Jane, April Lindner

Reading Level:    Young Adult

Hardcover:          384 Pages

Publisher:            Poppy/Little Brown for Young Readers, October 11, 2010

Parasols:               5



Jane Moore's college life comes crashing around her after her parents are killed in a car accident, the stocks they left her are worthless and her brother and sister are unwilling to help out.  So off to Discriminating Nannies, Inc to look for a job that will allow her to save up to go back to college.  Not necessarily the tony Sarah Lawrence.

During the questioning, Jane is found to be the perfect nanny for a celebrity who has retired to Connecticut, but is looking for a comeback, hence the need for a nanny for the five year old child.  As is wont in Jane (and it's predecessor, Jane Eyre), you know that she's going to love the position, she's going to fall for the precocious child and eventually will fall for her employer, Nico Rathburn.

Nico Rathburn is a very nice twin to Bronte's Mr. Rochester.  Perhaps not as tortured as Rochester was, but his tortured soul is still there and Jane seems to be his prozac.  He relaxes around her and can be attentive to little Maddie who in this story is his daughter.  Of course he still tries to make Jane jealous by forming an alliance with a hot photographer who is capturing his big comeback.

Jane Moore is a bit more sedated than the original Jane Eyre.  Although her life was difficult with a spoiled sister and horrible brother, her father seemed to love her.  He was her Bessie.  She manages to internalize everything so comes across as standoffish.  As much as Nico needs to slow down, Jane needs to open up.

When I first started reading this the similarity to Jane Eyre made me wonder if I was just reading a fan fiction or a complete copy cat of Jane Eyre, just updated.  Where is the fine line between this and plagiarism.  I wonder if the author had these same thoughts.  However, I loved this book.  I loved the contemporary feel to it.  And Nico's F-bombs didn't bother me one bit, it was totally in character.  Oh, and the dog? CoPilot... too funny!  There is sex in this book and I always thought that Jane and Rochester were intimate especially when they are planning to get married.  Bronte's sensibility are not like Austen's.

Rathburn is described, but I had a hard time picturing what he looked like.  I got the feel that he was more like Russell Brand than anyone else.  I just had that skinny, beautiful look to him, but was hard around the edges.  Jane is considered plain, but we know that her beauty shines as she starts believing in herself and her love for Nico.

There is the crazy ex-wife.  St. John Rivers is now River St. John and he's a seminary student who helps Jane after she leaves Thornfield Park.  Everything is there.  Lindner misses nothing.  Well except St. John and Jane are somehow related to each other.

If you're a Jane Eyre prudist, you may not like the changes.  I really enjoyed this and glad that I took it out from the library.