Jenny B. Jones has crafted So Not Happening in a way that appeals to a young adult audience. She has portrayed through Bella the change teenagers go through as they grow older. Bella turns her entire life around, starting out as a pampered princess and ending as a more mature teenager. If you have ever moved you may be able to commiserate with Bella as she moves from New York to the middle of nowhere. However, even in Truman, Oklahoma things can get dangerous and being a reporter for the school newspaper places her in a world of danger where only the “Evil Editor” can help her out.  

So Not Happening is a story of finding one’s self in the most unexpected places and confronting the face of danger to become stronger and more mature. So Not Happening is book one in the series “A Charmed Life.”

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Thomas Nelson

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: ***

Violence/Gore: Car crash; man falls off a cliff; one character pulls a gun on another character; teenager drugged in an attempt of murder; character is shot; fire is purposefully started on a house with people inside; a character is kidnapped; physical abuse in the form of slapping and a broken arm.

Sex/Nudity: Boy in only a towel; characters kiss; characters “make out”; one character holds another; making of feminine products. 

Mature Subject Matter:

Suicide; Divorce; Murder; Menstration; Death; Kidnapping; Socioeconomic Conflict; Illegal Drugs; Underage Drinking. 

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Woman is drugged in an attempt at murder; beer at teenage parties.