Jane [Paperback]

I did enjoy this, however I'm not sure if that's because the book is good or because I like the original so much.

First, I need to get this off of my chest: as hot as Mr Rathburn is, he ain't no Mr Rochester. Nope. Uh uh. Mr Rochester, your creepy self remains safe near the top of my literary crushes. And who the heck, apart from Nico Rathburn, keeps condoms in silk-lined mahogany boxes? Dude, just no. That'd ruin the moment for me way more than seeing a condom box. However, I must congratulate the book on actually having sex in it. I was kind of worried as to how Lindner was going to approach the whole thing considering a) it is set now, b)Jane is 19 years old (nothing wrong with not having sex at 19 I hasten to add) and c) Rathburn is twice her age or so. I was hoping she wasn't going to go the `I want to save myself for marriage' route. Again, there's nothing wrong with that but Jane didn't come across as thinking that to me.

Anyway, back on track. Like I said above, I don't know if I like this book because I like the original so much. Some things worked for me and other things didn't.

Take Jane herself, for instance. I liked her here far more than I did in the original. Don't get me wrong, she's still quiet and as dull as dishwater but she's not broody and over-analytical about things. That's what always annoyed be about Jane Eyre, she did not shut up sometimes. Quell that internal monologue, woman. The Jane here accepts things and moves on. The Jane then, eh, not so much.

Also, the writing totally worked for me. We thankfully get to skip Jane Eyre's never-ending childhood and that trip across the moors (I did like the original book, honest!). I feel this is what Jane Eyre could have been with the removal of all the guff that bogged the plot down.

To the negatives, though. In Jane Eyre, Rochester keeps his mad wife locked in the attic. In those times, fair enough, I can get behind and believe that. However, Rathburn does exactly the same to his wife. In our time. Why? Because apparently all mental institutions and psychiatric hospitals are awful. Rathburn has millions of dollars, surely he would be able to find his poor wife the help she needs, and in a place worthy of his judgement, whilst keeping the gossip rags off the story to boot. You would think so. He evidently did not.

Final thing: I know this is a retelling of the original story but did so much of it need to be copy pasted into Jane? I liked the writing a lot when it wasn't quoting practically verbatim sections of Jane Eyre. A bit more originality wouldn't have gone amiss.

I can see people loving, hating and merely liking this book and the reasons why. It depends how you feel about the original and how you feel about retellings. Thankfully, unlike certain others, this contains no zombies or sea monsters. I can also see people who found Jane Eyre too much of a slog to read zipping through this one quickly.

Jane Moore has just recently become an orphan, and with no one to help her financially and no one who she can truly turn to, Jane must quit school and find a job. She quickly finds a position as a nanny for Nico Rathburn's daughter, Maddy, at Thornfield Park.

Nico is a rock star who has been through all the troubles that a normal rock star would go through - relationships that go awry and drug problems that make for an escape. However, Nico feels like it's time to clean up and make a comeback, and so he needs someone to take care of Maddy, whose mother is nowhere to be seen, or so people are thought to believe.

With Nico as her new employer, Jane has entered a world full of dark secrets and romance. For some reason, Nico causes Jane to have feelings that go against her rational and practical personality. As their relationship begins to go from boss and employer to something even more, Jane has to be careful, as Nico comes with an attic full of secrets. The emotions between them may be too picture perfect, and letting her guard down might just break her down completely.

April Lindner does an amazing job at modernizing the great classic JANE EYRE, and it tops some of the other classic re-tellings. The plot itself parallels the original, and the characters are so well-developed and intriguing that it does feel like you are reading the classic. JANE is a novel that is part romance and part mystery, and it will leave the reader breathless.

JANE will make readers who have not read JANE EYRE want to go back and pick up the classic to compare the similarities and differences. And with EMMA becoming Clueless, I would not be surprised if JANE was turned into a movie.

Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen

This is another of the books that is intensely personal for me and I have no way of being objective about it. My review will be practically soul-baring but is not designed to promote sympathy/pity it is purely how I relate to the book.

Jane Eyre has always been my favorite book of all time since reading it as a precocious 9 year old, but if anyone asked me why I loved the book so much I couldn't really tell them. I knew it meant far more to me than just the romance but I didn't fully appreciate what that element was until I read Jane. When I finally understood that the book meant so much to me because I identified with Jane, I actually identify with April Lindner's Jane more than the original but the basic elements were present in the original to a degree that subconsciously I made the connection with that character at that early age.

Like April Lindner's Jane, I'm the youngest of 3 children, my siblings are much older and like Jane I was brought up being compared to my siblings unfavorably. My sister was always the pretty one, even winning beauty pageants and being voted carnival queen, so when you're faced with that and told constantly your not as pretty, you believe it. My brother was always the clever one and I was often told I was stupid, thank god I didn't believe that one hey So you see I can identify exactly with Jane in April Lindner's book because this is also what she grew up with.

I have never imagined Jane as plain in the slightest (even if she is portrayed as such in adaptations) only that she has been convinced she is not pretty by having the negative constantly re-enforced. Jane is a lovely person both inside and out and this is what first draws Nico to her. I absolutely adore April Lindner's ability to create such wonderful, three dimensional characters and it adds to my personal enjoyment that rock music features so prominently.

Whereas Mr Rochester can be viewed as domineering and controlling, Nico is a more charismatic character, his appeal is amplified by his passionate nature. As you are probably already aware of the original story you can presume there are skeletons in Nico's closet, however, I did feel more sympathy with Nico than Mr Rochester as he was trying to protect other people rather than himself.

My favorite thing about Jane is her ability to stay true to herself, she doesn't compromise her principles even if it means breaking her own heart. She draws people to her, she always looks for the best in everyone and every situation she finds herself in.

All the basic elements of the original are incorporated into this re-imagining yet for me the world building and character development took the basis to another dimension. For me personally April Lindner's Jane has exceeded the original in every single aspect. For me that is a huge thing, remember Jane Eyre was my favorite book until Jane took its place.