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Jane by April Lindner 

LibriDilectio

Jane, April Lindner
(Gr 9+)

Poppy. ARC provided by publisher.

Jane Moore has just lost her parents. With no one to turn to and no money to stay in school, she must leave Sarah Lawrence, and take a job as a nanny. Since she’s a rather unconventional young woman, uninterested in pop culture, she is sent to work for one of the world’s biggest rock stars, Nico Rathburn. Jane is serious and pragmatic, but, immediately drawn to her new employer, she falls deeply in love with him. However, there is a dark secret hidden within the walls of Thornfield Park, one that could destroy their love forever.

I have to start by saying that Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is my all time, uncontested favorite book. I read it for the first time in 7th grade and I was completely obsessed with the characters, the story, the setting, everything! When my husband and I were still dating, I made him read it and discuss it with me. We even had a passage from it read at our wedding! Jane Eyre is my super duper favorite book EVER! Yes, that means I have a predisposition to like April Lindner’s Jane.

Okay, now that you know my mind set starting this book you can judge for yourself why I liked it. I raced through the story, excited to see how my favorite characters would be portrayed. Yes, that means nothing was a surprise, but I didn’t care. This is a great re-telling of the best story ever ever ever (I know, that’s just my opinion, but I bet some of you agree). No, of course it isn’t as good as the original, and yes, I’d obviously rather read that than this, but I love April Lindner for finding a way to bring Jane Eyre to the attention of new readers. Jasper Fforde did it with The Eyre Affair (another fun book for super fans like me), and now Lindner has done it in a more straight forward way that teen girls will gobble up.

I was skeptical at first when I read that Mr. Rochester was going to be a rock star in this version of the story, but it actually worked really well. His dark, arrogance really translates to musician! He was portrayed in a way that you could see the original character, but Nico Rathburn felt like a new man. The same can be said of Jane herself. She still felt very true to the original heroine, while still having a new, modern woman holding all her earnest, serious, wonderfulness.

This book will hopefully bring new readers to the original and give super fans a new way to experience their favorite characters. Teenage girls will love this dark Cinderella story and I’d bet some adults will be drawn to it as well. Look for Jane on shelves next week!