An interesting concept and execution. Readers of YA will enjoy this college life story with a twist.

Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke had an interesting premise—a sarcastic, jaded teenager joining a reality TV show to get her life back on track—but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. While I appreciated Jane’s dry humor and her attempts to rebuild herself after a personal crisis, the book’s pacing felt uneven, and the reality TV plotline, which I expected to add more excitement, didn’t fully deliver. I found it hard to connect with Jane at times, as her constant detachment and snark, while relatable in doses, made it difficult to feel any real emotional depth. The story has its moments, especially when it explores mental health, but overall, I felt it could’ve done more with the unique concept and offered a bit more substance beneath the witty banter.

Thank you for the opportunity to review - this had promise but lacked the creative edge to make it truly memorable.

TW: Depression, suicide attempt, suicidal ideations, emetophobia, ableist language, panic attack

Ever since I heard of Nice Try, Jane Sinner I’ve been eyeing a copy of my own, so I was thrilled when I got sent one by the publisher. It was promoted by everyone, their mother and their dog as a book tackling depression without sugar coating but with a lot of humour and I gotta say. I’ll have to agree. I loved this book so much. Just how honest and unfiltered it is but without taking itself too seriously.

Nice Try, Jane Sinner was honestly a case of right book at the right time for me, I picked it up when I need it most I think and it made me laugh while making me feel seen and acknowledged.

Smart, well written and thoughtful, this book was full of emotional poignancy and heart, and took me by surprise. Memorable, and funny, I enjoyed it a lot.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Nice Try, Jane Sinner, by Lianne Oelke.

Jane Sinner is just trying to go to college. But she comes from a stifling religious family, and she's just been expelled from HS. She promises her parents to shape up and redeem herself as long as she gets to move out. But that doesn't solve the little problem of where to live, and how to pay for it.

Enter a local reality show called House of Orange, like a Real World for this small community campus that promises a car as it's prize should she win. But there are a few problems with her joining, particularly her age.

Gosh this book was silly. And like way too silly for how long it was. That's to say, I'm glad it's over. Jane was a quirky and likable enough character, but this just dragged, and there was not near enough substance to hold any real interest in the story, or characters. It was clearly just someone's brain child and almost impossible to imagine it being anything real.

Absolutely one of my favorite reads! Such a hidden gem! Not only is it told in a non-traditional format which I LOVE, but it kept me laughing out loud! Jane was such a relatable, honest protagonist whose sarcasm and dry humor kept me wanting more after the last page. This was a very engaging, easy read, and I can't wait to see what the author does next!

I'll just say it right away: this book was so fun to read. I loved being in Jane's head for a couple days and as a fan or reality TV, this premise was something I could get on board with. Jane forges her own path after her high school expulsion and moves out to attend community college and appear in the low-budget "Big Brother" type show, House of Orange. I felt like I was watching reality TV, with all the well-crafted side characters and the zany antics of the house. Oelke did a great job of including real-life problems in all the fun though, and all the things teenagers address as they venture into the world of adulthood. This is a rarely covered area in YA so this books stands out to me. I loved it.

“The only thing 17-year-old Jane Sinner hates more than failure is pity.”
Hello, I’d like to file a report. Why? I’m in this picture and I don’t like it. I feel attacked.

I loved “Nice Try, Jane Sinner” by Lianne Oekle. I don’t usually go for YA contemporary but the synopsis called out to me and I do not regret picking this one up.
This book was a delight to read. It fit well with my closeted (who am I kidding, it’s not closeted) nihilistic sense of humour and personality.
Jane is a great protagonist and I found myself going through the rollercoaster of her life right alongside her. Her sarcastic nature is perfect for me.
The plot and dialogue throughout the entire novel is fabulous and I could not get enough of it. A must read!

A copy of the book was provided by the publisher in return for an honest review.

My rating: 4 stars
It was lovely. Definitely recommend.
Guys! Becky Albertalli blurbed this book! That should tell you a fair bit about how good it is.

Nice Try, Jane Sinner is really, really fun. It’s a little weird, a little unpredictable, and a little snarky. All in all, I definitely recommend.
And, it’s set in Calgary! That’s where I live! For those of you who don’t know where that is, it’s in Alberta, Canada. We’re about a 2.5-hour drive north of the border into Montana, USA.

When I was offered the chance to read Jane Sinner, I was quite excited. As Lianne explains (scroll down — you’ll find her response to my question about setting), there are not a lot of YA books set in Canada, and even fewer set in Calgary. If you know of one, please let me know — I’d love to read it.

It was fun to read a book set in the city I live in. I was able to picture quite a few of the locations mentioned. It’s my adopted city, so I may have missed a few of the references Lianne made (she grew up here), but it was fun to read. Elbow River (named after one of two major rivers in Calgary) isn’t a real school (that I’m aware of), but the name is definitely a common reference in this area. Calgarians love to name things after our rivers.

The only thing I found a little strange was the community college concept being in Calgary. To my understanding, we don’t have them here in the sense that a lot of the world knows them from the US model of apparent crappy community colleges as a alternative –but not really respected choice –to university (example: the tv show Community). But, the concept worked for the story, so I’ll let that pass.

Nice Try, Jane Sinner is an engaging read. Jane is snarky and unhappy but is stubborn, and a little rude, and really smart. She makes the perfect reality show star. The whole cast does, really. The characters all have their own quirks and legitimate reasons for being where they are, doing what they’re doing. They are interesting, and funny, and I definitely found myself rooting for a bunch of them (but Jane was my top choice all along, I swear).

Jane Sinner is a relatable character to many young women in high school or college. It is a wonderfully entertaining book and worth reading.

I adored this book. It is my style of book and I inhaled it. What a fun book to read! I loved the high school setting and I loved the characters. Jane is a wonderful character. Albeit moody and can sometimes come across as annoying, she made me laugh so much. A joy to read!

I wasn't able to get into this one. I tried until 34% and decided it just wasn't for me. Thank you for the opportunity to read this title.

Nice Try, Jane Sinner may seem like a gimmick to popularize on reality tv, but in actuality, it's a fun read that also includes a more serious undertone that will keep you intrigued as you read. Like any young adult novel, it can have it’s eye rolling moments, but Jane’s sarcastic humor will keep you entertained and keep you reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for offering me the chance to read the ARC of Nice Try, Jane Sinner, by Lianne Oelke. I was sorry when I was unable to open this book on my Kindle app. I will look forward to reading this book from my school library. I look forward to seeing how Jane survives living in a residence which will be part of a reality show. Will Jane get along with other people and learn to be part of community or will she continue leaving a lock on her personal fridge to keep them out?!

4.5 stars, but rounding down for reasons. I was very tempted to give this a straight 5 just because I loved Jane so much, but the thinness of the secondary characters brought it down.

This is such a delightfully unusual book. It manages to tackle crises of faith, teenage angst and romance, existential dread, suicidal ideation, siblinghood, and reality TV AND pull it all off. As I mentioned, Jane is the best part of the book: she reads like a real teenage girl chafing against her parents' desires, her own loss of faith and subsequent depression, her relationship with her sister and best friends. Jane spends the book trying to start over, but she doesn't know who she wants to be when she starts over. It's deeply affecting and is really very funny. I laughed out loud a couple of times, especially during the descriptions of the challenges.

The book's big downfall is that most of the background characters feel like background characters. They spell out their motivations and big personality traits; they are no where near as nuanced as Jane and many of them are, frankly, not interesting.

Still, this was an incredibly enjoyable read.

Terrific story of a spunky girl! I really liked Janes personality, her drive and her will to succeed. I love that nothing was watered down or simplified. The descriptions of living with and dealing with deprecate accurately portrayed and added much to the novel. Highly recommended!

Before I get into my review, I want to share a cool thing that happened. For some reason my NetGalley ARC of Nice Try, Jane Sinner wouldn't download. I checked to see if the book was available to borrow through my Overdrive app, but it wasn't! There was an option to recommend they buy it, however, so I clicked the box. A few days later I received an email that the Ohio Digital Library purchased the book and would notify me when I could borrow it.

Anyway, I wanted to share this experience with you because this is the first time I've received concrete evidence that a library bought a book I recommended, and I'm really happy about it!

Now on to the review. I loved this book! Nice Try, Jane Sinner takes place in Canada, and it's always a nice change of pace when books are set outside the U.S.

After her expulsion from high school, Jane enrolls in community college and finds out a student-run reality show, House of Orange, is going to be filmed there. The show is still looking for participants, so she signs up while fudging a few facts about herself. She doesn't think ahead and by doing this, sets herself up for the possibility that the people around her will find out she lied about her identity.

I did my best to read Nice Try, Jane Sinner from the POV of a teenager, but here and there my mind would drift to see Jane as I see my own teenage daughter. For instance, Jane has ultra conservative religious parents, and at first it annoyed me that she referred to them as simply "the parents," but I got over it when I remembered that's how I referred to my own parents.

It was for Jane and her parents to have fundamental misunderstandings of each other. Her parents didn't "get" her intentions and behaviors when, as the reader, I could see where she was coming from thought I didn't always agree with her decisions. They were disappointed she wasn't doing exactly what they expected of her. I was dying to step in and mediate between her and her parents! On the other hand, she has an amazing and close relationship with her younger sister that made me happy to see.

This is one of the best books I've read tackling teenage depression. As a former teen who suffered from depression, I could relate to Jane and was impressed by how accurately Oelke treated the subject matter. I can't recommend Nice Try, Jane Sinner enough whether you're a teen or an adult.

If you never thought you'd want to read a young adult novel, get a copy of this one.

This is (possibly) the most bitter-sweet, funny book with a teen protagonist I've ever read (other than the obvious suspects, like Catcher in the Rye).

When a teenager named Jane Sinner is forced out of high school by an awful event (I won't spoil that for you--it will be revealed), she finishes her studies at the local community college. Much to her chagrin.

However, to get out of her parents' hair/become more autonomous, Jane signs up for a reality TV show called "House of Orange". As part of the deal, she lives in the House of Orange (complete with orange carpet), competing with actual college students for a big prize.

This book is not only a great read about a young woman trying to figure out her priorities, but it's also a great send-up of reality shows. It's structured like a diary, which makes you feel like you're living this bizarre story with Jane.

Trust me. Read this book now.

Oh no!
Somehow, I missed the message that I'd been approved for this book, and now it's been archived. The book never did make it over to my Kindle. I'm sorry. It's easier with Simon and Schuster - auto-approved, so one click, and the book is there, in plain sight, ready for me to read.

Now to see if other book requests were granted and I never got the message. :-(.