Has Anyone Seen Jessica Jenkins?

by Liz Kessler

From New York Times best-selling author Liz Kessler comes the magical tale of a (sometimes invisible) teen—and her truly super friends.

Jessica Jenkins has always been a perfectly ordinary girl—until one day part of her arm vanishes in the middle of geography class! Jessica’s friends Izzy and Tom are determined to help her develop her newfound invisibility, though Jessica is more concerned with discovering where the ability came from. When it becomes apparent that there may be other kids developing strange powers of their own, Jessica marshals them into a slapdash band of “slightly superheroes.” But when an unscrupulous adult discovers the origin of their powers and kidnaps one of the team, the rest must put their heads—and all of their skills—together to avert disaster.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Mystery, Childrens, Adventure, Science Fiction, Friendship

288 pages, Hardcover

First published August 14, 2014

About the author

Liz Kessler is the author of three novels about Philippa Fisher as well as the NEW YORK TIMES best-selling Emily Windsnap series. She lives in Manchester, England.

Reviews

[Nastaran · Rating 3 out of 5]

دوستان واقعی کسانی هستند که ما را بخاطر خودمان دوست دارند،نه به خاطر آنچه که تظاهر به آن می‌کنیم💓‌.
سه و نیم🤏⭐

[Adriana · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover is what drew me in the most to read this wonderful story. I love the idea of one day waking up and you suddenly have a superpower which was the case for Jessica. The imagination this brought forth and the excitement made this well worth the read. It could be a bit predictable at times but I didn't mind at all. I wish there was a sequel to the story because the friends could have so many adventures with their powers. I enjoyed each and every page while I read "Has Anyone Seen Jessica Jenkins?"

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty much my all time favorite book when I was younger. And I'm gonna be honest, I read it because I really didn't want to work on my history project. It was nice. I knew the story, and it was just cool to kinda go back in time. I miss being young, but being able to look back in this way somewhat makes up for it.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Süße Geschichte für junge Mädchen :) für Zwischendurch hat es mir echt gut gefallen und es hat tolle Werte vermittelt!

[Michaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Naozaj milá knižka. Aj táto šla seniorke ako darček a musím sa priznať, že sa mi čítala oveľa ľahšie ako 100 přání. Je to príbeh o 13-ročnej dievčine, čo objaví superschopnosť, no má poruke aj kamarátku, ktorej sa môže zveriť. Zaujímalo ma ako to ďalej pokračuje, objaví sa aj napätie, priatelia, celkovo tomu nemám čo vytknúť. Ideálna knižka pre 9-13 ročné deti.

[Jasmine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book but I was disappointed with how it ended. I like books with lots of action and a great plot and this book didn't have it for me.

[Evangeline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this and the story was really cute. However I feel it had a lot more potential to grow and want to hear more from it! I still have so many questions ahhhh

[Kirsty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is just a book that I read awhile ago but forgot to mark it as read, I’m counting it as part of my book challenge so that it looks like I’ve read more lol

[Hadis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really difficult and very intresting story that changes your mind about precious stones😊😍🧡

[Irem · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mir hat’s nicht gefallen das es um Magie ging . Ich persönlich hätte es mir
nicht kaufen. Mir wurde es Geschenkt.

[Jim Sibigtroth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 4th-7th grade reader would probably rate this 4 stars

Easy to read and entertaining with interesting middle-school characters. But as an older adult (admittedly not the intended audience) I felt many of the close escapes were too convenient.

[kennedy [mackenzie] · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It has magic, it has adventure! The perfect mix to make an amazing book!

[Simone S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't have VERY many complaints with this book except the ending - but then I remember that if I was 10 this would be a very well rounded, and satisfying plot, and ending.

HOWEVER I am not 10 so I have some issues.

1. It would've been cooler is Jess can turn others invisible too.

2. Why couldn't we tell Nancy the whole truth? I know she's an adult but having a doctor/scientist on hand would be VERY useful exploring our capabilities. And y'know stitching us up after getting into scrapes and stuff. Like what Alfred does for Batman.

3. Wait... does this mean that when they are adults they will start to die at an accelerated rate...? Or is this still safe because they're kids when they were exposed to the serum?

4. Is that it? Oscar screams 'Nooooooo!' and boom! he's just out of the picture? Like he didn't have anymore files next to the loo as reading material and they just happened to miss that? Or next to his bed? Or heck if it was so precious to him - in a safe? And doesn't the father deserve to know that his old enemy was after him again? He has to have some safety measures, I mean besides changing the code to the lab - like getting a safe... or even just knowing what he could be up against in the future!?

5. This has got to be a series right? I mean I'm not 10 like I said but I mean.. *snort* child-superheroes right? I mean who isn't at least a teeny-weeny bit excited for this?

6. Sooo wait. If I practiced emptying my mind (which I do EVERY night to get to sleep) I can drink some serum, hold a rock - and BOOM! be able to fly or shoot lasers from my eyes!!!???
AWESOME!

7. So dogs and cameras can see Jess, and she still breathes loudly and has a smell (to dogs) and stuff.... I think we need to work on that Missy.

8. Ok whoa, whoa, whoa-whoa.... The first rule of superhero-club - Hero Names. Why the heck didn't we pick hero names? I mean we had a 45 minute window to get in and out, but something! Or after in the epilogue maybe.



Oh well.

SEQUEL!!!! SEQUEL!!!!! SEQUEL!!!!!!!

Thanks for reading!
~Simone

[Marissa The Great · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5.0 stars!

I loved this book so so SO much when I was in elementary school. The idea of waking up one day with SUPER POWERS was literally my dream!

Upon re-reading this book now that I’m in high school, I noticed some things that stuck out to me more than they did back in elementary school.

Let’s start with the parts I LOVED:
First, the 🤩C O V E R🤩 so gorgeous!!!
Second, the premise. This idea was really well thought of and SO CREATIVE!
Third: The plot itself! A group of slightly-superheroes, each with different powers, being able to save their friend!

There were so many other parts I liked, but these were some of the biggest ones. Now, there were also some parts I felt could have DEFINITELY used some additional description.

For instance: there was NO EXPOSITION! We are dropped into a random day in Jess’s life where she has super powers. She masters said powers within two short chapters, then proceeds to use them to snoop around and discover some secrets.

We find out about Max, Heather, and Tom’s powers within two consecutive chapters, only for Max to get literally KIDNAPPED one chapter later!

And the antagonist was… bland. We didn’t really get to know WHY he was so bad, what his motives were, or really why he wanted Dr. Malone’s notes, other than being greedy.

And there was no reconciliation between Max and his father! I thought for sure we’d get something! Especially for a stand-alone novel.

Again, I did truly enjoy this book, these were just some of the things I noticed.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advanced reading copy of Has Anyone Seen Jessica Jenkins? by Liz Kessler for free through Goodreads First Reads. The following is my unbiased review for this novel.

Has Anyone Seen Jessica Jenkins? is the first novel I've read by Liz Kessler. It's a children's book for those aged 8 to 12 years old.

What exactly did I think of Has Anyone Seen Jessica Jenkins? by Liz Kessler? I really liked this novel. It's a really fun, fast readand is filled with great characters and good storyline. I liked all of the action this novel contained as it held and kept my interest throughout my reading experience. I think Has Anyone Seen Jessica Jenkins? makes an excellent read for kids. The only minor complaint I had was the ending of this novel... I felt that how the group of kids (aka superheroes) helped to save Max could have been done a little differently... But, a least it kept me guessing as to how they would save him.

I am giving Has Anyone Seen Jessica Jenkins? by Liz Kessler a rating of 8.5 stars out of 10 stars.

I'll be posting my review of this novel on my blog Captivated Reader later this week. :-)

[Annmarie Thibodeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meet Jessica Jenkins. She’s your average girl who can turn herself invisible.
“Suddenly the little-creepy thing became a totally-flipping-terrifying thing instead.”
She didn’t start out this way. It just started. But Jess and her best friend Izzy are gonna figure out why this is happening. But what they find out is shocking.
Stones that can grow, cats that can self heal, and a story of lost love. Are they already for this?
But the good news is that they have a group of “slightly superheroes “,
Tom is a smart boy who didn’t want to get mixed up with this and as a result he can now freeze time.
Max just wanted to find out why his dad is acting so weird, not gain the ability to read minds.
Heather is the popular girl who is stuck being the villain, but now thanks to her ability to phase, she has found her people. (Maybe).
But when a friend is kidnapped, these kids must team up and defeat a bad guy. But how do you do that exactly?
Quotes
“‘I’m living in the world of weird, so yeah, hit me.’”
“My best friend was going crazy.”
“I finally came up with “whaaa?” Which didn’t pass the test of being either a sentence or an adequate reply, but it was all I had.”

[Lesemaus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dieses Buch las ich im Rahmen einer mir selber gestellten Challenge: 200 Seiten in 2 Std. Ich schaffte am Ende das gesamte Buch (286 Seiten bei meiner Ausgabe) in 3 Std. zu lesen.
Ich hatte es schonmal gelesen, aber dies war schon so lange her, dass ich mich nur noch ganz grob an den Verlauf der Geschichte erinnern konnte. Die Personen gefielen mir sehr gut und ich konnte richtig mitfiebern! Gegen Ende wurde es super spannend. Doch das Ende fand ich leider nicht so gut.
Achtung mini-Spoiler!!
Der 'Bösewicht' wurde zu meiner Verwunderung nicht verhaftet, obwohl er einen echte Straftat begangen hat. Das fand ich etwas schade, denn so konnte ich mit der Geschichte nicht perfekt abschließen und sie bekommt von mir nur 4 Sterne.
Insgesamt eine sehr gutes Buch für zwischendurch und ich kann es sehr weiterempfehlen!

[Birgitte Bach · Rating 1 out of 5]

Det var slet ikke en bog for mig. Jeg syntes det er en utrolig kedelig storyline, der er alt for længe om, at komme i gang. Der er 241 sider i bogen og historien trækker i langdrag helt ind til side 96. Jeg havde håbet på noget magi og lidt mystik, hvad skal man ellers tro om en bog om en der kan gøre sig usynlig? Men jeg blev desværre meget skuffet.

[lev · Rating 2 out of 5]

„Now you see her, now you don’t“ I read this because Melis said she enjoyed it once… I didn’t 🤭 well it was decent I guess but rather because it was cringe and therefore funny not because it was all that good. The idea was good but go girl give us nothing😙 THERE WAS NO CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND NO DIFFICULTY WHATSOEVER AND THE MC WAS SO DIFFERENT AND QUIRKY I COULD NOT-!

[Pullo123 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so happy I got to read this book! It was incredible! I really recommend it! The title really just caught my attention, and I feel this book deserves a nice round of applause! I liked the storyline. Not like other books, how they found out superpowers was super smooth! Please, please read this!

[Poppy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very enjoyable read and amazing to come back to after nearly a year of not reading it ! I enjoyed Jessica Jenkins a lot and I am looking forward to reading more!

[DoubleL · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED IT!
this is definitely liz kesslers best book
it was great
EXEPT......
it isn't a series :C

[fin ⏾⋆.˚ · Rating 5 out of 5]

sorry guys i'm giving this children's book 5 stars
maybe nostalgia is blinding me a little bit but still I love this book

[J. Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

I had fun reading this book. It was kind of nice to read something that was fairly simple and straightforward for a change. This was also a surprisingly funny book. There were several moments that made me laugh. I think my favorite one is this, which I highlighted in my Kindle:

"My favorite moment was when I knelt next to a German shepherd, and, in a deep voice, politely asked when the next bus was due. Then all twenty people waiting at the bus stop turned, as one, to stare at the dog. It was the way he stared back at them that cracked me up. His expression seemed to say, “Yes, I did ask about bus times. You have a problem with that?”

Now, this is a kids book. I guess I didn't realize just how much of a kids book it was. All the problems are down to the kids to solve, the parents kind of fade away into the background, and nothing of real consequence happens. And I don't mean that as a bad thing. It reminds me a bit of the first Harry Potter book in that sense. It's more about the innocent adventures than anything more complex and deep, and to be honest, it was kinda nice. The plot and characters are kind of shallow, but it tells a fun story. It's exactly the kind of book I would've loved to read as a kid, and for that, I have to give it credit. You can't judge everything on the same level after all.

The main character is a spunky girl named Jess. She's best friends with Izzy and Matt, and has just discovered something amazing - she can turn invisible. How and why? Finding this out sets her on a path that eventually ends up unraveling a plot involving her past and a few other surprise figures.

There's not really too much to say about this one. It was pretty short. I liked the premise of it when it was recommended to me on Amazon, so I picked it up and gave it a chance, and I'm glad I did. After 2017's horrible roller coaster of a year for news, I can welcome something that's light and simple.

A few spoilerish musings:

First: I liked Max, but his reveal was kind of lackluster because when he first appeared it was made to seem like it should be a surprise revelation. I was expecting a character we already knew, not a new one that only Jess knew but hadn't really talked about much.

Second: The powers are kinda basic. And there's never any downsides. I mean, I know, it's a kids book, but some kinda obstacle involving the powers could've been interesting. I'm also not sure I like how Izzy got her powers without any troubles at all. Or that she got them at all. It's not that I don't like the idea of it, but I also don't like the idea that it was done to include her in the group. Mixing people with powers with people who don't have powers is generally more interesting, and it sends a weird message when you have all the main characters have powers in order to fit in.

Third: So was Jess crushing on Heather, or was Heather crushing on Jess at some point? I got the chemistry between Jess and Max pretty easily, and I figured Izzy had a thing for Matt, but the moments between Jess and Heather kinda surprised me. It seemed just vague enough that I'm not really sure. If they were meant to be hints, then kudos to the author for being inclusive for bisexuality. If not, then uhh...disregard that!

All in all, a fun read. I always enjoy reading about powers, regardless of the age group it's aimed at.

[Moira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Achtung:

Dies ist meine persönliche Meinung. Meine Meinung wurde nicht gefälscht. Alles was ich schreibe kommt von mir. Falls Du das Buch lesen möchtest, bitte ich dich, bei den Buchhandlungen deines Vertrauens oder bei den kleineren zu kaufen. Sie brauchen unsere Unterstützung. Dieses Buch habe ich auf Youtube im Gelesene Bücher juni vorgestellt. Schaut gerne darin vorbei. Freue mich auf Euren Besuch

Die Ideen dahinter finde ich super. Der Klappentext machte mich neugierig auf mehr. Ich hatte mir nur gedacht, das es eine einfache Story ist, das heißt es ging nur um Jess, die unsichtbar das daraus mehr wurde hätte ich nicht gedacht.

Eines Tages merkt Jess, das sie plötzlich unsichtbar wird. Warum? Weiß sie nicht. Aber das will sie heraus finden. Wer jetzt denkt, das es eine einfache Geschichte, dem muss ich enttäuschen. Ich werde jetzt auch nicht spoilern, weil sonst erzeugt das ganze keine Spannung. Ich war sehr überrascht, wie die Handlung seinen laufen Kamm und wie der rote Faden ging. Eigentlich hätte ich es mir denken können, aber ich tat es nicht.

Das Buchcover ist nett gestaltet. Man sieht das Mädchen Jess, das plötzlich unsichtbar ist. Und die Farbe ist blau gehalten.

Der Schreibstil ist sehr kindgerecht und sehr einfach, so dass man das in einem Rutsch lesen konnte. Sie wurde auch spannend geschrieben. Alles in allem eine sehr schöne Geschichte.

[Eve L-A Witherington · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Jessica suddenly starts to disappear, Izzy her best friend tells her and together they work to uncover what's happening whilst also having fun with the situation at hand.

A few weeks previous, her mum's friend Nancy gave her a necklace for her birthday, only when she first removes it does the invisibility stop!

They take it upon themselves to a start investigating into what's happening and bring their friend Tom, a geeky boy from their school year along as the usage of crystals causing the powers comes into play as they discover who's behind it and what caused the effects in the few it has given powers to.

Soon a large research history comes to light as well as a kidnapping twist in the plot comes into the book, the secrets revealed to Jess make her realize she may have been quick to judge some of the people involved...

I enjoyed this one and was super happy to have crystals leading to powers happening and changing people. The kids in this were great characters as the plot flowed on super well.

[Catherine Hudson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars for this book. The beginning was a little slow and I started to not care about the characters. The explanation of the "powers" was definitely not well thought out. Because their frontal lobes have to be growing in order for the powers to work, does this mean that once they become adults they'll lose their powers? And yes, you grow quickly as a baby and as a teenager, but there is still growth in between even if it is slower, so at what point does the growth rate become sufficiently fast enough so that the crystals work? The whole concept was not thoroughly explained. And I also hated the whole "don't tell the adults even though they're the ones who could help us the most" concept. But, I did enjoy Jessica as a female protagonist who doesn't follow the traditional "strong female" role. And I enjoyed the book even more when Heather and Max were introduced. So a slow and slightly boring first half that picks up speed as you read. I wonder if there will be a sequel? I'm not sure I would read it, but perhaps I might.

[Adeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now you see her... Now you don't. 4.5 stars, click "read more" for my rating explained.








Jessica Jenkins has a superpower. Sort of... This read is so quick and fun! Her arm partly disappears during class... How genius is that? Most people want to be more than a person, like maybe have superpowers. This light read will make you feel just you like you have them! Traveling through the book with Jessica Jenkins is so entertaining! A cute twist makes you realize there may be others with powers... But why? An adorable middle-grade mystery, but can all the characters stay safe? The character development and writing skills Liz Kessler has put into this book are phenomenal! She uses her powers for fun things, but gets in a little bit of dangerous trouble... It keeps me hooked right in, for the most part... And again, I must say, this literary art is fantastically quirky. 😊



Sorry, when I was editing this review I cut out a lot so it's a little short... Thanks for reading! I recommend this read!

[Leftbanker · Rating 5 out of 5]

¿Alguien Ha Visto a Jessica Jenkins?

To my knowledge this book hasn’t been translated into Spanish. I hope to hell not as I’ve been working assiduously on a translation. I think it would be a good book to use to teach upper intermediate English language students. Most of the reading material you find for younger students of this level is pure crap and not nearly as much fun as this novel. The problem is there is a lot of slang in this book and just the sort of ungrammatical English that kids actually use but baffles readers who aren’t native speakers. If kids can read a few chapters in Spanish I think this may help them brave onward in English once they get their heads around what the story is about and learn a bit about the characters.

One of my favorite books of all time is Memoirs of an Invisible Man by H.F. Saint so this book about invisibility hits home.

[Maleena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Has anyone seen Jessica Jenkins? The author is Liz Kessler and the genre is Fiction. I wanted to read this book because it was all about Jessica and her friends finding out that they had superpowers! It reminded me a lot about powerless and I love reading about when normal characters find out big secrets. I like this book a lot because you never know what Jessica and her friends are going to find out next. You can’t put this book down even if you have to. The book is in Jessica‘s point of view. This book is very smooth and it’s very well put together. Every single part fits in with each other, I think that’s what I like about it the most. I would definitely recommend this book to a classmate because it’s a fantastic book to read in your free time.