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Monday 1 October 2018

Enemy Self by Suzanne Kovitz

I really, really wanted to like this book: I'm a tad lukewarm about the paranormal/extra-ordinary genre, but the premise for this book actually won me over. I was intrigued by the concept: a bully’s body being taken over by her complete antithesis. I figured this would be an insight into what makes a bully a bully.

Sadly, this was a bit of mishmash, with some large holes in character and plot development, and ultimately, it was a little ridiculous.


Denise Bower is a high-school bully. Jessica is a hardworking, grade-A, compliant, well-adjusted, student. Two complete opposites. How would Jessica feel in Denise’s body and life? It all starts out promisingly, and oddly, you start to feel a glimmer of sympathy for Denise…just a glimmer, though…she’s very unlikeable. But then the story goes downhill. The story darts about in unexplained time frames, events are unbelievable and the dialogue is trite. Little is portrayed of Denise’s life as Jessica…which would have been the obvious parallel, and Jessica’s wholesomeness just wasn’t there in Denise. The conclusion was weirdly absurd.


This was a great idea for a story. It promised ‘Freaky Friday with more drama’. I’m afraid it wasn’t.


However, Krowitz has great writing potential: there’s no doubt she’s articulate and has some great imagination. Regretfully, this doesn’t showcase those skills to their best.



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