The History of Jane Doe

by Michael Belanger

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 Stars

I need a bucket for these tears! The synopsis on the back of the ARC had prepared me for something "beautiful, horrible, astonishing, hilarious", and this story delivered. I cried, but I also laughed a lot, and I really appreciated Belanger's representation of Jane's struggles with mental illness. It was honest and realistic, and he said those things that we can't get our loved ones to quite understand.
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Be prepared. This book is an emotional roller coaster, but in my opinion, it's a ride worth taking.

Top Ten Reasons to Read The History of Jane Doe

1. Ray was sarcastic, insightful, and his love and knowledge of history was unparalleled.
2. Simon has been added to my list of favorite sidekicks. His adoration of milk and vampires made me smile, and he was also a wonderful, supportive, and big-hearted best friend to Ray.
3. Jane was quirky and interesting without being a manic pixie dream girl. She had this whip smart wit, and I have never encountered a character who counts folk music and conspiracy theories among her favorite things.
4. The friendship between these three was sort of wonderful. I promise there will be lots of laughter for a majority of this book, and most of it will be due to the interactions between these three characters.
5. I have never seen "folk" used in so many ways. Jane wore these obscure folk music t-shirst, which never failed to make me smile with sayings such as "Let's Folk", "Folk You", "O Come, All Ye Folkful". I just started looking forward to seeing what her next t-shirt would say.
6. Tommy Beddington, because I like when people surprise me.
7. The format of the book was days before and days after "the event". It's a format I am a fan of, because I like the back and forth and the buildup.
8. Carnivorous Green Cows and all the other odd attractions in Burgerville. It was fun learning the history of this quirky little town, as well as, getting to know its oddities.
9. Mental health issues were treated in a very honest and sensitive way. We don't get a lot of first hand reflections, because the story was narrated by Ray, but rather, we see how a loved one's mental health issues affected those around them. Ray also worked with a therapists, Richard Dawson, who was simply wonderful. One of my favorite Richard quotes: "Depression is like this black light on everything in your life so you can only see the bad stuff."
10. The ending of this book was beautiful. Yes, I cried buckets, but I thought it was a wonderful way to end Jane's story.

This book was heartwarming and heartbreaking. So grab some tissues and get to know Ray, Jane, and Simon.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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