Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on
•Pro: Jane was hilarious. She was wry, witty, and fluent in sarcasm. She was a keen observer, who didn't sugarcoat, and her observations were fabulous. Loved her!! Note: for those of you who get my reference, she totally reminded me of Daria, who I also loved.
•Pro: Siblings!! I adored Jane and her younger sister, Carol. You could see the mutual admiration they had for each other, and it was a very lovely sisterly bond they shared. Carol was much more open about her feelings, but Jane gave a little here and there, and she eventually did something major, because she cared so much for Carol.
•Pro: There were so many issues explored and I really enjoyed being there with Jane as she worked her way through. Jane tackled mental health issues, a crisis of faith, strained familial relationships, a failed romance, and issues with her friends. She was also trying to get her life back on track after her "personal crisis and her subsequent expulsion". There were many times I worried if she would give up, but she was determined to make this new opportunity work and to prove to herself and everyone else, that she cold do it.
•Pro: The reality show, House of Orange, was fantastic. From the dynamic in the house to Jane's phycological experiments on the other players. I have watched quite a few reality competition shows in my lifetime, and this one was a great amalgam of many of my faves. It had all those signature elements I love and was terribly fun.
•Pro: There were a few fabulous female friendships in the book. My faves were between Jane and her best friend, Bonnie, and between Jane and Jenna, which was unexpected.
•Pro: Maybe we didn't get to know the auxiliary characters that well, but I adored each and every one of their quirks. They all had something quite unique about them, which delighted me and added to the fun.
•Pro: I laughed every time Jane intentionally butchered an idiom just to get a rise from her father. It was harmless, but he took the bait every time.
•Pro: I am a fan of alternate formats and really liked that this story was told through Jane's journal entries. Jane's narrative is interspersed snippets of conversations and, it worked really well for me. I especially liked how Oelke let the drama unfold, only letting us know bits and pieces of why Jane was expelled. When I finally got the whole story, my heart pretty much cracked in half for her.
•Pro: This is Jane's climb back from the depths of despair and failure, and I love that the ending is so positive.
(Jane totally reminds me of Daria)
Overall: I so enjoyed accompanying Jane on her rocky road to recovery. It was filled with humor as well as thoughtful reflection. A solid debut, which has me looking forward to reading more of Oelke's work.
*ARC received in exchange for an honest review.
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Reading updates
- Started reading
- 2 January, 2018: Finished reading
- 2 January, 2018: Reviewed