The Kari AnnAlysis

Jane is your normal college freshman, on the bit of the nerdy side. She doesn’t really party, doesn’t have a gaggle of girls that she hangs out with and doesn’t really know much about pop culture. But when her parents die suddenly, Jane is left on her own with no money to continue paying for her further education. She drops out of Sarah Lawrence and heads to find a job as a nanny.

Well Jane’s lack of pop knowledge actually benefits her and she gets a gig as the nanny for rock icon Nico Rathburn.  It starts a little rocky, but within a short period of time, Nico takes a liking to the plain Jane. They start spending time together and bonding but a mystery at his mansion ends up tearing them apart, with questions if they’ll ever reunite.

When I signed up to be on this book tour, I did it soley for the fact that I loved Jane Eyre so much. A modern-day twist to my favorite book? Of course I’m going to read it. But when I put on Goodreads.com that it was my current read, I got a little nervous seeing other reviews. People either loved it with a passion or hated it with as much passion. So I went into the book a bit apprehensive.

But, I fell in love with it. I put my love for the real Jane aside and kept her locked up in the corner of my mind, kind of like the wife locked in the attic. Yes, there were moments in the book where I said “Oh yeah, that’s very similar to the first book,” but I tried not to compare them too closely. I mean there were fires and lies and the like, but I think Jane holds its own. I will probably never fall in love with another book like I did Jane Eyre, but this kept me reading, even though I knew the premise and story line. Jane is written for today’s reader. I find myself not wanting to read the classics as much as I feel like I should. Maybe my vocabulary isn’t where it needs to be, or maybe I just want easy reads when I get home from death and destruction at work, but I just can’t get into them. I find my mind wandering and give up. I think for someone else that has this problem, Jane would be a good book. They will get the same principal story as Jane Eyre but won’t have to analyze it as much. I also think if they read Jane first, it will make Jane Eyre an easier read!

Sorry if I went off on a tirade, I knew what I wanted to say, but I am not sure if it came out in writing as well as it is in my mind.

One of the things I loved most about this book was how much I felt like I related to Jane. In the original, I had a hard time buying her young age. Maybe it was because it was a different time and women lived different then than we do now, much differently. But with the new Jane, I was able to relate and understand the life she lived. I understand the pop culture and the want to go to school and everything she went through. It made me feel for her more I think than someone who I couldn’t imagine living in their shoes.

I think this is a terrific adaptation for the 21st century. It’s a book with it all. There is love, mystery, sass and friendship that compelled me not to put it down until I was finished! I give Jane 5 bookmarks.

ISBN: 9780316098656
Published: October 11, 2010
Author Website
Kari got this book from Around the World Tours