Review: “Jane” by April Lindner « birth of a new witch.

Title: "Jane"

Author: April Lindner

Genre: YA, fairy tales retold, romance

Publication Date: October 2010

Synopsis: Forced to drop out of an esteemed East Coast college after the sudden death of her parents, Jane Moore takes a nanny job at Thornfield Park, the estate of Nico Rathburn, an iconic rock star on the brink of a huge comeback. Practical and independent, Jane reluctantly becomes entranced by her magnetic and brooding employer, and finds herself in the midst of a forbidden romance. But there's a mystery at Thornfield, and Jane's much-envied relationship with Nico is tested by a torturous secret from his past.

☆: 4/5 – a Jane Austen remake that's better than the original!

Review: I must be the only girl on the planet that can't stand Jane Austen.

There, I said it.

But when I saw this at the library, I figured I may as well give it a whirl. I've enjoyed the literary mashups ("Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies", anyone?) that have been so popular as of late – they make Austen tolerable for me. I hoped that "Jane" would bring that same pleasure. And thankfully, that hope wasn't in vain.

I had my reservations about reading another Austen remake, because the original hadn't really stuck well with me over the years. It puzzles me why girls fall all over themselves over characters like Mr. Darcy (though he wasn't in this book) – give me Dickens over Austen any day. His social justice-centered stories seem much deeper than that of Austen's superficial ones (well, in my opinion, they've always had a more superficial feel to them).

So you can see why I had my reservations about picking up a more faithful, less zombie-filled version of an Austen remake.

Lindner has skills. I will give her that – she has made me actually love this book far more than the original, to the point where I'm wanting to reread the original to compare where she made changes. I got attached to Jane Moore and Nico Rathburn and the entire drama between them, which is rare for me. To say that I loved this book is a very rare thing as I usually run screaming for the hills when I encounter anything even resembling this sort of story.

So, instead of the endless "Jane Eyre" remakes, can we have a movie or a miniseries for this book? I know I'd watch it.

All of my issues with female-centric lit aside, this book is very much worth reading for anyone, Austen fans and the not alike. It dragged me kicking and screaming into Lindner's world, and I had fun with it each minute. Wonderful remake.

Quirk Classics? The ball is now in your court. Wow me.

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