Books › This isn't what it looks like (Secret series #4)
This isn't what it looks like (Secret series #4)
423 pages
A quirky, fourth-wall-breaking adventure that plunges you into a dreamlike mystery where nothing is quite as it seems.
What it feels like
Reading this installment feels like being handed a puzzle box by a highly suspicious, wildly entertaining friend. The narrative moves at a brisk clip, constantly winking at the reader through footnotes and conspiratorial asides that make you feel like part of an exclusive club. As the story splits between a frantic real-world rescue mission and a surreal, time-bending dreamscape, the mood balances quirky whimsy with genuine suspense. The prose is sharp, sarcastic, and endlessly playful, demanding your active participation to piece together the clues. It is a perfect fit for readers who delight in meta-fiction, secret societies, and the thrilling sensation that the author is speaking directly to them while hiding the most important secrets just out of reach.
- Mood
- dreamlike
- quirky
- suspenseful
- whimsical
- Tone
- conspiratorial
- wry
- playful
- meta-fictional
- snarky
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- power of memory · reality versus illusion · loyalty in friendship · uncovering hidden truths
- The writing
- Highly conversational and meta-fictional, the prose frequently breaks the fourth wall with footnotes, warnings, and witty asides.
- The arc
- The journey shifts from disorienting isolation and frantic worry to a thrilling, puzzle-solving triumph of friendship.
- Who it's for
- Middle-grade readers who love solving puzzles, snarky narrators, and feeling like they've been let in on a massive, dangerous secret.
Content notes
- medical emergencies
- mild peril
About the book
Cass finds herself alone and disoriented in a dream-like world, while back at home she is in the hospital in a coma with Max-Ernest desperately searching for a way to awaken her.
Sequel to: This book is not good for you
Description from Open Library.
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