Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Review: Jane by April Lindner

Book: Jane by April Lindner
Genre: Romance (it's shelved under YA but I think not)
Rating: A-
For: Fun
From: The library

The idea behind this book is to take the story of Jane Eyre, give it a modern setting, and change Mr. Rochester into a rock star. Yes, it's quite the fun premise.

The interesting thing about this book is how close to the original it is. Actually, sometimes I wished it would have changed things up just a bit (besides the rock star thing), but still I totally enjoyed it.

Jane has been going to an art school when her parents are both killed in a car crash. So she finds herself needing money and so she goes looking for a nanny job. Because of her isolation from all things pop culture, she is chosen to be the nanny for long time rock icon Nico Rathburn.

And... if you've read Jane Eyre.... you pretty much know what happens from there!

This was  fun quick read, and one that I was totally in the mood for. Mostly, it just made me want to read the original again and perhaps re-watch the Timothy Dalton version of the movie just so I can hear him say "Oh my cherished preserver!" one more time. (This is a long-ish clip but if you want to remember this particular intense scene it's from 1:40 to 4:00. I promise, you'll want to watch it!)



Yes, as fun as these re-tellings are, they just don't have the punch of the originals. Surprise surprise.

Bottom line: I enjoyed it a lot!

Other Reviews:

Angieville
Janicu's Book Blog
Stacked
Book Harbinger

Author April Lindner's website.

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for the link. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I do like the Timothy Dalton version although it's getting dated. *grin* I'd love to watch that clip when I have a second.

    So I don't know if you know but I work at the OPL as well. I'll have to come up and met you sometime. :)

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  2. Wow! I didn't know you were THAT Holly! :) Yes, do come up say hi sometime. I'm there MTF mornings. I bet you are there at a completely different time, right? Well, that is cool. We need to get you to come to the next blogger party for sure.

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  3. This sounds good! I love these books with the twist on classics!

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  4. I just got an ARC of JANE in the mail. I can't wait to read it!

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  5. I got my copy from the library too - need to read it (and watch that version - it's my favorite too)!

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  6. I've actually never read the original version of Jane Eyre but have seen a movie and read a few retellings. I feel comfortable enough with the story to know what works here and what doesn't. What I liked best was I think this particular retelling will relate to kids, they'll enjoy it far more for having a rockstar in it. It had a few flaws but ultimately I enjoyed it a great deal. Glad you did too.

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