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Jennifer Jones #1
Looking for JJ
Three children walked away from the cottages on the edge of town toward Berwick Waters. Later that day, only two of them came back. . . .
Alice Tully knows exactly what happened that spring day six years ago, though it's still hard for her to believe it. She'll never be able to forget, even though she's trying to lead a normal life--she has a job, friends, and a boyfriend whom she adores. But Alice's past is dangerous, and violent, and sad . . . and it's about to rip her new life apart.
A gripping and emotionally searing novel by accomplished British author Anne Cassidy, Looking for JJ infuses a terrifying subject with humanity and hope.
Alice Tully knows exactly what happened that spring day six years ago, though it's still hard for her to believe it. She'll never be able to forget, even though she's trying to lead a normal life--she has a job, friends, and a boyfriend whom she adores. But Alice's past is dangerous, and violent, and sad . . . and it's about to rip her new life apart.
A gripping and emotionally searing novel by accomplished British author Anne Cassidy, Looking for JJ infuses a terrifying subject with humanity and hope.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published February 13, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 535 reviews
February 9, 2011
I've been a fan of Anne Cassidy for years and this is my favourite of her books. It's a book that shocks you, firstly at it's content, but secondly and most importantly at the way it makes you feel about the protagonist: JJ. Jennifer Jones. Child murderer.
You are taken into the story through JJ's eyes, you do feel anger for what she did but you feel sorrow too. JJ is a person, fragile like everyone else and living with the burden of her past. She has been forced to start a new life under a new name, but just as she begins to get her new life going, the reporters show up, the secret investigators, people sent to search for someone who no longer exists: JJ.
The life she has tried to build is turned upside down and if she isn't careful she could lose everything, the boyfriend she loves, the friends she's made, even the identity that she's created for herself out of a past that doesn't seem to want to let her go.
A sad novel about redemption and forgiveness. How the good and bad guys are not so clearly defined in real life situations.
You are taken into the story through JJ's eyes, you do feel anger for what she did but you feel sorrow too. JJ is a person, fragile like everyone else and living with the burden of her past. She has been forced to start a new life under a new name, but just as she begins to get her new life going, the reporters show up, the secret investigators, people sent to search for someone who no longer exists: JJ.
The life she has tried to build is turned upside down and if she isn't careful she could lose everything, the boyfriend she loves, the friends she's made, even the identity that she's created for herself out of a past that doesn't seem to want to let her go.
A sad novel about redemption and forgiveness. How the good and bad guys are not so clearly defined in real life situations.
August 11, 2008
Alice Tully only wants to live a normal life. She has a job at the Coffee Pot, a boyfriend who loves her, and a home in Rose’s apartment. Life is normal, and quiet, which is just the way she likes it. But Alice can’t stop reading the newspaper stories and watching the TV spots about Jennifer Jones—JJ, the infamous child killer. Jennifer Jones, who killed her friend when she was only ten years old. Jennifer Jones has been released on parole, and the whole country wants to know—where is JJ? Information about JJ’s whereabouts are under strict lockdown. There are only a few people who know. Alice Tully is one of them.
This is a heartbreaking story told with incredible sensitivity. It takes the sensational case of a child killer and lets you get under her skin, see what brought her to that day, that moment when she killed her friend. It rips the sensational sheen off it and makes it heartbreaking. The story of Alice—and Jennifer—make sense. You can see them being real, really the way it might have been, and it makes you reconsider a kneejerk condemning reaction.
It’s a compelling read that pulls you along briskly and doesn’t let you fall behind. You need to know how it happened and why, what brought JJ to that moment in time and mental space. You need to know what created the little girl who killed her friend.
This is a heartbreaking story told with incredible sensitivity. It takes the sensational case of a child killer and lets you get under her skin, see what brought her to that day, that moment when she killed her friend. It rips the sensational sheen off it and makes it heartbreaking. The story of Alice—and Jennifer—make sense. You can see them being real, really the way it might have been, and it makes you reconsider a kneejerk condemning reaction.
It’s a compelling read that pulls you along briskly and doesn’t let you fall behind. You need to know how it happened and why, what brought JJ to that moment in time and mental space. You need to know what created the little girl who killed her friend.
July 1, 2016
5 Words: haunting, challenging, powerful, tragic, sad.
It's fair to say that Looking for JJ is a book that will haunt you. Nearly ten years after I first read it, I could remember everything so clearly. I could remember exact scenes and how they played out. There's something about the setting itself that sticks with you.
It's also one of those books that no matter what, I just can't review.
It's fair to say that Looking for JJ is a book that will haunt you. Nearly ten years after I first read it, I could remember everything so clearly. I could remember exact scenes and how they played out. There's something about the setting itself that sticks with you.
It's also one of those books that no matter what, I just can't review.
April 18, 2015
Really very interesting. Quite tense and very dark!
Looking For JJ by Anne Cassidy was first published in 2004. But for a book more than 10 years old, I felt like Looking For JJ felt very much important and relevant to the events today. It was thought-provoking and gripping and I felt like it had some very interesting things to say about the media and about guilt.
This book is told in several parts about one girl. A girl who at the age of 10 went out into the woods with two of her friends. And on that day, only two of the three girls came back. Since that day, our main character has spent six years in prison because of her involvement in the death of her friend and now, she has been released, has changed her name to Alice Tully and is living in secret with her social worker trying to lead a normal life. Only she has been written about constantly in the papers and feels constantly uncertain about her freedom and privacy based on how much interest the public and media has taken in her.
I think the portrayal of the media representation is one of the most interesting aspects of this book. The main character of Looking For JJ was once known as Jennifer Jones and has been written about in the papers for years. Everyone thinks they know everything about JJ, the child murderer, and everyone has an opinion on whether or not she should be free and about what she should be doing and it feels as though through the media portrayal of this crime, the public feel they have this right to know every detail about JJ and what has become of her while at the same time assuming they know the true story when they really don't. I think that aspect of the story is the most interesting.
The other part of this story is getting into the head of Alice Tully and seeing how she reacts to her freedom and everything on the outside. How she struggles with her relationship with her mother after all these years. How she's found a boyfriend and a job and a place to belong but also feels like she doesn't deserve happiness or the right to go on living after having taken the life of her friend. There's also this awful feeling of having a new life and this new identity and the prospect of happy times ahead at university but also knowing that if the media find out about her new name all of that could be taken from her again.
Looking For JJ goes to a very dark place. Which shouldn't have been surprising at all considering it is the story of a child murderer. But I was very surprised to see the darkness and intense turns in JJ's childhood story. JJ, as a child, has a very unstable relationship with her mother. A relationship that involves neglect and throughout the story goes increasingly to places that felt very disturbing and uncomfortable. And at the same time, JJ's friendship mirrored some of these complicated feelings as with JJ and her mother. It was all a mess.
I found Looking For JJ to be a really fascinating and surprising read. It really made me think and feel and I highly recommend that you pick this book up soon if you too have not yet read it.
Looking For JJ by Anne Cassidy was first published in 2004. But for a book more than 10 years old, I felt like Looking For JJ felt very much important and relevant to the events today. It was thought-provoking and gripping and I felt like it had some very interesting things to say about the media and about guilt.
This book is told in several parts about one girl. A girl who at the age of 10 went out into the woods with two of her friends. And on that day, only two of the three girls came back. Since that day, our main character has spent six years in prison because of her involvement in the death of her friend and now, she has been released, has changed her name to Alice Tully and is living in secret with her social worker trying to lead a normal life. Only she has been written about constantly in the papers and feels constantly uncertain about her freedom and privacy based on how much interest the public and media has taken in her.
I think the portrayal of the media representation is one of the most interesting aspects of this book. The main character of Looking For JJ was once known as Jennifer Jones and has been written about in the papers for years. Everyone thinks they know everything about JJ, the child murderer, and everyone has an opinion on whether or not she should be free and about what she should be doing and it feels as though through the media portrayal of this crime, the public feel they have this right to know every detail about JJ and what has become of her while at the same time assuming they know the true story when they really don't. I think that aspect of the story is the most interesting.
The other part of this story is getting into the head of Alice Tully and seeing how she reacts to her freedom and everything on the outside. How she struggles with her relationship with her mother after all these years. How she's found a boyfriend and a job and a place to belong but also feels like she doesn't deserve happiness or the right to go on living after having taken the life of her friend. There's also this awful feeling of having a new life and this new identity and the prospect of happy times ahead at university but also knowing that if the media find out about her new name all of that could be taken from her again.
Looking For JJ goes to a very dark place. Which shouldn't have been surprising at all considering it is the story of a child murderer. But I was very surprised to see the darkness and intense turns in JJ's childhood story. JJ, as a child, has a very unstable relationship with her mother. A relationship that involves neglect and throughout the story goes increasingly to places that felt very disturbing and uncomfortable. And at the same time, JJ's friendship mirrored some of these complicated feelings as with JJ and her mother. It was all a mess.
I found Looking For JJ to be a really fascinating and surprising read. It really made me think and feel and I highly recommend that you pick this book up soon if you too have not yet read it.
November 5, 2018
Great book! Had a bit of a herd time relating to the main character or feel compassion for her..
May 31, 2010
I was quite young when I first read this book, probably too young to have been reading it now I think about it. The novel had a big impression on me then. I had never considered the fact that children could do evil things; for me "evil" was something adult and certainly not something that had ever affected me. The book shocked me but also gave me a bit of a thrill because it was so much more " grown up" than the stories I usually read. When I was about thirteen I came back to the book. I had recently watched a documentary about the killers of James Bulger which had fascinated me and I felt inclined to give this book another go. I got a lot more out of the book on the second reading, probably because I had matured enough to understand the fairly complex plots and emotions expressed in the novel. I remember thoroughly enjoying the story and being left with a completely fresh view of child offenders. My eyes had been opened to the cruelty and neglect that many children suffer and the effect that this can have on them and their actions, not only as children but also in the future. The book made me aware of the broken society of Britain and made me feel extremely fortunate to have been blessed with the upbringing I have had.
April 10, 2017
This was an okay read about a girl who had been convicted of the killing of her best friend when she was ten and had been released back into society to try and live a normal life.
I quite liked Alice - she seemed to have a bit of get up and go about her. She totally needed to tell her knobhead boyfriend to clear the fuck off though. He was a dick.
The plot itself revolved around Alice trying to build a life for herself and the media trying to track her down. It reminded me a bit of one of those kitchen sink dramas - all grim realism and not much in the way of fun.
Not a bad read, though.
I quite liked Alice - she seemed to have a bit of get up and go about her. She totally needed to tell her knobhead boyfriend to clear the fuck off though. He was a dick.
The plot itself revolved around Alice trying to build a life for herself and the media trying to track her down. It reminded me a bit of one of those kitchen sink dramas - all grim realism and not much in the way of fun.
Not a bad read, though.
October 17, 2018
I really enjoyed the plot and most of the writing of this book. It drew me in so much and I wanted to know more about Jennifer Jones and what had motivated to kill her best friend when she was only 10. Hearing what happened I felt sick thinking that it could easily have happened to me - being overcome with anger and going too far. I could imagine it exactly.
The two things that really struck me as problematic were firstly the attitude towards sex workers and how they were just routinely dismissed as bad. And secondly Alice’s boyfriend Frankie continually emotionally and physically abusing her without this being addressed. I was expecting this to lead somewhere, for Alice to realise that she’s being abused and try to escape. But it never comes to this and Alice is left feeling bad about the pain she has caused him.
The two things that really struck me as problematic were firstly the attitude towards sex workers and how they were just routinely dismissed as bad. And secondly Alice’s boyfriend Frankie continually emotionally and physically abusing her without this being addressed. I was expecting this to lead somewhere, for Alice to realise that she’s being abused and try to escape. But it never comes to this and Alice is left feeling bad about the pain she has caused him.
April 20, 2020
Looking for JJ erzählt die Geschichte von Jennifer Jones die mit 16 Jahren und unter falschem Namen ein neues Leben beginnt nachdem sie vor sechs Jahren ein Mädchen getötet und nun ihre Strafe dafür verbüßt hat.
Die Autorin befasst sich hier mit dem schwierigen Thema 'Kinder die zu Mördern werden' und vor allem auch damit ob es für diese Kinder möglich ist rehabilitiert zu werden. Dabei schafft sie es durch Jennifers Erzählperspektive und Rückblicke in die Vergangenheit sehr gut ein klares Bild von Jennifer und den den Umständen die zu dem Mord führten zu schaffen. Durch den Verzicht auf übertriebene Dramatik wirkt die Handlung sehr glaubhaft, wenn auch ganz sicher nicht nachvollziehbar und genau das ist es was die Geschichte für mich ausgemacht hat. Es geht nicht um unvorhersehbare Wendungen oder Schuldfragen, sondern darum was solche Kinder für eine Zukunft haben können oder sollten.
Ich habe ehrlich gesagt nicht erwartet, dass mich Looking for JJ so nachdenklich machen würde, aber Anne Cassidy schafft es sehr gut Jennifer als Mensch mit Gefühlen und Hoffnungen darzustellen bevor sie einem wieder deutlich vor Augen führt was diese junge Frau eigentlich verbrochen hat und so stellt man sich als Leser immer wieder die gleiche Frage die sich Jennifer Jones auch im Buch stellt 'Was für ein Recht hat sie eigentlich darauf ein glückliches Leben zu führen?'
Die Autorin befasst sich hier mit dem schwierigen Thema 'Kinder die zu Mördern werden' und vor allem auch damit ob es für diese Kinder möglich ist rehabilitiert zu werden. Dabei schafft sie es durch Jennifers Erzählperspektive und Rückblicke in die Vergangenheit sehr gut ein klares Bild von Jennifer und den den Umständen die zu dem Mord führten zu schaffen. Durch den Verzicht auf übertriebene Dramatik wirkt die Handlung sehr glaubhaft, wenn auch ganz sicher nicht nachvollziehbar und genau das ist es was die Geschichte für mich ausgemacht hat. Es geht nicht um unvorhersehbare Wendungen oder Schuldfragen, sondern darum was solche Kinder für eine Zukunft haben können oder sollten.
Ich habe ehrlich gesagt nicht erwartet, dass mich Looking for JJ so nachdenklich machen würde, aber Anne Cassidy schafft es sehr gut Jennifer als Mensch mit Gefühlen und Hoffnungen darzustellen bevor sie einem wieder deutlich vor Augen führt was diese junge Frau eigentlich verbrochen hat und so stellt man sich als Leser immer wieder die gleiche Frage die sich Jennifer Jones auch im Buch stellt 'Was für ein Recht hat sie eigentlich darauf ein glückliches Leben zu führen?'
April 1, 2011
Originally from I Write, therefore I am Alive
I discovered that my friend from church, Jayvee, also loves reading books and we’re like talking about the books we’ve read and liked after the church service. We started to exchange the books that we liked and I lent him my Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins and he lent me this signed book (!), Looking For JJ by Anne Cassidy. I don’t have any idea about this book and I read the synopsis of it in Goodreads. It’s interesting, actually, to read a book like this.
I liked the idea of this story of a child killer which reminds me a lot of Mary Flora Bell, who is also a child killer. The book follows a certain flow wherein the first part, Alice Tully, tackles her new life in Croydon—her boyfriend, work at a cafe, her lovable carer, Rosie— she couldn’t ask for more and her worried state when a child killer named JJ was released from her 6 years of imprisonment. I felt kind-of sick about this part since she kept on thinking that the media might find her, and the flashbacks (which occurred more than 3 times, I think). I don’t get it why she have to be so guilty about it when she already undergone juvenile punishment for this. And if she really wanted to be unexposed from the media, she should do her best to be normal than to worry and dwell about past. She’s weak and worries too much. I was trying to know more about Alice but it looks like there’s nothing more about her than being a worrywart.
SPOILER ALERT: The second part is about the childhood this child named Jennifer Jones, or JJ. She is a confused child, always being left alone and being lied at. Her mother, who is a ‘model’, is irresponsible and egocentric. No wonder she has a disturbed childhood, but she do has friends—the annoying and bossy Michelle and the timid Lucy. They hang a lot but there’s always room for misunderstandings. That one day, JJ was so pressured about her mom’s modeling (which turned out to be something that it is not) and being pissed off at Michelle, she picked up a bat and killed her. And then she’s sent to a juvenile prison for 6 years.
Since Alice Tully was almost exposed by the media, she escaped the meet-up with her mom (which looks like the author wants to skip this situation and end the book already) and led a life with a new name, Kate Rickman. Which in the last part told us that she’s living her another new life at a University. I didn’t like it since in the first part, she’s such a worrywart about everything and then when she became Kate, all of it vanished? Like she’s a different person? And it ended just like that? I hope Cassidy wrote about JJ and her mom’s reunion which I think will make the story more interesting since her mom is, I don’t know, a bad one?
And the entirety of the story is quite unrealistic. I mean, the whole media focused on this child killer when there are more criminals that are worst than JJ? It’s sort-of ridiculous and very unforgiving (for a child not to live a new life).
—
Book#23 for 2011
Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy
Bookmarks: 2.5/5
I discovered that my friend from church, Jayvee, also loves reading books and we’re like talking about the books we’ve read and liked after the church service. We started to exchange the books that we liked and I lent him my Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins and he lent me this signed book (!), Looking For JJ by Anne Cassidy. I don’t have any idea about this book and I read the synopsis of it in Goodreads. It’s interesting, actually, to read a book like this.
I liked the idea of this story of a child killer which reminds me a lot of Mary Flora Bell, who is also a child killer. The book follows a certain flow wherein the first part, Alice Tully, tackles her new life in Croydon—her boyfriend, work at a cafe, her lovable carer, Rosie— she couldn’t ask for more and her worried state when a child killer named JJ was released from her 6 years of imprisonment. I felt kind-of sick about this part since she kept on thinking that the media might find her, and the flashbacks (which occurred more than 3 times, I think). I don’t get it why she have to be so guilty about it when she already undergone juvenile punishment for this. And if she really wanted to be unexposed from the media, she should do her best to be normal than to worry and dwell about past. She’s weak and worries too much. I was trying to know more about Alice but it looks like there’s nothing more about her than being a worrywart.
SPOILER ALERT: The second part is about the childhood this child named Jennifer Jones, or JJ. She is a confused child, always being left alone and being lied at. Her mother, who is a ‘model’, is irresponsible and egocentric. No wonder she has a disturbed childhood, but she do has friends—the annoying and bossy Michelle and the timid Lucy. They hang a lot but there’s always room for misunderstandings. That one day, JJ was so pressured about her mom’s modeling (which turned out to be something that it is not) and being pissed off at Michelle, she picked up a bat and killed her. And then she’s sent to a juvenile prison for 6 years.
Since Alice Tully was almost exposed by the media, she escaped the meet-up with her mom (which looks like the author wants to skip this situation and end the book already) and led a life with a new name, Kate Rickman. Which in the last part told us that she’s living her another new life at a University. I didn’t like it since in the first part, she’s such a worrywart about everything and then when she became Kate, all of it vanished? Like she’s a different person? And it ended just like that? I hope Cassidy wrote about JJ and her mom’s reunion which I think will make the story more interesting since her mom is, I don’t know, a bad one?
And the entirety of the story is quite unrealistic. I mean, the whole media focused on this child killer when there are more criminals that are worst than JJ? It’s sort-of ridiculous and very unforgiving (for a child not to live a new life).
—
Book#23 for 2011
Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy
Bookmarks: 2.5/5
October 13, 2014
All I could think of when I started this book was: what would this be like if it was written by James Bulger's killers? JJ is nothing like them, though. Though that gives you a general idea of the plot and tone.
Six years ago, Jennifer killed a girl. She was 10. Now she's 17 and, identity protected, out of youth detention and trying to make a life for herself. As you'd expect, the past haunts her. And us too -we want to know what happened. We want to know why it happened. And we're slowly admitted to her memories and childhood. It's sad. You feel for the girl she was. You also feel for the young woman she is now. And the novel asks us to consider the public and media interest (and condemnation) that she attracts.
I really did feel I could understand Jennifer (and her new alias). I wasn't keen on the boyfriend - he almost turned into a violent stalker in my opinion before reverting to a lovesick teenager. The adults around her are solid, trustworthy and show us the system that surrounds young offenders - very interesting. Ditto the methods used by the authorities to deal with the media and protect identities.
This was a quick read, though quite emotional. The childhood scenes were incredibly touching and angering at the same time - my feelings as a mother myself outraged. I would have liked more of a definite conclusion, but can see that there's a lot more story to tell and I'll be reading the sequel (Finding Jennifer Jones) shortly.
It does bring up a raft of questions:
- is 10 as the age of criminal responsibility always justified?
- what role does a parent play in a child's (criminal) actions?
- do we change? are we still the person at 17 as we were at 10?
One that stays with you.
Six years ago, Jennifer killed a girl. She was 10. Now she's 17 and, identity protected, out of youth detention and trying to make a life for herself. As you'd expect, the past haunts her. And us too -we want to know what happened. We want to know why it happened. And we're slowly admitted to her memories and childhood. It's sad. You feel for the girl she was. You also feel for the young woman she is now. And the novel asks us to consider the public and media interest (and condemnation) that she attracts.
I really did feel I could understand Jennifer (and her new alias). I wasn't keen on the boyfriend - he almost turned into a violent stalker in my opinion before reverting to a lovesick teenager. The adults around her are solid, trustworthy and show us the system that surrounds young offenders - very interesting. Ditto the methods used by the authorities to deal with the media and protect identities.
This was a quick read, though quite emotional. The childhood scenes were incredibly touching and angering at the same time - my feelings as a mother myself outraged. I would have liked more of a definite conclusion, but can see that there's a lot more story to tell and I'll be reading the sequel (Finding Jennifer Jones) shortly.
It does bring up a raft of questions:
- is 10 as the age of criminal responsibility always justified?
- what role does a parent play in a child's (criminal) actions?
- do we change? are we still the person at 17 as we were at 10?
One that stays with you.
November 24, 2020
Only one star! I really didn’t enjoy this even though wanted to. I was intrigued at first but when the narrative switched to the childhood perspective I just wasn’t keen. I really didn’t care for the self-pitying vibe that the main character gave off and I felt as though as a reader I was supposed to feel sorry for her too but I couldn’t. I just wanted some remorse girl! I thought the characters lacked imagination - literally every character was described as either big or slim like there was nothing more about them than their size. It made it so hard to connect with the characters! I don’t recommend.
September 28, 2016
This is an easy to read book centred on a story about how your past influences your future.
JJ is an inconspicuous character, a child frozen in time. Jennifer Jones no longer exists. She is merely a memory; a figment of time stood still.
I enjoyed the backstory and finding out what drove JJ to do what she did. From an outsider's perspective, this story is interesting. It toys with our views on what constitutes a bad person.
Can people change?
'The only thing you can change is the future'.
JJ is an inconspicuous character, a child frozen in time. Jennifer Jones no longer exists. She is merely a memory; a figment of time stood still.
I enjoyed the backstory and finding out what drove JJ to do what she did. From an outsider's perspective, this story is interesting. It toys with our views on what constitutes a bad person.
Can people change?
'The only thing you can change is the future'.
April 26, 2020
My finger hovered between 4 and 5 stars and it settled on 5. I stumbled upon this book as an e-book somewhere and did not hold high hopes but I wanted to read it because my wife's maiden name is Jennifer Jones! It's kind of like buying a wine based on its label I suppose. Anyway I was not disappointed. Obviously I thoroughly enjoyed it although of course it is not an uplifting book. But it is not particularly dark or miserable either. I'm looking forward to the sequel Finding Jennifer Jones.
November 5, 2021
C'était très intéressant. Dissèque la société anglaise et ses misères... m'a beaucoup fait penser à l'univers de Kerry Hudson dans sa dureté.
November 29, 2014
I honestly thought that this book would keep you guessing until the end. In some ways it did, just not in the ways I expected.
Looking for JJ focuses on something I've not really dwelled on previously - life after a murderer is realised from prison. Do they feel remorse for their crimes? Do they blend back into society, living normal lives? Are they changed for the better? I'm not entirely sure on my thoughts about murderers being released, but for the purpose of this book, I allowed myself to become absorbed by Jennifer Jones' story.
Some may call this controversial, but that's probably why I liked it as much as I did. It almost made you feel for Jennifer; when she was wronged, you found yourself feeling her pain. So, in my opinion, a book that can make you empathise with a very controversial character is a pretty good read.
Looking for JJ focuses on something I've not really dwelled on previously - life after a murderer is realised from prison. Do they feel remorse for their crimes? Do they blend back into society, living normal lives? Are they changed for the better? I'm not entirely sure on my thoughts about murderers being released, but for the purpose of this book, I allowed myself to become absorbed by Jennifer Jones' story.
Some may call this controversial, but that's probably why I liked it as much as I did. It almost made you feel for Jennifer; when she was wronged, you found yourself feeling her pain. So, in my opinion, a book that can make you empathise with a very controversial character is a pretty good read.
Read
May 13, 20092008 Best book for young adults (mystery)
In this suspencful novel by Anne Cassidy we first meet Alice Tully, a 17-year-old who works at the local coffee shop, lives with her kindly guardian Rosie. And slowly the reader finds out that Alice is actuall Jennifer Johnson, JJ, a recently released convict because of a violent crime she committed as a young girl. As the reader finds out about her troubled past Alice and Rosie are desperate to keep her new identity intact, and protect her from the tabloids so she can have a real life. This is a great teen mystery that would be great for teens who who love the tabloids, they could see the bad side.
VOYA Codes:
4Q 4P J S
In this suspencful novel by Anne Cassidy we first meet Alice Tully, a 17-year-old who works at the local coffee shop, lives with her kindly guardian Rosie. And slowly the reader finds out that Alice is actuall Jennifer Johnson, JJ, a recently released convict because of a violent crime she committed as a young girl. As the reader finds out about her troubled past Alice and Rosie are desperate to keep her new identity intact, and protect her from the tabloids so she can have a real life. This is a great teen mystery that would be great for teens who who love the tabloids, they could see the bad side.
VOYA Codes:
4Q 4P J S
January 18, 2018
Where was Jennifer Jones? That’s what everyone was saying. There were only a handful of people in the country who knew. Alice Tully was one of them.
English Review 👉 Click
Encontré este libro en una tienda de segunda mano y lo compré porque una youtuber que me gusta mucho hizo una review muy positiva, me pareció interesante y ha acabado gustándome bastante.
Para ser un libro dirigido a un público joven, la temática es seria: nos vamos a encontrar con la historia de una chica que a los diez años mató a una amiga y ahora con 17 años intenta llevar una vida normal.
La narración puede resultar bastante dura en las partes en las que se describe su la infancia. Aunque ésta no justifique sus acciones, sí que sirve para reflexionar sobre la importancia que tienen el entorno y los vínculos afectivos saludables para el buen desarrollo de los más pequeños.
En cuanto a su vida actual, lo único que creo que sobra porque no aporta nada a la historia principal es el romance que tiene con Frankie (quien tampoco me ha caído bien). Creo que lo único que hace es añadir gratuitamente más drama a una situación que ya es dramática de por sí.
Algo que sí que me ha gustado mucho y que creo que refleja el gran trabajo que ha hecho la autora, es que me ha mantenido en suspense y tensión a lo largo de todos los capítulos, lo que ha hecho que acabe metiéndome mucho más en la historia y en la piel de JJ; y es por esto por lo que le he acabado dando 4 estrellitas.
January 31, 2021
A clever little opening with scant clues of the identity of two new characters brought together to reveal the mystery that is JJ. We await the revelation of the horror six years before, sure that it was some accident, but it takes a long time coming. Meanwhile, we get to know and like Alice, as a series of flashbacks reveals her childhood. I am writing about second chances right now, for my dissertation. Where will this one go, for those romances usually end the story with the gifted second chance - they don't tell us how well the gifted cope with their changed fortunes, as this does. But the mercy of the second chance is fraught with the possibility of going backwards. Or being sucked backwards...
What this story does point up - as if we needed reminding - is the intransigent immorality of the newspapers. The old conflict between purveying the truth as a responsible fourth estate and running exposés on private individuals out of some scurrilous prurience in assuming that anyone in the public eye must somehow love it (a product of the silly 'celebrity' culture) is at question, and really it's a no-brainer. Live and let live.
This is not the story from the victim's perspective, and it's interesting for being from the perpetrator's. How do you construct a new life, or live with yourself when something so drastic has caused you to kill? It's an entirely hypothetical issue, under the circumstances, children being innocent since Rousseau, corrupted through the process of growing up. Very few can answer with anything but hypotheses, and so it's nigh impossible to have any benchmark by which to judge a narrative such as Jennifer's, but Cassidy handles it with expert sensitivity.
However, the middle half of this novel is murky and highly unpleasant, and just gets worse. At its heart are three incontrovertible certainties: an abusive mother through persistent negligence; an immoral press; and a crying heart deserving of a second chance. Plus a handful of caring women. Jennifer's story was really well handled, but after a while I wearied of its incessant depravity.
What this story does point up - as if we needed reminding - is the intransigent immorality of the newspapers. The old conflict between purveying the truth as a responsible fourth estate and running exposés on private individuals out of some scurrilous prurience in assuming that anyone in the public eye must somehow love it (a product of the silly 'celebrity' culture) is at question, and really it's a no-brainer. Live and let live.
This is not the story from the victim's perspective, and it's interesting for being from the perpetrator's. How do you construct a new life, or live with yourself when something so drastic has caused you to kill? It's an entirely hypothetical issue, under the circumstances, children being innocent since Rousseau, corrupted through the process of growing up. Very few can answer with anything but hypotheses, and so it's nigh impossible to have any benchmark by which to judge a narrative such as Jennifer's, but Cassidy handles it with expert sensitivity.
However, the middle half of this novel is murky and highly unpleasant, and just gets worse. At its heart are three incontrovertible certainties: an abusive mother through persistent negligence; an immoral press; and a crying heart deserving of a second chance. Plus a handful of caring women. Jennifer's story was really well handled, but after a while I wearied of its incessant depravity.
September 28, 2019
4 out of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this book and I listened to it on audiobook. The author had spun the book with two time lines interlinked so well. This is the story about a girl who when she was ten murdered another girl yet as an adult she has a completely different life where no one knows her past. We have the timeline of her childhood up to the murder occurring and the one if her as an adult where she lives in fear of her past coming back to get her. I can’t say too much more as I don’t give spoilers but suffice to say there are lots of twists and turns which make this amazing. If you lie mysteries then read this.
I really enjoyed this book and I listened to it on audiobook. The author had spun the book with two time lines interlinked so well. This is the story about a girl who when she was ten murdered another girl yet as an adult she has a completely different life where no one knows her past. We have the timeline of her childhood up to the murder occurring and the one if her as an adult where she lives in fear of her past coming back to get her. I can’t say too much more as I don’t give spoilers but suffice to say there are lots of twists and turns which make this amazing. If you lie mysteries then read this.
February 5, 2024
Challenging in its content and quite dark, definitely for older YA readers.
Jennifer Jones became Alice Tulley after her incarceration for killing her friend when she was only 10 years old. Trying to reintegrate to society in anonymity with the constant fear of being found. You follow her while also flashing back to the events to lead up to the killing of Michelle and find that you sympathise with her and her family situation in her younger years.
Jennifer Jones became Alice Tulley after her incarceration for killing her friend when she was only 10 years old. Trying to reintegrate to society in anonymity with the constant fear of being found. You follow her while also flashing back to the events to lead up to the killing of Michelle and find that you sympathise with her and her family situation in her younger years.
September 26, 2022
another pretty miserable book for kids. i’m sure the year nines will like it more soon. i like it more than some of the other things i’ve read for school but what the murder and prostitution and press being evil it’s not a cherry read really. i also just feel very sorry for the main character, poor girl. sometimes u just get neglected as a child and then accidentally do a murder oops
July 1, 2023
I read this book when I was young and it has never left my mind...except the title escaped me. I actually went on r/tipofmytongue to find the title and I'm so grateful I did! This book is a great character study about PTSD and trauma. The characters are so impeccably written for what is considered a young adult novel. Carol Jones is one of the most detestable villains in YA literature, and honestly she's more deplorable than a lot of villains in most of the books I read. The photographer scene will make you sick to your stomach. This book is VERY tricky to come by in Canada but if you can find it, it's the darkest YA thriller that's lived in my mind for nearly 20 years.
April 17, 2019
'Why was everyone so interested in her now? When it was too late to change anything? What was the point?'
***MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD***
Let me begin by saying that Looking For JJ is a fantastic book, one which I would highly recommend to anyone looking for something a bit haunting and thought-provoking.
Also, before you read any further, I would like to clarify that Jennifer and Alice are the same person - Alice Tully is the new identity Jennifer is given when she is released from prison. This will hopefully save any confusion later.
This was a re-read for me, but it gripped me just as much as it did the first time around. Although I have some very minor quibbles (hence the four stars) on the whole, I can't praise this book enough, so I will dispense with my usual system of:
THE GOOD
THE BAD
THE UGLY
Because to call any part of this book BAD or UGLY would be to do it a huge disservice.
THE GOOD:
- Like I said, this book is incredibly gripping, even the second time around, even when I knew what was going to happen. It's not quite an on-the-edge-of-your-seat novel (it's not really that kind of book) but it's one of those that holds you in its grasp, captures your focus, so that you couldn't put it down if you wanted to.
- I am an absolute sucker for controversial literature, or taboo topics.
Lolita? Fave.
Flowers In The Attic? Love it.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest? My jam.
I'm also big on true crime, so this book about a 10 year old girl killing her best friend was right up my alley.
I love that Anne Cassidy chose to address such a serious topic, and that she did it with such insight and sensitivity, not only in terms of Jennifer's childhood, and the events that led up to Michelle's death, but also the way in which she explores how Jennifer/Alice copes with the consequences of what she did long-term.
This is a viewpoint that we so rarely get to hear about, and I thought that Anne Cassidy tackled in brilliantly.
- Following on from that, I also thought that Cassidy's presentation of Jennifer herself was wonderfully done. In the world of Looking For JJ, Jennifer Jones is merely a headline:
JJ: THE FACE OF A KILLER
But to the reader, she's more than that, as we follow the journey of her life before and after the murder. And as you see Jennifer/Alice's struggles, you actually begin to sympathise with her, understand her, which again, I thought was very clever writing on Anne Cassidy's part.
- For the most part, I enjoyed the dual narrative of Jennifer and Alice. I liked the way all the different fragments of Jennifer's past were entwined, coming together to form Alice's future.
THE AFORE MENTIONED MINOR QUIBBLES:
- You'll notice that I said I enjoyed the dual narrative for the most part. I did much prefer the Jennifer plot line to the Alice one. It was much more engaging, and the stakes seemed a lot higher - you could sense that it was all building up to something.
Looking For JJ is basically split up into three parts:
PART 1: Alice
PART 2: Jennifer
PART 3: Alice
And if it had stuck to that layout, it would've been fine, but the thing is, Jennifer's narrative kept creeping into the Alice bits, with no real rhyme or reason, and it meant that some of the more dramatic moments in the Jennifer section fell flat, because we'd already heard about it in Alice's flashbacks.
- Whilst Jennifer was a highly complex and multi-faceted character, Alice was a little...lacking in depth (even though they were supposed to be the same person). Whilst it was interesting to follow how she was coping with life outside of prison, I felt like we never got a true sense of who she was, and how she felt, and it was hard, sometimes, to connect her to the girl who murdered her friend.
- Frankie. What an absolute dickhead. I get that Jennifer/Alice was vulnerable, emotionally dependant, and craving love, but this guy was the pits. He pressured her into sex, he pressured her into meeting his family, he got mad when she refused to switch university to be closer to him. And the worst thing was, I couldn't tell if we were supposed to be rooting for this relationship or not.
- Finally, teeny tiny thing - there's some really weird wording in this book.
For example, Frankie says something like: 'I think my parents gave me this room in order to give them some peace and quiet'.
Or Jennifer says, 'You know that Michelle's mother does not allow her to go to the lake'.
Like, who talks like that?
OVERALL:
I think that this book is really important, in terms of criminology and dealing with difficult subjects. But as well as that, it's just one of those books that really sticks with you.
It's been a good four years since I read this book for the first time, and some of the scenes were still crystal clear in my mind.
Even though this book isn't quite perfect, it's incredibly relevant and will fixate you until the very last page.
***MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD***
Let me begin by saying that Looking For JJ is a fantastic book, one which I would highly recommend to anyone looking for something a bit haunting and thought-provoking.
Also, before you read any further, I would like to clarify that Jennifer and Alice are the same person - Alice Tully is the new identity Jennifer is given when she is released from prison. This will hopefully save any confusion later.
This was a re-read for me, but it gripped me just as much as it did the first time around. Although I have some very minor quibbles (hence the four stars) on the whole, I can't praise this book enough, so I will dispense with my usual system of:
THE GOOD
THE BAD
THE UGLY
Because to call any part of this book BAD or UGLY would be to do it a huge disservice.
THE GOOD:
- Like I said, this book is incredibly gripping, even the second time around, even when I knew what was going to happen. It's not quite an on-the-edge-of-your-seat novel (it's not really that kind of book) but it's one of those that holds you in its grasp, captures your focus, so that you couldn't put it down if you wanted to.
- I am an absolute sucker for controversial literature, or taboo topics.
Lolita? Fave.
Flowers In The Attic? Love it.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest? My jam.
I'm also big on true crime, so this book about a 10 year old girl killing her best friend was right up my alley.
I love that Anne Cassidy chose to address such a serious topic, and that she did it with such insight and sensitivity, not only in terms of Jennifer's childhood, and the events that led up to Michelle's death, but also the way in which she explores how Jennifer/Alice copes with the consequences of what she did long-term.
This is a viewpoint that we so rarely get to hear about, and I thought that Anne Cassidy tackled in brilliantly.
- Following on from that, I also thought that Cassidy's presentation of Jennifer herself was wonderfully done. In the world of Looking For JJ, Jennifer Jones is merely a headline:
JJ: THE FACE OF A KILLER
But to the reader, she's more than that, as we follow the journey of her life before and after the murder. And as you see Jennifer/Alice's struggles, you actually begin to sympathise with her, understand her, which again, I thought was very clever writing on Anne Cassidy's part.
- For the most part, I enjoyed the dual narrative of Jennifer and Alice. I liked the way all the different fragments of Jennifer's past were entwined, coming together to form Alice's future.
THE AFORE MENTIONED MINOR QUIBBLES:
- You'll notice that I said I enjoyed the dual narrative for the most part. I did much prefer the Jennifer plot line to the Alice one. It was much more engaging, and the stakes seemed a lot higher - you could sense that it was all building up to something.
Looking For JJ is basically split up into three parts:
PART 1: Alice
PART 2: Jennifer
PART 3: Alice
And if it had stuck to that layout, it would've been fine, but the thing is, Jennifer's narrative kept creeping into the Alice bits, with no real rhyme or reason, and it meant that some of the more dramatic moments in the Jennifer section fell flat, because we'd already heard about it in Alice's flashbacks.
- Whilst Jennifer was a highly complex and multi-faceted character, Alice was a little...lacking in depth (even though they were supposed to be the same person). Whilst it was interesting to follow how she was coping with life outside of prison, I felt like we never got a true sense of who she was, and how she felt, and it was hard, sometimes, to connect her to the girl who murdered her friend.
- Frankie. What an absolute dickhead. I get that Jennifer/Alice was vulnerable, emotionally dependant, and craving love, but this guy was the pits. He pressured her into sex, he pressured her into meeting his family, he got mad when she refused to switch university to be closer to him. And the worst thing was, I couldn't tell if we were supposed to be rooting for this relationship or not.
- Finally, teeny tiny thing - there's some really weird wording in this book.
For example, Frankie says something like: 'I think my parents gave me this room in order to give them some peace and quiet'.
Or Jennifer says, 'You know that Michelle's mother does not allow her to go to the lake'.
Like, who talks like that?
OVERALL:
I think that this book is really important, in terms of criminology and dealing with difficult subjects. But as well as that, it's just one of those books that really sticks with you.
It's been a good four years since I read this book for the first time, and some of the scenes were still crystal clear in my mind.
Even though this book isn't quite perfect, it's incredibly relevant and will fixate you until the very last page.
November 29, 2020
3.5 ⭐
October 13, 2021
i loved this.
October 12, 2022
Not sure how long this has been in my book pile - maybe my daughter left it? - but I'm happy that I found it. It's a good reminder to not always accept events at face value; there is almost always more to the story than what you read in the paper.
March 29, 2024
I read this book as a teenager and for someone reason it stuck to me ever since so i decided to reread it. I still love it, but i definitely feel like it could have dug deeper.
September 18, 2018
Nah! It's just another teen life crisis based story. Boring for me.
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