#BookReview: Jane Anonymous by @lauriestolarz @WednesdayBooks

Synopsis: Bestselling author Laurie Faria Stolarz returns with Jane Anonymous, a gripping tale of a seventeen-year-old girl’s kidnapping and her struggle to fit back into her life after she escapes.

Then, “Jane” was just your typical 17-year-old in a typical New England suburb getting ready to start her senior year. She had a part-time job she enjoyed, an awesome best friend, overbearing but loving parents, and a crush on a boy who was taking her to see her favorite band. She never would’ve imagined that in her town where nothing ever happens, a series of small coincidences would lead to a devastating turn of events that would forever change her life.

Now, it’s been three months since “Jane” escaped captivity and returned home. Three months of being that girl who was kidnapped, the girl who was held by a “monster.” Three months of writing down everything she remembered from those seven months locked up in that stark white room. But, what if everything you thought you knew―everything you thought you experienced―turned out to be a lie? 


Goodreads | Amazon

Rating: ★★★★
My Review: This book grabbed me from the very first page!! That prologue was a hit and I could not put this one down at all!! I loved that it was told from Then and Now chapters and these chapters didn't follow a pattern it was a few Then chapters than a few Now chapters.  It helped weave this story about a girl who was kidnapped and then broke free from her captor.  


So to start off let's unpack some of the issues I had with this one.  There are really only three that I had.  One was word choices it made me feel that this book was from the 50s but of course we didn't have cell phones then.  And the other was that when Jane was kidnapped she talks about having a flashlight app. Which yes those do exist but phones past 2007 all had flashlights in them already.  At least as far as I have searched and found. So it made no sense. The last issue I had was that towards the end of the title when Jane is finally coming to terms with what happened to her it felt very rushed.  One second she's still having panic attacks then the next chapter she's coming to terms with the twist in this title and moving on with her life.  PTSD doesn't work that fast.  I would have liked to see this happen gradually throughout the Now chapters and you just don't really see that.  The ending of the title felt like a light switched on and off and all of a sudden a wonderful therapist shows up and fixes everything.  It felt very convenient.  


Other than those three issues this was an amazing story.  I think that the only thing that would have made this one even better would have had one page chapters from Mason's POV.  It was very interesting in reading about Jane's spiral into madness and insanity. I think that it really very real and showed us how easy it really is to loose yourself. I don't really agree that this was a thriller it was more a psychological stalker story. I felt this way because although Jane was kidnapped she was never in any real danger. . The emotional turmoil that Jane and her family and friends go through felt very real and I really liked that we saw the turmoil that her family and friends went through as well as just Jane.   

The twist in the book wasn't so much as obvious but it had that feeling that nothing was what it seemed to be.  When the twist was revealed I wasn't so much as shocked that I was right about the twist,  but one other twist I didn't see coming.  

Overall, this book will not be for everyone. If you have trauma with this topics that this book covers. Then you might want to skip this one.  However, if this is a book for you, what you will find is a fabulous story about a girl that never gave up.  Even after she got away from her captor her thoughts were on finding help for the other two people that were taken.  


One other thing that I would have liked to see would have been the list of hotline numbers for people suffering from PTSD etc.  (I am reading an ARC, this might change for the finished copy) 

Go Into This One Knowing: Kidnapping, Being Held Captive, No Rape, Dual Chapters of Now and Then, Emotional Manipulation, Self Harm (Not Suicide) 

"Stolarz ups the psychological ante...the depth of psychological intrigue is absorbing, and the twist on Stockholm syndrome disturbing...this novel is a testament to how the mind can reshape reality in order to survive...Powerfully graphic." - Kirkus, Starred Review

"A story about lingering trauma, loss, and the journey toward healing, this gripping crime novel could be a documentary from the Investigation Discovery channel. A must-read." - School Library Journal

"This engrossing confessional is both heartbreaking and hopeful." - Booklist

"A brave and bold piece of fiction. Jane Anonymous is riveting. It will scare you, intrigue you, and keep you up reading way too late." - C.C. Hunter, New York Times bestselling author

"An engrossingly tense yet tender story that digs deep. Jane Anonymous isn't your average thriller, it's full of heart and determination." - Tiffany D. Jackson, author of Let Me Hear a Rhyme and Monday's Not Coming

“Thrilling, captivating, and compulsively readable.”―Leila Sales, author of This Song Will Save Your Life

"A timely, suspenseful tale of trauma and its aftereffects – of how you can never go home again and how the things you remember are just as important as the things you don’t. Readers will devour each page like a trail of breadcrumbs left by Stolarz all the way up until the book’s twisty end. There is nothing anonymous about Jane – she is all of us." -Tonya Hurley New York Times bestselling author of the ghostgirl series and The Blessed Trilogy. 

"It's no surprise that Laurie Faria Stolarz has delivered another taut, potent page-turner, replete with shivers and plenty of twists. But with Jane Anonymous, she ratchets up the tension and digs deep, offering the reader a nuanced reflection on identity, memory, and intimacy that grabs hold and doesn't let go." - Micol Ostow, internationally bestselling author of The Devil and Winnie Flynnand Riverdale: The Day Before

"Jane Anonymous is equal parts terrifying and heartbreaking. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I’m STILL thinking about it." ―Stacey Kade, author of Finding Felicity and The Ghost and the Goth

"Jane Anonymous is a haunting, horrifying tale I won't soon forget. Jane grabbed me from the first page and still refuses to let go." - Cyn Balog, Author of Alone and That Night

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Posted in: 5 Stars, Edelweiss, Jessica P., Review, Wednesdays Books, Young Adult