I’m So Sure by Jenny B. Jones

Truman, Oklahoma hasn’t turned out as horribly as Bella Kirkwood thought it would. Sure, her desitned label allowance has been drastically cut, but with new friends and a comfy position on the school newspaper staff, she’s feeling pretty good. It also helps that nearly everyone thinks she’s some sort of Nancy Drew ever since she figured out what was really going on with the football team. Unfortunately, now that Bella’s stepdad, a semi-pro wrestler, has signed their family up for a reality TV show, Bella’s life is about to take a turn for the unbearable once again. As if navigating her relationship with her newspaper editor Luke, a rekindled friendship with her ex-boyfriend Hunter, and all of her reporting assignments wasn’t hard enough, now she has to do it in the public eye thanks to the camera crew that stalks her. And before she knows it, Bella finds herself pursuing yet another mystery at Truman High, this one regarding the upcoming prom. How’s a girl to keep her cool in the face of all this, especially when the threats of danger start coming?

I’m So Sure was just as cute, hilarious, and clever as its prequel So Not Happening proved to be. Bella’s character is even more likable in this story since most traces of her spoiled Manhattan princess roots have been humbled by her acceptance of her new life in Oklahoma and she remains just as determined and hardworking as ever. I must admit, I generally dislike the inclusion of reality shows in books because of their tendency to turn even the most upright people into publicity hungry brats, but the wrestling show actually worked well in this novel because it reinforced many of Bella’s morals. Although I felt the main mystery of this story about prom was less creative and interesting that the one in So Not Happening, I still quite enjoyed it as well as Bella and Luke’s somewhat cryptic but still sweet relationship. If there’s one main thing about I’m So Sure that irked me, it was that religion was slightly more emphasized in this novel than in its prequel. I do realize that I’m So Sure is technically Christian fiction and that the inclusion of faith is to be expected, but there were several instances in which the religious preferences were just unnecessary and the slightest bit annoying.

Fans of the So Not Happening, the prequel to I’m So Sure, will eagerly snatch up this novel as well as look forward to the next installment in the Charmed Life series, So Over My Head. This series may also be enjoyed by readers who liked Pure by Terra Elan McVoy and It’s All About Us by Shelley Adina.

Rating: 3.5

Review copy from publisher Thomas Nelson