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Jane is a retelling of Jane Eyre.
Not a “sorta-like-Jane Eyre” sort of book, but a complete modern retelling of the story.
If you have not read Jane Eyre, there will be spoilers in this review.
Jane is a nanny at the Connecticut home of a famous musician. What she learns about herself, how she creates relationships and remains true to what she thinks is best are at the heart of this story. Jane is just as shy, strict and “moral” as in the original. I put “moral” in quotes because there is bedroom time with the Mr. Rochester character, which I guess had to be thrown in there to make it more modern?
Jane “felt” right to me. I liked how the author chose to weave this new story with Mr. Rochester as a rock-and-roll legend — it sets up that giant life-experience gap. But, funny, the great setup made it hard for me to really believe! It does feel so unlikely, their relationship. The pieces all do fit together, though, and it was definitely engaging enough to keep my attention.
The only other annoying thing, which CLEARLY comes with the territory, is that you know what’s going to happen. Well, partly annoying because the tension just isn’t there, but also interesting to see how she makes it work.
So, I guess I really liked it and also I kind of didn’t, but I think it’s more my own problem than a problem with the writing itself, which is quite good.
Rated: High for language (multiple f-bombs and moderate language) as well as a couple vaguely steamy (for young adults) bedroom scenes.
