Jane Anonymous by Laurie Faria Stolarz, 320 pages. Wednesday
Books (St. Martin’s Press), 2020. $18.
Language: R (26 swears, 4 “f”); Mature Content: PG-13;
Violence: PG-13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
When 17yo Jane is taken and held captive for months
on end, she is changed beyond her -- and her loved ones’ -- understanding and
can’t fit back into her old life. As Jane tells readers her story, flipping
from “then” to “now” and back again, maybe she can start to hope for healing.
Jane’s story starts roughly as she breaks the fourth wall
and then disorients the reader by flipping between time periods. I was worried
that I wouldn’t be able to follow the sudden changes, so I was relieved when it
turned out to simply be a slow learning curve. As Jane suffered mentally during
and after her experience, I ached for her. This is not a feel-good book to
laugh through; in fact, I would be hard-pressed to remember any comic relief.
While the seriousness of the topic and overtone is constant, it was not a
deterrent; I still wanted to read and know what happened. The mature content
rating is for implied stalking and sexual harassment; the violence rating is
for kidnapping, assault, and intentional and unintentional self-harm.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
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