Review: I Knew You Were Trouble by Paige Toon

Title: I Knew You Were Trouble, (Jessie Jefferson #2)
Author: Paige Toon
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's UK
Publication Date: 30th July 2015
Pages: 336
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 4/5
Purchase: Amazon

Life as the undercover daughter of a rock god isn't going to be easy. How will Jessie adjust to her old boring life again after spending her summer living it up with her dad in LA? With tough decisions ahead (and not just choosing between two hot boys), can she cope juggling her two very different lives?

Summer may be over, but Jessie's story is just beginning...

Sunshine, rock gods and Hollywood hearthrobs! Jessie Jefferson is back in the next instalment from bestselling author Paige Toon. Perfect for fans of Geek Girl, Jessica Cole and Girl Online.

Luckily I only read The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson quite recently and so didn't have all that long to wait for I Knew You Were Trouble as I already had a review copy! I couldn't wait to see how Jessie Jefferson was going to cope returning home to the UK and her 'normal' life after a summer spent living the celebrity lifestyle (albeit undercover as nobody knows yet that she is rock star Johnny Jefferson's secret daughter). Jessie was such a normal and believable character in The Accidental Life, before and after the revelation and so I hoped this would continue in this sequel.

I would have said before reading these books that if I found out one of my parents was world famous and filthy rich then I would have no qualms about upping sticks and immersing myself in the life that came with all of that but Jessie returns home and must somehow keep it a secret otherwise her life will be changed forever. This is especially difficult with a certain character who goes by the name of Tom... In The Accidental Life Jessie faced the obligatory Paige Toon triangle when she met Jack in LA and this time around she once again must decide where her heart truly lies. In the beginning that's quite easy because Tom is there and he's interested whereas Jack is back in LA and seemingly not all that interested in keeping in touch with Jessie...

Johnny's wife Meg's relationship with Jessie was intriguing in The Accidental Life. She was a little standoffish and understandably a little wary about Jessie's true intentions but the relationship between the pair did improve as the book went on. Still though Jessie has some reservations about Meg but it's only when we overhear a conversation between Meg and Johnny that we realise Meg does care about Jessie and we witness the similarities between the pair. Meg says to Johnny about how Jessie needs to live a normal life, and do everything a normal teenager should be doing without doing so under the media spotlight. After all, she is speaking from experience. I knew it would only be a matter of time before it did all come out though and wondered how everybody would react. In The Accidental Life Jessie had a somewhat stilted relationship with stepfather Stu when she sort of went off the rails a little bit after the death of her mother. Their relationship is explored a little more in this book and I loved witnessing that father/daughter relationship that they have and it's so clear that they do actually care about one another.

I Knew You Were Trouble is a great book for Young Adults (and adults!) as it is the perfect escapism from everyday life and features a heroine that whilst a little rough around the edges for her age (she did come across as a little older at times), she is a character readers can really relate to and believe in and of course it's exciting to witness her living this crazy new life. And it shows whilst on the surface being rich and famous might appear to be all that, that's not to say that it isn't without its problems, just like the rest of us have. And just like Jessie is about to find out in this book. I Knew You Were Trouble was over far too soon for my liking, and the ending left me excited at continuing Jessie's story in the future. For now though I will have to read Paige's novels which first introduced us to the characters of Johnny and Meg!