by Betsy T. (link)
Genre drama
Pairings none
Length 11 chapters
Status Completed (with sequel)
Stories about or from the point of view of one of the younger four Hansons are not particularly common. It’s kind of weird territory, really, to write about one of the ones who didn’t choose to be famous. At times I feel weird about that, but mostly I feel like what we write is about such fictionalized versions of the real people that as long as it’s kept well away from them, it’s not a problem. All that said, I can’t recall having ever read a story about Jessica, and I’m not sure how much of a story there is to be told about her at such a young age.
The story, written and set during the height of Hanson’s fame, deals unsurprisingly with what it’s like to be the non-famous, forgotten younger sister. I expected as much. On the plus side, it isn’t overly dramatic — no abusive stage family to seen here, just the typical childish perspective on things that causes nearly every child to make an attempt (however poorly thought out) at running away at some point.
Little Jessica, Big Apple is a fairly sparse and short story, and not entirely believable. The entire plot gets wrapped up by one huge coincidence, and the police involvement isn’t entirely realistic. A lot of stories work around that sort of coincidence, though, so I don’t count that against this one too much. It’s a short, cute little read, though — nothing terribly deep, but perhaps that will come in the sequel.
Review by Bethany (website)