In Some Other Life

June 12, 2017
It’s the fall of senior year, and Kennedy Rhodes has some regrets: blowing a college interview, trusting her boyfriend and best friend together, and—most profoundly—not enrolling in a prestigious private school when she had the chance. Then, while visiting the campus of the esteemed Windsor Academy, she falls and injures her head. When she regains consciousness, everything’s different. Kennedy is no longer the student editor of the Southwest Star at Southwest High. Instead, she’s the top-ranked student at Windsor, with no spare time to start up a school paper or go on dates. In a clever novel with a Sliding Doors–style setup, Brody (A Week of Mondays) examines “grass is greener” attitudes and the rippling ramifications of one’s choices. Through Kennedy’s eyes, readers see how the pressure to stay on top takes a toll on Kennedy and her family, despite her glamorous surroundings in this parallel universe. With realistically flawed characters, plenty of humor, and much to say about the perils of wish fulfillment, Brody’s novel will appeal to anyone longing for a second chance at success. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.

June 1, 2017
Three years ago, Kennedy Rhodes passed up her dream--a spot at a prestigious high school--for a boy she hardly knew. Now 18 and a senior at an underfunded public school, Kennedy is still with Austin, serves as editor-in-chief of the award-winning school paper, and dreams of studying journalism at Columbia--but she still wonders "What if?" Following a few humiliating incidents, Kennedy goes to Windsor Academy to beg for the spot she gave up. Angered by the dean's predictable rejection, Kennedy storms out, falls, and is knocked unconscious. She wakes in a reality in which she had accepted that space at Windsor: she's now at the top of her class and will no doubt get into Columbia. As she navigates this privileged new life and puzzles out the differences between herself and the seemingly perfect Other Me, Kennedy discovers the latter harbors a troubling secret. Kennedy needs to right Other Me's wrongs, but at what cost? Aside from some non-European surnames such as Wu and Patel, race is ambiguous, implying that Kennedy and Austin are both white. Many readers may find it difficult to drum up sympathy for a girl who gave up her dream for a boy, but the temptation to second-guess decisions is an instantly recognizable one, and Brody's execution of Kennedy's process is a thoughtful one. Readers will find themselves wondering "What if?" right along with Kennedy. (Fiction. 13-18)

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July 1, 2017

Gr 7-1-0-Incoming ninth grader Kennedy faced a difficult choice: attend the prestigious prep school whose acceptance she had been awaiting for years or attend public school with the boy who finally asked her out. She picked the boy. Now it's senior year, and Kennedy is still with Austin, running the award-winning school newspaper and applying to Columbia. But part of her has always longed to be at Windsor Academy, and she second-guesses her past decision when she walks in on Austin kissing her best friend. Through a contrived set of events, Kennedy hits her head and wakes up as a different version of herself who attended Windsor and appears to have it all: great grades and popular friends. But it becomes evident that this alternate reality has its downsides, and Kennedy wonders if her first choice was right all along. Even though the execution of the alternate reality concept isn't perfect, the story is well written. Kennedy's friends in both realities are clearly characterized, and her family members, especially her physics-loving 11-year-old brother, steal the show. For those students who wonder what their choices might have cost them, this book suggests that the path not traveled might well have been untrod for a reason. VERDICT A fun and light YA novel that will find a home in most collections serving teens.-Kelly Jo Lasher, Middle Township High School, Cape May Court House, NJ

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2017
Grades 7-10 Right before her freshman year, Kennedy Rhodes made a life-changing decision: she declined acceptance to the prestigious Windsor Academy to attend the local public school with her longtime crush and new boyfriend. Three years later, the decision seems to have been the right oneat least until a series of events makes her wonder what life would have been like if she had chosen differently. Luckily, she gets to find out when she mysteriously wakes up as a Windsor student the following day in a life that she's only dreamed of having. Kennedy quickly learns how that life isn't all it's cracked up to be, either. Brody crafts a lighthearted story very much in the vein of her A Week of Mondays (2016), examining the impact our choices can have on our lives, and showing that even the things that we most desire can come with unknown sacrifices. Though the plot itself can be slightly predictable at times, Brody's novel captures the essence of high school through her well-developed characters. A whimsical exploration of the theory of the multiverse.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)