No Filter

Skovron, Kelley. No Filter
February 6, 2024 by Scholastic Paperbacks

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

**Spoiler alert.**

Janessa "Jinx" lives with her aunt in Greenbelt, Maryland after the death of her father. She misses him, dresses in his old concert t shirts, and uses his camera to earn some extra money by taking photographs for local businesses. She has a support network in the closeknit, planned community, including older friend Blaine Chen, who takes an interest in her photography. She gets pizza from a local shop, still interacts with former babysitter Monica, and knows many of the business owners in the area. Even though her aunt works long hours, she takes her to Ms. Simmons, her therapist that she picked because her photo showed her nose ring, for help in dealing with her grief over her father's death. She also identifies Jinx's OCD and helps her process that. As Jinx works on commissions for various businesses and individuals (like classmate Swapna, whose mother wants headshots to further her daughter's modeling career) in the summer, she notices a smudge on some of her pictures. She has Blain take her to a photography shop to have her camera checked out, and learns about the spirit photography phenomenon. When nothing is wrong with the camera, she starts to wonder if her father is haunting her. We learn more about her past; her mother passed away, and her father, whose rock band career started out well but had to be abandoned so he could take care of Jinx, descended into drug and alcohol abuse, neglecting Jinx. Everyone around knew what was going on, but didn't step in to get Jinx the help she needed. As the smudge on the pictures becomes bigger, we also see Jinx being stalked by her own alter ego, who is punishing everyone who didn't help Jinx when she was younger. Shops are egged, windows are broken, and the house where Jinx lived with her father is set on fire. Will Jinx be able to make peace with her troubled past and get the help that she needs in the present? 

Strengths: I definitely want to visit Greenbelt, Maryland now! Jinx's neighborhood sounds fascinating, and I love that she is able to travel around on her own and interact with so many people. Her photography business is fascinating, and a great example of Kids Doing Things. I was also glad to see therapy positively depicted, especially in regard to her dealing with her OCD tendencies. The information about spirit photography was also a good inclusion.
Weaknesses: It was good to see that there is a warning right at the beginning of the book that there is mention of suicide, and it's very clear that Jinx's father took his own life after suffering with addiction issues. This is something that many people want to read about, but I do not. This is mostly a "me" issue, but this book has many elements that might be hard for sensitive or younger readers to process.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who liked Haydu's One Jar of Magic or Bishops' Things You Can't Say.