Nice Try, Jane Sinner

by Lianne Oelke

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

I decided pretty much in the heat-of-the-moment that I wanted to reread Nice Try, Jane Sinner for the Reading Rush this year, and I'm glad I did.  It's been a little bit since I picked up a mood read in hardcopy.  I believe I liked it better this time, because I knew Jane better and what to expect from her.  Still an entertaining book on a second read, because the characters are compelling.

And the characters, have to be compelling, and for two reasons.  First of all, the college-level reality TV show House of Orange is the central plot of the book, and if a reality TV show, you need interesting people.  Second, Jane expresses interest in psychology and we spend some time with her very own internal therapist.  There's a lot of levels of personality in observation here, as well as discussions about mental health.  I think the depth of character was really successful and interesting, more so the second time through.

Finally, I'm sort of amazed and very appreciative of how successful the storytelling format is here.  Nice Try, Jane Sinner is told in a journal format, yet still manages to keep consistent pacing, great humor, and successful visual world building.  All in all, my second read has pushed this one up from a four star review, to a five.

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Original Review: 4 Stars (November 2018)

Nice Try, Jane Sinner is one of those books with a lot of snark. For me, this means that the personality of the main characters seemed to falter and become flat for a while, but it's still amusing enough that I think that Jane will appeal to a wide range of audiences.

Her life feels meaningless after the Incident, so Jane half-heartedly tries to pick up the pieces and get away from everything that makes her feel small and pointless. It's easier said than done, especially when family, friends, and society are trying to "help" you, but it feels like they're just digging your hole a bit deeper. Jane's escape is into the reality TV show, House of Orange.

Lianne Oelka is smart here. The House of Orange gets you involved in Jane's life, but also in the show itself. The slimy characters you want voted out pull you along in the story probably more than "will Jane or won't Jane pass sociology". I'm not a reality show person, but it's really easy to let those things suck you in.

I liked this book well enough, but honestly didn't love it. I thought it was well-written and I appreciated the conversation about personal beliefs and overcoming prejudice, but I wasn't all that invested in Jane herself. I think that this book is definitely worth a read, though, and I'd read Oelke's next book.