I Am Not Jessica Chen

The central premise of Ann Liang’s I Am Not Jessica Chen rests on a trope known as the “body swap” trope. This is a storytelling device in which two entities—often humans, but sometimes different beings—swap consciousnesses to end up in each other’s bodies. Some early examples in fiction include the 19th-century novel Vice Versa, as well as the children’s book, Freaky Friday (1972), which has also been adapted into a mainstream movie (Burnett, Dean. “Body Swapping: The Science Behind the Switch.” The Guardian, 2014). Contemporary examples with their own twist on the trope include David Levithan’s young adult novel Every Day (2012), and Airhead (2008) by Meg Cabot.

The body swap trope can be employed in two different ways. In the first, the switch occurs by way of some unexplained magic, such as a wish that is granted or a machination of the universe. In the second, some sort of technological aid allows the swap to happen using logic that fits within the book’s universe, such as Richard Morgan’s series, Altered Carbon. In Liang’s novel, Jenna’s fervent wish upon a shooting star is implied to have led to the body swap.