Skip to main content

My Plain Jane

Image result for my plain jane
My Plain Jane
My Plain Jane, by Brodi Ashton. Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows, is a story that tells of mischievous ghosts, an unexpected romance, and of, most importantly, Miss Jane Eyre. This book is a magnificent spin-off of the book by Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre. 
Plot Summary:

     Jane Eyre is an extraordinarily plain girl that lives at an all-girls, boarding school called Lowood in England. Charlotte Brontë, yes that Charlotte Brontë, is Jane’s best friend at Lowood, so she thinks. Jane’s actual best friend is a ghost, yes, a ghost. This particular ghost’s name is Helen. Helen died of the “graveyard disease”, this is common at Lowood as it is very common for girls to suffer from frostbite (while still inside) and mild starvation (better put as extreme hunger). Helen is very outspoken (ironic for a ghost, right?), but only Jane can hear her, because (as Jane learns later in the story) she is a “beacon”. I “beacon” is someone who can command ghosts and the ghosts always obey. Alexander Blackwood is the star agent at The Society for the Relocation for Wayward Spirits. This society is organized by the British government, though the King does not really support it. Alexander Blackwood visits Lowood and finds out that Jane is a beacon. He asks her repeatedly to become a part of the society. Charlotte thinks that Jane should definitely take the job offer, as it pays very well. (Especially for a woman in this time. They could be a governess or…a governess, really there was nothing else for a career option.) Jane decides she does not want to become part of the society and becomes a governess (of course) for significantly older, very attractive, Mr. Rochester. Alexander finds Miss Eyre quite suspicious and decides to investigate the Rochester house and why Jane would not take his offer. Charlotte is so jealous of the offer and is in such disbelief that Jane Eyre turned it down that she demands Mr. Blackwood take her along. Mr. Blackwood agrees not without protest. While they are investigating the Rochester house, they discover not only why Jane did not take the offer but also a cynical plot to destroy Mr. Blackwood and the society.

Author Praise and Critique:

     The Lady Janies have done it again. I loved My Lady Jane and this book is has raised the bar yet again. The character development is exceptional, as you really get attached to and get to know the characters. The characters are well developed, but the British, inner-city setting is described with beautiful and realistic imagery. The only comment I have is, since I am not a huge fan of magic, there is a lot of magic in this story, much like My Lady Jane. Both books have about the same amount of magic, so the amount was not a really a surprise. Since I do not like fantasy that much, it was a little much for me. That said, I loved the romantic side of the story. Since actual research and history went into this novel, the ways of courtship of this time in history are fun to read about, because it is such a contrast to our society today.

Rating and Reasoning:

     I rate this book 4.5 stars because the setting, characters, and romantic relationship are well developed and interesting. The magic was a little much for me.

Audience: 6th, 7th, and 8th graders
Publisher: HarperTeen
Date Published: June 28, 2018
ISBN: 9780062652775
Format: Hardcover
Genre: Fantasy/Romance


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Author Spotlight: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley At my school, I am a Library Leader. (Library Leaders promote reading in the middle school and recommend books for the younger grades.) The Library Leaders had the fortunate opportunity of eating lunch and meeting with Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. We got to ask her questions and just talk with her. Mrs. Bradley also spoke to the whole seventh and eighth grade in assembly about her research. 1)      When/How does she write? Mrs. Bradley writes in the morning, but this depends on her chores for the day. She got into her routine when her children, now graduating college and out of college, were small and went to school. She would always wait until her husband took them to drop them off at school. She likes for her writing space to be very quiet. She prefers typing when she when she writes as to writing. (This may be pretty common; I do not know what the common format among writers is today. I just thought I would include eve...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Great Literary Trip: Day 1

Hello everyone, and welcome to 16 days on the road with Between the Pages! I am traveling the east coast for around two weeks finding the best bookstores, exploring literary sites, and plundering my way through roughly 2,000 miles of land, through hamlets and cities, through rain and sun. This reader is up to the challenge. Are you? As promised, I will supply a daily report of my wanderings including the cities we explored, the sites we discovered, and the shops we visited. Without further adieu, here is day 1! (More exciting reports are to come, as driving was today's main {*only*} activity.) Day 1 CITIES We made it to three main cities today: Bristol, TN , Knoxville, TN , and Charlottesville, VA . Again, today's main activity was driving (and driving and driving and driving). Today was not my first journey to any of the three cities; however, this road trip shed new light on each one. BOOKSTORES Our first literary stop of the entire trip was a spontaneous one. The original pl...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Southeast's Best Bookstores

      Southern Living's  The South's Best Bookstores highlights five bookstores in the southeastern United States that the publication deems noteworthy based on a wide range of traits. While the article does not go into much detail nor has a central theme besides telling readers of good bookshops, the bookstores look credible after further research. While I have only been to one of the stores (Sundog Books in Seaside, which I love), I did research on the others and found four more bookshops to put on my bucket-list.        THE ALABAMA BOOKSMITH      While not very old, The Alabama Booksmith in Birmingham has a long history of literary predecessors. Even so, The Alabama Booksmith holds its own among its successful precursors considering it opened its doors in 1999. The shop makes it its mission to sell all signed copies.  "Every book in the store is now signed!" - The Alabama Booksmith, About Our Store.  Additiona...
Post a Comment
Read more