Author: Jessica Baker
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: CreateSpace
Release Date: August 12, 2011
File Size/Pages: 261 KB/218 pgs
Source: Bought
Challenge(s): A-Z Challenge; eBook Challenge
My Rating: 3/5
Summary: Jane and her little sister have been in and out of foster care for the past four years. After being apart from her for over a year this time, the judge has sent them to live with their Mother in Winchester, a small town southeast of Cincinnati, Ohio. Jane refuses to believe that her Mother has quit using Heroin and Jane’s only concern with life is to make sure her four year old sister Lizzie is cared for. Jane is a loner. She is very reserved with her feelings and keeps to herself. She will not let herself become friends with anyone until a new girl from Alabama decides Jane needs a friend whether she wants one or not. And Jane most certainly does not believe in the possibility of love until Landon Whitman (the county’s resident rich boy) decides she needs to be loved. Somehow Jane ends up with a best friend and a boyfriend after professing she would never have either one. Jane’s first summer in this country town turns out to be the best one of her life until she learns that Landon has a devastating secret. Now Jane struggles with the conflict of loving Landon and despising what he does.
Review: Jane's character is only 15-years-old, but she's definitely wise beyond her years. The book begins with Jane and her four-year-old sister, Lizzie, in the car with their mother who is a recovering Heroin addict; their mother has just gotten custody of them and they are moving into a small home owned by the Whitmans, who Jane's mother works for. As we delve deeper into this novel, we learn that Jane is a loner, she doesn't allow herself to make friends, and she's really hard on her mother. She allows herself to get close to Landon Whitman after she's repeatedly mean to him, and she's also warming up to Milah Jo, who's also the new girl. I really wanted to like this book, and I thought I would like it because of the high ratings everyone else were, giving it, but I was wrong. I'm not one to knock someone's writing because I know the hard work that goes into it, but I there were a few things I just couldn't get past. For instance, I wasn't a huge fan of the relationship between Jane and her mother; I mean, get that Jane felt let down by her mom and couldn't get past that, but the entire time I was thinking, "Geez could you have a little sympathy and respect for your mother". Jane's relationship with her mother didn't pick up until about a good 80 or 90 percent into the book. Also, the author's lack of contraction usage was a bit of a distraction for me. Overall, this book really didn't do anything for me; yes, I sympathized for Jane, but her sarcastic attitude kind of made me dislike her character, but I did like the friendship between Jane, Milah Jo, and Landon.
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