Jenny B. Jones's So Not Happening ~ Reviewed

So Not Happening
By Jennifer B. Jones
Published by Thomas Nelson
ISBN# 978-1-56554-541-1
327 pages

Back Cover:

New York’s social darling Isabella Kirkwood just woke up in a nightmare: Oklahoma.

Isabella Kirkwood had it all: popularity at a prestigious private school in Manhattan, the latest fashions, and a life of privilege and luxury.

Then her father, a plastic surgeon to the stars, decided to trade her mother in for a newer model.

When her mother starts over with her new husband, Bella is forced to pack up and leave all she knows to live with her new family in Oklahoma. Before her mother can even say “I do,” Bella’s life becomes a major “don’t.”

Can Bella survive her crazy new family? Will the school survive Bella? How can a girl go on when her charmed life is gone and God gives her the total smack down?

Review:

I totally enjoyed this first juvenile fiction book I’ve read by Jenny B. Jones. I found myself smiling and laughing out loud as I read about Isabella’s adventures in Oklahoma. I was drawn to this book by the pig and the green purse on the front cover – I had to know the story behind the pig. I jumped into reading this book without knowing anything about it. Let me tell you what a treat I found. It was a great surprise to discover how funny this author can be. Not So Happening, reminded me of Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie trying to live on a farm. Isabella Kirkwood totally reminds me of these two gals (Paris and Nicole in the reality show where they had to do normal chores while living with a regular family on their farm.) It also reminded me of the show Lizzie McGuire and how her cartoon conscience would talk to her and help her make the right choices.

Isabella describes her week to a friend, “My mother just married a six-foot-five farmer, I have two new brothers preprogrammed to hate me…” Bella then describes the reaction she had to her new room on the farm,. “I stare. Mute. Appalled at the décor around me. I think 1970 came for a visit, threw up, and never left…”

Bella writes in her blog to her readers,”…please keep me in your thoughts and prayers … I will be living on a farm complete with dirt roads and cows… ladies my situation is dire. This town probably has no fashion. No style. No Starbucks, people! War criminals probably see better conditions” Yes, Bella is dramatic, but that’s the appeal and fun of her character.

Bella is thrown into circumstances totally foreign to her and doesn’t really know how to react. All she thinks about is how to get back to New York where her father lives and where she has lived all of her life. I love how Jenny has Isabella Kirkwood uncover a mystery and learn about the really important of life. I can’t wait to read the next installment of this series. You can read this with your daughter or by yourself. Jenny takes you into Isabella’s world quickly. You’ll be entertained and learn a few things along the way. It’s a great blend!

Reviewed by: Nora St. Laurent
Book Club Servant Leader