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I Am Not Jessica Chen by Ann Liang

I Am Not Jessica Chen

Ann Liang

Harlequin · Paperback · January 27, 2026

From the New York Times, USA Today, and Indie Bestselling author of I Hope This Doesn't Find You comes a new page-turning speculative YA about a girl who wishes she could be as perfect and successful as her cousin… and wakes up the next morning in her cousin’s body.

Contemporary YA RomanceAsian American YAContemporary YA Fantasydevelopment
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fantasy
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Who it’s for
A speculative YA story where becoming your ideal cousin may mean losing pieces of yourself.
Genres
Contemporary YA Fantasy, Contemporary YA Romance, Asian American YA
Published
Harlequin, January 27, 2026

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For younger readers: With Twice the Love, Dessie Mei, A Soft Place to Land

For older readers: The Girl I Was

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About this book

From the New York Times, USA Today, and Indie Bestselling author of I Hope This Doesn't Find You comes a new page-turning speculative YA about a girl who wishes she could be as perfect and successful as her cousin… and wakes up the next morning in her cousin’s body. Now available in paperback! Jenna Chen has spent her life in the shadow of her flawless cousin. Jessica Chen is so smart she gets the top score on every test.

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Jessica Chen is so beautiful people stop in the hallway to stare at her. Jessica Chen is so perfect she got into Harvard. And Jenna Chen will only ever be a disappointment. So when Jenna makes a desperate wish to become her cousin, the last thing she expects is for it to come true—literally. All of a sudden she gets to live the life she’s always dreamed of . . . but being the model student at cutthroat Havenwood Private Academy isn’t quite what she’d imagined. Worse, people seem to be forgetting that someone named Jenna Chen ever existed. But isn’t it worth trading it all away—her artistic talent, her childhood home, even the hope of golden boy Aaron Cai loving her back—to be Jessica Chen? * Kids' Indie Next Pick * YALSA's 2026 Best Fiction for Young Adults *

The Cost of Perfect

A speculative YA story where becoming your ideal cousin may mean losing pieces of yourself.

Come here for

  • A body-swap wish with a sharp edge of envy
  • Questions of identity, ambition, and what perfection costs

Expect

  • A high-pressure school setting and a wish gone literal
  • Romantic uncertainty alongside questions of belonging

Where it sits

Asian American YA53%
Contemporary YA Romance53%
Contemporary YA Fantasy44%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Coming of Age
  • Diverse YA Fiction
  • Contemporary YA Fantasy
  • Asian American YA
Show all 8 publisher categories
  • Emotions & Feelings for Teens
  • Friendship for Teens
  • New Experiences for Teens
  • Finding Your Footing
Authors
Ann Liang
Publisher
Harlequin
Published
January 27, 2026
Format
Paperback
Reading lane
Coming of Age