12 to 22: A Novel
Jen Calonita
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Amazon summary:
Turning 12 1/2 shouldn't be the most exciting birthday in the world. It's a half birthday after all. But Harper is thrilled because she is getting the biggest gift of all: her parent's approval to finally get social media accounts.
Except when she goes to post her first photo, there is a filter she has never heard of before. One that shows you what you will look like when you are older. Curious, Harper clicks on it...but ends up flash forwarding in time to when she is 22.
She will quickly find that being in her twenties means the freedom she always wanted, money for the glow up she didn't know she needed and working for her idol! But Harper soon discovers a lot more has changed than she expected—including the person she wants to be. Will Harper be able to use the filter to get the life of her dreams? Or will there be more glitches?
My review:
12/10
Warning: this might be a lot about Jen Calonita ----- Onto the review:
So many things to discuss. Firstly a big thank you to Delecorate Press and Jen Calonita sending me the postcard with the link to get a digital Advanced Readers Copy on Netgalley (if you are a publisher reach out to me). I was so excited when I got the postcard and read the book attatched in literally two days! TWO DAYS! It was so fantastic.
The cover. Can I just say WOW. When I first saw this, I thought it was an actual TikTok. That’s how good the cover designer is, and I thought it was super genius.
I always love a book that is in the First Person Point of View. It really gives you a feel for the main character, and in this case it was Harper. I know it is much harder for a writer to describe how the person is feeling in first person narrative rather than third person. I say this because the writer has to be extremely empathetic, or feeling the same emotions as the character they are writing about. Jen Calonita does a wonderful job of transporting you into the characters mind (Harper).
Jen always finds a way to stay up to date with the times, and a quote she gave me was “I try to keep it current” which shows in this book. She has celebrities in this book that just rose to fame in the past year. For example Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, Olivia Rodrigo, etc. Keeping things current keeps readers interested.
This is one of those stories that will make you feel good. Even when someone does something wrong, and they know what they are doing is, they always try to make it right. The characters always have a moral compass that points north, which makes you feel good.
There were also little easter eggs in this book that only true Jen Calonita fans will recognize. Can you find them?