Shields, Gillian. The actual real reality of Jennifer James.SHIELDS, Gillian. The actual real reality of Jennifer James Jennifer (Jenny) James, (born Jennifer Claire Reynolds) is an English actress born in 1978 in Wigan, Greater Manchester. Early life Her father left in 1980, when she was two years old, leaving her mother Shirley to bring up their child alone. . Harper Collins, 368p. c2006. 0-06-082240-6. $16.99. JS * Much of today's YA fiction does not require a plausible story line. It's as if these stories are happening in a cartoon world, or alternatively, a sitcom. Conditions and events are not quite based on reality. With that qualification in mind, this is a humorous saga of the brainy brain·y adj. brain·i·er, brain·i·est Informal Intelligent; smart. brain  i·ly adv. outsider girl, Jennifer James, in love with the unattainable boy. She finds herself, along with several of her schoolmates including the ultra-snob actress wannabe, in a televised competition (think Survivor, The Amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. Race, or perhaps, The Apprentice, and then think of their sillier offshoots) in which the TV audience chooses the winner. Complicating the "documentary" is the presence of a gaggle of offbeat off·beat n. Music An unaccented beat in a measure. adj. Slang Not conforming to an ordinary type or pattern; unconventional: offbeat humor. , has-been celebrities competing for best teacher in an unremarkable comprehensive school in a midsize English town, populated pop·u·late tr.v. pop·u·lat·ed, pop·u·lat·ing, pop·u·lates 1. To supply with inhabitants, as by colonization; people. 2. by brain-dead scholars and insane teachers. The show is called Down at the Bog, and the reader is often reminded that in England bogs and bog paper have to do with bathroom facilities. Jennifer, in spite of her love for books and her nobody status, is still a teenage drama queen in that she calls her eccentric and unhappy mother "Jocasta" and every small event is either "mega wonderful" or "mega-embarrassing." The viewing public finds Jennifer enchanting and she keeps winning, which thrusts her unwillingly into the spotlight. The writing is fast-paced, and events are exaggerated for comic effect. Younger readers will enjoy Jennifer's meteoric me·te·or·ic adj. 1. Of, relating to, or formed by a meteoroid. 2. Of or relating to the earth's atmosphere. 3. rise and the downfall of evil (as represented by the cheating ultra-snob actress wannabe). Brains prevail, romance ensues, and shallow values are exposed. Myrna Marler, Assoc. Prof. of English, BYU BYU Brigham Young University BYU Bayou BYU Bob's Your Uncle BYU Bayreuth, Germany - Bindlacher Berg (Airport Code) BYU Beyond Your Understanding , Provo, UT J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers. S--Recommended for senior high school students. *--The asterisk highlights exceptional books. |
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