"Jane Anonymous"

Jane Anoynmous

Written by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Reviewed by Diana Iozzia

Jane Anonymous tells the fictional yet realistic tale of a girl possibly named Jane, who has changed the names, places, and dates surrounding her kidnapping. Calling herself Jane Anonymous, Jane has chosen to process and heal from her abduction, by using writing as her medium. A lover of books and poetry, Jane’s words feel rhythmic and eloquent, while also sounding natural from a teenage perspective. Her narrative is written in two halves: Then and Now, referring to her capture period and then during her healing period.

Jane was kidnapped by a young attractive man, who kept her in a small dark room. She writes that he provided her with food and materials that she requested, if she completed chores and tasks that he required of her. She also tells of how another captive, Mason, would climb through air ducts to visit her daily, bring her presents, and plan their escape.

Jane’s “Now” period consists of her reluctantly interacting with her friends, family, police officers, and therapists after escaping and returning home. She feels confused by the identity of her kidnapper, her leaving Mason behind, and why she was chosen. Her family and friends badger Jane to learn details and bring her back to her normal routines, although she is incredibly resistant. Her behavior now recalls the learned behavior from her captivity.

For the most part, I found the entire book to be a bit messy. In trying to tell the story of Jane, author Stolarz quite obviously wanted to make this interesting, a bit exciting, and shocking, while making this story appeal to teens. I think that if this was told as a fictional memoir without plot twists and manipulative narration, this book would have succeeded more in my mind. Stolarz has a pattern of writing books about serious topics but making them slightly exploitative and inappropriate. The content is appropriate and is important for teens to read, but she made this a little too ‘fun’. There are melodramatic moments where Jane feels sad to see her first crush, when she overhears mean girls talking about her in the bathroom, and when her mother harasses her selfishly. I find that this book feels more like a Degrassi / Beverly Hills 90210 teen drama special, than a thought-provoking and serious book like Room.

If you are looking for an inspiring narrative with nuance and important messages about abduction, I recommend you look elsewhere. Read and promote memoirs of true kidnapping survivors, rather than support a cheap teen drama. If you’re looking for an easy read that you don’t need to think about on the beach, then fine, read this. As a long-time fan of Stolarz’s series, Touch and Blue is For Nightmares, I was strongly disappointed in Jane Anonymous’s content. There are some moments that shine a necessary light on survivors, but I recommend looking elsewhere and supporting real survivors.

I rate this novel at three on a five star rating scale.

I received a complimentary copy of Jane Anonymous to read and review. Thank you to Wednesday Books at St. Martin’s Press (love you) for the opportunity.