Jane, by April Lindner

So, I thought we'd come back home today and I'd start up posting again - I do have a few fun books to share with you. However, emergencies and mean airlines struck and we're out of town until Halloween. Which isn't a bad thing, it just means we're missing home like crazy.
I do have, however, a review for you - finally, right?!
I have long awaited the publication of this book:

Jane, by April Lindner
Young Adult, 2010

In a modern retelling of Jane Eyre, Jane Moore is forced to drop out of college when her parents die leaving her nearly penniless. Taking a position as a nanny to a heartthrob musician seems temporary, but as the attraction grows between her and rocker Nico Rathburn, hard decisions have to be made as mysteries and long-dead secrets unfold.

So...the truth is, no matter how good of a writer someone is, they can't really replace an incredibly classic like Jane Eyre. And I wouldn't WANT them to. But I can compare the obvious - do they do a good job with the characters? Does your heart ache for Jane as much as it does in the original? So character by character I'll tackle that for you:
Jane - Lindner's best character, she was soft, warm-hearted, sensible and very much the Jane Eyre type I expected. Her moral fiber is something both rare and appreciated in the modern world and I loved that she had the guts to stand up for herself and her beliefs.
Mr. Rochester (aka Nico Rathburn) - this was a harder one. On one hand, yes he was the broody melancholy grump I expected, and yet...he wasn't. Lindner used the F-word over and over to try and define his character, which was something I hated (and used as my excuse to return the book - I don't like books in my house with that word in it). And yet he, like Rochester, seemed to appreciate Jane for who she was, understanding the worth of someone not based on outward appearance but true inner beauty.

The rest of the characters I'll leave for your perusal. Just to reiterate a few cautions - the F-word was used over and over. If this was a movie it would be rated R solely on the swearing. Also, Jane does sleep with him prior to the big 'unveiling' if you will, of the secret. I didn't like that at all - Jane is a paragon of morality and I had hoped Lindner would keep her that way. Combined (or really even separate) this makes this very much an adult book to be read with caution.

Graded a B-. It would have been a B if the above situations/swearing were not a part of it. I thought it was very written with an engaging plot, so my reservations are personal preference.

Why we've been missing.

I feel I owe any readers an explanation on why we haven't been around. Beyond the slump we talked about last week, we've been a bit distracted by our 'half':

I call this look the 'smolder'.

We've also had family in town, friends pass away, and travel plans coming up. I just wanted to make sure you all knew we were still here, just giving things their due priorities. Reading has been a bit sparse, but Trackgeek is reading the Accidental Sorcerer, and I'm reading a very old Patricia Wrede book - Caught in Crystal, but seriously it has been several days since we started them because of our packed schedules.
Hope everyone's having a wonderful start to your Autumn, and don't worry, we'll be back full blast soon. :)

Red Handed, by Gena Showalter

I heard quite a bit of hype about this book/series from multiple friends on Shelfari and the like. Someone even used it as a Memory Monday, which kind of made me laugh when I realized it was only published a few years ago. However, it does seem to be one of those books that people read and loved that got lost in the cracks. While I'm not a huge fan of the cover (kind of intense in a psychotic way, yes?) I was intrigued by the synopsis and the huge following it created and gave it a shot. Actually, I gave it a shot a couple of months ago but never got around to reviewing it as I had such a hard time deciding what grade to give it.

Red Handed, by Gena Showalter
Young Adult, 2006

from fantasticfiction.co.uk:
Phoenix Germaine has been trying to earn back her mother's trust after going into rehab and kicking Onadyn -- the drug of choice for New Chicago teens. But when a party in the woods turns into an all-out battle with the most ferocious aliens Phoenix has never seen, she's brought home in what appears to be an Onadyn-induced state. Hello, reform school.
Except, what her mother doesn't know is that Phoenix has just been recruited to join the elite Alien Investigation and Removal agency, where she'll learn to fight dirty, track hard, and destroy the enemy. Her professional training will be rigorous and dangerous, and the fact that one of her instructors is Ryan Stone -- the drop-dead gorgeous, nineteen-year-old agent she met in the woods that night -- doesn't make things any easier. Especially when dating him is totally against the rules....

Gena Showalter is better known for her romance novels, and of late her Intertwined series, none of which I've read. But I must say I was incredibly impressed with the world she created in this series. This futuristic world with a variety of new ideas is entirely believable - a feat in and of itself. And while thrown at first by Phoenix's previous drug addiction, I appreciated that she wasn't perfect, that she'd overcome it and become a better person for it. I did want more of a story about aliens and less about the training, but I think that's why it's a series and not a stand alone. And while the sexual tension was well done, I wasn't a big fan of that part of the epilogue (I don't want to give away spoilers.).

Note: Not appropriate for younger readers, even perhaps younger teens - I'd say 16 and up ish. There's swearing, but I honestly forget how much, drug use, sexual tension, and there is sex, but it's more something they talk about that happened instead of describe.

Graded...and here's the hard part. Overall I'd say a B, but the PG-13 stuff was enough that I'd say that dragged it down to a B-.

Book to Movie: Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken

I decided to put the movie title in instead of the book title, because let's face it - how many of us knew this was a true story? Ok, and of those who knew who read the book? I mean, check out the most boring cover....

A Girl and Five Brave Horses, by Sonora Carver (yes, THE Sonora Webster Carver)
Biography, 1961

Sonora Carver was a free-spirited confident young girl of 18 when she answered an ad and joined Dr. Carver on his escapade of high-diving horses - a show where a girl riding a horse dived off a 40-foot tower into a pool of water. This biography tells you about how she got started, how she trained, the horses and their different methods, her accidents, her falls, her sister coming along for the ride, her marriage and her love of diving through anything. A beautiful tale well written and engrossing, I urge you to read it. Yes, it's different from the movie, but the essence is the same, and Sonora's personality is something you shouldn't miss.
I recommend seeing the movie first - it'll make it more real to you and perhaps give you that last umph to hurry and check out the book.

Graded an A-.




Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken, 1991
starring Gabrielle Anwar (Yep, that Gabrielle, the one that plays Fiona on Burn Notice.)

Same story, but admittedly glorified a bit by Disney. Al is a whole lot cuter than he was in real life, and thank heavens younger. There are cute side characters, sweet moments, all in all a very Disney family movie, but oh so re-watchable. I think anyone from my generation (that's female, anyway) has seen this movie a dozen times. If you haven't? DO IT.

Graded a B+.