You might be able to guess from the title but this middle grade book brings its own tiktok take on the feel-good movie, 13 Going on 30. I’m surprised it hasn’t been done before since it’s so beloved. At least it’s something new from the constant variations of Freaky Friday.

Harper Lancaster is thrilled that on her twelfth half-birthday (because half birthdays are a thing in the Lancaster household since Harper’s actual birthday sometimes gets swept up with Thanksgiving), her parents finally allow her to join the 21st-century and post on her tiktok account instead of lurking on others. Now she can spread her lip-sync videos and share affordable make-up tips while rocking out to Taylor Swift. She might even get a like from her idol, Blake Riley.

But not everything is so sweet on her half-birthday. Even though she gets almost three thousand followers in one post, she’s still being treated like a little kid by her parents. She can’t go into a dog-walking business with her best friend even though she’s responsible enough with her baby sister and her dog.

Her best friend and her are fighting over Celia Darrow. The most popular girl in school who invited them to her birthday party. Harper secretly wants to be her and join the coveted Cambridge Street Girls group but Ava just thinks she’s a phony.

Worst of all, Ava is right when it is apparent that Celia was forced to invite Harper and Ava on request from Harper’s mom who got the party reservations at the exclusive Sugar Crazy.

Harper doesn’t want to ever show her face at school again. She wishes she can be older, that she could be 22 as Taylor Swift sings about. Harper wants to fast-forward to a time where she is living on her own, confident, having a magical and wonderful time on her own terms. Instead she’s stuck at 12 limited by parents and rules and her own insecurities.

So she makes a wish on the birthday wish filter on tiktok. The crazy thing is, it works.

Now Harper’s 22 but she has no idea how she got where she is. Apparently she’s a marketing director (and friends!) with Blake Riley. She’s also friends with Celia as co-marketing director of Blake’s company. She has fabulous hair, her own aparment and. . .

She lost her old friends, never sees her family, is on bad terms with sister, never went to college, and everyone at work calls her “Hellish Harper.” The last part bringing some serious The Devil Wears Prada-Miranda Priestly vibes that just add to the early 2000s movie feel of the book.

Yeah, she may look great on the outside but it’s clear that she’s grown up to be a rude human being. Now it’s up to he rto figure out what she did wrong in her life, and if she can fix it. More importantly, she can go back to 12 and be able to experience growing up?

Jen Calonita brings her Hollywood know-how to the new world of influencers and tiktokers that live high lives. The two worlds seem pretty similar with those who want to make use their fame to go into business and make change and those who cling to fame and will backstab and bully their way into staying ontop because they have no other skills or degree to fall back on.

In fact, in connecting this to Calonita’s previous series, Secrets of My Hollywood Life, I found that Harper shared some similarities to Kaitlin. Both are unsure of what they want to do in their lives in comparison to their put-together, goal-achieving friends, and both are a bit wimpy in standing up to their parents and to mean girls, trying their best not to rock the boat. But that’s fine as it’s a good message for young readers.

It’s okay that you don’t have a talent quite yet, you’ll find it. In fact, college (and education in general) is a good way to explore your options. You’ll eventually find something as long as you work for it. This is put in stark comparison to the life of 22 year old Harper whose quick rise to fame led to her to be aimlessly pulled around by others because she never stuck to one thing or worked at it because she feared being seen as “not smart.” Instead she became a social climber since she had no other passions to sink into.

Harper’s arc is done well and the other characters were entertaining as foils to her 22 year old self with Blake representing who she’d prefer to be as an influencer; Celia the toxic side; Ava as the realist whose college path intrigues Harper; and Reese who is now 12 to Harper’s 22 who helps remind Harper that 12 isn’t too bad and helps guide her in this world that she has no idea to navigate.

Because it is a new world and Calonita populates it with cool future tech like phones being in the ear that you just touch for your messages to appear on holographic screens, sync-ing up contacts by touching the small-bluetooth phones together, drone delivery, and small, quiet ubers. She also makes plenty of references to current celebrities like Taylor Swift and Harry Styles being “ancient” in that world yet still retaining appeal much as people like to still rock out to AC/DC and Journey.

There’s a requisite romance that doesn’t add much but I suppose it is another angle for Harper to reflect on that she needs to speak her mind and speak up for herself.

But the best part is how Taylor Swift pervades the book as her lyrics give Harper inspiration and a bonding tool with her sister, showing how much music is universal. Plus it’s just catchy and sets the atmosphere as well.

There were some mistakes that did catch my attention like saying Harper can’t wait for her twelveth birthday when she’s talking about thirteen, Ana instead of Ava on p. 182 and misplaced period here, “What Zach’s doing is amazing, and of course. He tutored younger kids in middle school and was part of every philanthropic club the school ran,” (p.184). So probably another reread would have been good before setting it out.

Overall, a nice feel-good read that matches the pastel color of the cover. It’s fun and giddy while delivering a needed-message about how every age (whether it be 12 or 22) has its ups and downs, it’s what you make of it that counts.