Dessen fans.” - Booklist on The Beginning of After

“The five teens are well-rounded and interesting. Castle’s individual scenes shine.” - Kirkus Reviews

“Although the story is told from Justine’s perspective, her four classmates are equally complex and interesting, with deep personal conflicts. Castle succeeds in providing suspense and drama as each character’s emotional baggage is unpacked on and off the screen.” - Publishers Weekly

“This provocative novel explores what makes observing strangers fumbling through life so addictively entertaining-and so eye-opening, too.” - The Horn Book

“This provocative novel explores what makes observing strangers fumbling through life so addictively entertaining-and so eye-opening, too.” - The Horn Book

“...the detailed writing and smart, realistically cool characters will be appealing to many girls...Offer this to teens who are waiting for the next Sarah Dessen book.” - School Library Journal on The Beginning of After

“Achingly real and powerfully hopeful.” - Kirkus Reviews on The Beginning of After