Author: Jennifer Castle Pages: 355Publisher: HarperTeen
From goodreads.com: For the rest of the world, the movies are entertainment. For Justine, they're real life.
The premise was simple: five kids, just living their lives. There'd be a new movie about them every five years, starting in kindergarten. But no one could have predicted what the cameras would capture. And no one could have predicted that Justine would be the star.
Now sixteen, Justine doesn't feel like a star anymore. In fact, when she hears the crew has gotten the green light to film Five at Sixteen, all she feels is dread. The kids who shared the same table in kindergarten have become teenagers who hardly know one another. And Justine, who was so funny and edgy in the first two movies, feels like a disappointment.
But these teens have a bond that goes deeper than what's on film. They've all shared the painful details of their lives with countless viewers. They all know how it feels to have fans as well as friends. So when this latest movie gives them the chance to reunite, Justine and her costars are going to take it. Because sometimes, the only way to see yourself is through someone else's eyes.
Okay, I really, REALLY liked this book. Justine as a narrator was great, she had a very relatable voice. She doesn't feel like the girl from the movies anymore and that rang so true to me. Who at 16 is who they were at 5? At 11? Practically no one.
At heart this book is about all five of these kids. I thought that was going to be difficult to get everyone's story across when it was only coming from Justine's perspective, but it actually worked out really well. Even though these kids didn't talk anymore, you could still tell that there was an underlying bond there. It did take a while to uncover the bonds, but that made it feel real. I really liked that Lance and Leslie (the filmmakers) didn't have nefarious intentions at all. They were genuinely invested in these kids and their lives.
When it ended, I wanted more. I wanted to stay with these kids and find out what happened next. That is the sign of an awesome read for me. Would they go on to do Five at Twenty One? What does Felix's future look like? How is Kiera? Rory? Nate? Nate was just everything. Possibly the only thing that was lacking in the story for me was more Nate. I could tell from the beginning that he was going to be important and I wanted more.
Overall, this was a great read and I can't wait to check out more from Jennifer Castle!
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