Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone is very experimental in the way its lens plays with the reader’s perceptions throughout the story. The character through whom we experience the sleepy town of Nowhereville, 13-year-old Mallory Moss, arguably isn’t the protagonist of this story. The character arc she undergoes as the story progresses is very nonlinear due to the nature of the storytelling. Told in flashbacks from days leading up to “The Incident,” while switching to its aftermath (in the present), Mallory attempts to find her missing friend with the help of ex-friends Ingrid and Kath. When Jennifer goes missing, the entire town is shaken up. Mallory, our narrator, is at the heart of the tragedy. The book starts out framing Mallory as a popular girl at the top of her middle school social hierarchy, with Reagan and Tess as her closest friends. As both plot lines progress, however, Keller’s clever narrative choices carefully examine themes of change, social structures, bullying, and friendship through a realistic, honest point of view. The storyline leading up to “The Incident” starts when Jennifer Chan moves into the house across the street. Mallory’s lens through which she views the world shifts. Jennifer Chan is, as the book describes her, extraterrestrial. Mallory befriends her when she first moves to Nowhereville, but soon feels like she is forced to cut her off in order to maintain her perception in school. Mallory brings her past decisions to light and navigates her friendships with Ingrid and Kath, Reagan and Tess, but more specifically, her short-lived initial friendship with Jennifer, the titular character of the story, who believes we are not alone in our existence. She believes there are aliens somewhere, out there, and we learn about her backstory through snippets of her diary, titled “Jennifer Chan’s Guide To The Universe, Vol 1. through 7.” Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone is an incredibly relatable and gripping mystery/middle school drama that uses its narrator to weave together a story about self-identity, and I found myself and my friends throughout the pages of the book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone. Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone by Tae Keller. Random House Books for Young Readers, 2022. Buy the book here and help support Stone Soup in the process!
Tae Keller
When You Trap A Tiger, Reviewed by Pragnya, 12
When you Trap A Tiger by Tae Keller is a story of family, relationships and the magic in everyday life in which, Lily, the Korean-American main character, discovers a secret about her family’s heritage. It all starts when she, along with her sister Sam and her mother Joan, go to visit her halmoni (grandmother in Korean) in Sunview. But when she comes across a tiger that looks like it is straight from one of her Korean folktales, something inside her starts to wonder how normal her family heritage actually is. Unfortunately for Lily, trying to solve the mystery of a tiger straight from mythology isn’t easy, especially when the harshness of reality starts to show itself. Naturally introverted, Lily finds it difficult to make friends and fit in amongst people until she meets Ricky, a lighthearted rich kid from the other side of town who has more to him than his humorous outside. Together, the two of them set plans to trap the tiger and save her halmoni. But what if the tiger isn’t the villain of the story? What if there’s more to the tale than what Lily understands? Will she be able to conquer her fears and figure out what’s going on before it is too late? One of my favorite elements of the book was its character development. I loved all the characters with their quirks and emotions and vivid personalities. I also really liked some of the character arcs and the extremely meaningful lessons that came out of it. The best kind of books are those books which make you feel something. When I first started reading Tae Keller’s Newbery Winning Novel, I didn’t have too many expectations. I entered this book expecting adventure, mythology and an engaging character dynamic. But when I finished the book, I was left in a whirl. I felt as though I’d been following the thread of Lily’s adventures and emotions and thoughts until the very end of the story and then I was left with all the pieces left behind that made me feel a lot of this and helped me form an opinion on the novel. When You Trap a Tiger is filled with all sorts of moments, both heartbreaking and heart racing, but this spellbinding novel will keep you hooked until the very end. When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller. Random House Books for Young Readers, 2020. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
