12 to 22 book review

12
12 to 22 by Jen Colinita
256 pages
publishes August 16th, 2022

A smart and funny modern day 13 Going on 30 from New York Times bestselling author Jen Calonita! A tween girl finds out it is like to be 22 when she jumps in time with the help of a mysterious TikTok filter.

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?

Love this book about social media and the effects it has on middle graders; both the bad sides and the good sides! I found this a charming, quick read; it involves some wish fulfillment for middle-graders and also how sometimes that wish fulfillment isn’t all you thought it would be. Also, major plot hole: kids aren’t allowed to post on social media until they are 13 due to COPPA laws, so basically everyone in this book is breaking a Big Law. Nevertheless, it’s cute and fun; I’d recommend it for your middle-grade library. Four stars.

Goodreads link. Storygraph link. Booksweet link.

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