I was so excited to see that Kristin Cashore was writing another book. I love the Graceling books and was hoping for something similar. This book however was much different. The story telling is unique and I'm still not sure if I liked it or hated it. I loved that the book kept me guessing and a bit confused. It might have been a bit long for me, I found myself getting bored sometimes. I think my High schoolers would enjoy this book though. Maybe even some of our adult patrons too. (I gave it a 3 star rating because I'm still in the middle of the road with this one on liking and hating it. )

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am having such a hard time even starting this book, I think that I need to give it more time, but for now I am going to give up. I love Cashore's other books, but I do remember needing to give them a chance to get in to the story. For the most part, I am having a hard time placing the story and digging my feet in to keep reading.

Not sure why this one is missing the mark for me, but I am going to respectfully pass on this title for now.

I love Kristin Cashore's other books, but this one took some getting used to. There were a lot of characters to follow. I loved the a lot of little details - the umbrella making, the dog who wasn't a dog, Jane's relationship with Ivy and her Aunt Magnolia. The several storylines made it a struggle to get through, but once I figured out the format, I enjoyed it.

Kristin Cashore’s novel Jane Unlimited came out in 2017, and tells the story of Jane, a young twenty-something girl who is invited to spend the weekend at the mysterious house of her friend. While there, she discovers extraordinary information, secrets, and paths that her life could take, depending on the choices that she made.

I received a free copy of this novel to review from NetGalley, and it was a novel I was eagerly anticipating. I think Cashore’s other novels, particularly Bitterblue and Graceling are some of the finest pieces of writing in the young adult fantasy genre. Sadly however, this novel fell far, far short of her previous masterpieces. This novel, while exploring the interesting stylistic format of how to work a multiverse into literature, felt like pieces of many different stories cobbled together in a, frankly fairly boring, plot line.

I think the main difficulties were the trite descriptions and lack of characterization. This novel really relies on telling us that characters are sad, or like each other, or how they are feeling. It never shows us this same information. I am told I should like Jane because she wears Doctor Who pajamas, and Ivy because she plays Scrabble and calls a fur rug “Captain Polepants”. Incidentally, the descriptions of the house are at the most confusing, and don’t lend the mysterious or macabre feeling to the book that Cashore may have gone for, given her inspiration by masterpieces such as Jane Eyre.

Then there is Jane, a girl who spends 50% of the moping (not unrealistic, but not interesting), and then being super judgemental the minute she meets anyone. In the first conversation with others in the house, she thinks “Well geez. I hope she’s a better conversationalist than everyone else in this house.” (location 876). After she sees a suspicious action, to a woman she’s reconnected with for about 5 minutes, she says, “He’s never...confessed anything to you?” (location 732) Who would tell this in a conversation with someone you just saw again after years, and weren’t close to anyway? Jane spends most of the book mad or sad, and is just not very likeable in my opinion.

The book does have 2 very strong sections about 70% of the way through, involving the house that may be alive, and a painting that is more than it appears. There is also some beautiful prose in these sections: “How can she conceive the loss of oceans? The loss of dirt under her feet?” (4493) Unfortunately, by that time, I was so checked out of the novel that it couldn’t save the book for me. It also confirmed for me, however, that Cashore is at her strongest when writing fantasy or the super natural.

Honestly, I would have a hard time recommending this book to anyone. While the idea for the structure is interesting, overall I found this novel frustrating and boring. It took me over 2 months to get through because I found myself having to drag myself through the unlikeable characters (although Kiran and Ravi had at least the semblances of actual personalities), boring art heist stories, and characters we are supposed to like because of their quirkiness. I would recommend to anyone (and especially my students) to skip this novel and reread Graceling and Bitterblue instead. 2 out of 5 stars.

This was such a unique and unexpected book. I highly recommend it to adults, teens, anyone. Sincere there are 5 different endings there is at least one part will suit you. You must read all the way to the end. Imaginative and fun.

After rereading:
Less fun as a reread when you know the pacing and endings to come. Rereading does allow you to see so many hints at future endings and trail laid down in the first 80 pages. Way more went on that you pick up 2nd time around. More Winnie the Pooh, interdimensional, Spies, etc.

I have been savoring this one for months (thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC) and it is unlike anything else I have read. I think the printed form would have been easier so I could flip back and forth. Cashore is a writer like no other. This will stick with you.

Jane's aunt Magnolia passes away and Jane finds her life turned upside down. She has to quit college and move in with a bunch of roommates. She honor's a promise to her aunt that if she was ever invited to the mansion to go. So when her old tutor asks her to come home with her for the gala she can't say no. She is along for a really interesting ride.

Okay this book was pretty damn near perfect for me. It was weird and intriguing and funny and poignant and creepy and just kinda all my favourite types of books rolled into one. When I first started reading, I'd kinda forgotten the whole choose-your-own-adventure plot that was supposed to be going on, but I really loved the way Cashore incorporated it and made it revolve around a seemingly simple choice of which character to follow. Also thank you, Kristin, for now giving me nightmares about horrific turns to classic Winnie-the-Pooh stories (though that part of the book was probably my fave because it started off just kinda weird and fantasy-like and then took a sharp turn into creepifying horror which I loved). Out of all the deviations caused by Janie's choices, the sci-fi turn was probably my least favourite, mostly because it got a little too wacky and weird and confusing (though I definitely wanna meet the "pets") {spoiler}except for the bit where the reader finds out that our universe is not the same one that Janie resides in as their Kermit is blue and not in love with Miss Piggy and that seriously blew my mind in the funniest way. Nice move there, Cashore{end spoiler} but by the end it was nice to see Jane's moment with her other self in that parallel dimension and that they gave each other comfort.
Overall this was a really fun and entertaining book, especially if you're someone who likes something a little off-kilter or even enjoys a lot of disparate genres and wonders what they'd be liked melded together. So if you want to take an extremely wild ride down a bizarro rabbit hole, this book might just be for you.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me early access to this title in exchange for an honest review. I really really enjoyed it!

Devoted fans of Cashore’s Graceling trilogy have eagerly awaited this new book. Jane Unlimited is a marked departure from Cashore’s successful series and is an ambitious and bizarre tale that presents the possibility of multi-verses and alternate realities. Jane is a quiet, orphaned girl who recently lost her beloved Aunt Magnolia and is overcome with grief and indecision. When her former tutor, Kiran, invites Jane to travel with her to her family’s fabulous island estate, Jane follows her aunt’s advice: visit the Thrash estate, Tu Reviens, if she is ever given the chance. So off Jane goes and there she meets a quirky cast of characters, among them Kiran’s art collecting twin brother Ravi, family servants Patrick and Ivy, Lucy, the art theft investigator, a bloodhound named Jasper and several others. The story is retold in six possible realities which are presented in separate long chapters which begin as Jane makes a simple decision to follow one or another of the other people at the estate. Jane confronts alternate versions of the intrigues on the island which include art thievery, kidnapping, international espionage and romance. Each chapter has a distinct style that ranges from mystery to thriller to sci- fi to fantasy and each chapter is more bizarre than the last. Jane, Unlimited is a challenging read with a creative and promising premise. A few of the chapters are wonderfully realized, but some fall short with confusing details that make it difficult to suspend disbelief. Recommended for more intrepid readers, it could be too confusing and circular for many students.

Jane, Unlimited is unlike any other book you've read before. It's puzzling, funny, stark, and introspective. You'll question everything as you move along in the book and then be satisfied by the end.

Jane is still grieving the loss of her aunt when she gets a mysterious invitation to a gala. She remembers the promise she made to her aunt if she was ever invited to mansion where the gala is being held and she accepts the invitation. Her RSVP will start her on an unforgettable journey filled with choices.

Readers always looking for that next big quirky read will love this book! Because of the many different styles of writing that comes with each of Jane's choices, this book will appeal to readers across genres.

It took me a long while to get into this book. That can happen for me with realistic fiction, so it makes sense as the first big portion of this book reads like a realistic fiction book. It is so not that! The book is very much like a choose your own adventure where you read every single scenario. Some I liked much better than others. The first few seemed a little lengthy and more tedious than the more interesting segments later on. The stories got more and more outlandish as the book went on, and that’s probably why I liked it more and more as I read it. I can see realistic fiction fans liking it less and less the further down the rabbit hole you go.

JANE, UNLIMITED by Kristin Cashore was a book that I eagerly anticipated because I know how much I – and students – have liked her writing, particularly Graceling. And I found the first two-thirds or so of JANE, UNLIMITED to be a fun, engaging read. Jane, just out of high school and looking for a life direction, is mourning the aunt who raised her and is creating one-of-a-kind umbrella works of art when she is invited to Tu Reviens, the family home of a very well off acquaintance. She visits, remembering her promise to Aunt Magnolia to go there, if anyone ever asks. And then the strange behaviors start: disappearing works of art; spies and espionage; magical realism as the house seems to have powers of its own. While I liked the mystery element, there is a significant shift in the story and Jane starts repeating her day, depending on the choices she makes (kind of a choose-your-own adventure feature ultimately across five genres) with the events becoming more weird, horrific, and unreal.

Honestly, these multiple realities felt like more of an interesting writing challenge for the author than an entertaining story for the reader. At over 450 pages, this book may appeal to ambitious readers, but I wonder if most students will be patient enough to keep struggling with Jane through all of the strange events. JANE, UNLIMITED received a starred review from School Library Journal.

I have loved everything I have read by Cashore in the past but this was just a little too much for me to truly embrace and love. It was an OK book and I forced my way through it but the style just wasn't for me. I will still pick up another book by this author because she does have a talent for writing, unfortunately this one and I didn't connect.

I really enjoy a book that tries something new and innovative, and Jane, Unlimited definitely does. The book starts off as a story about an orphaned young girl who is taken in by a family who lives in a rambling old mansion. The book includes some of the requisite gothic elements: the stern housekeeper, strange omens and portents, and an air of mystery.

As Jane tries to get to the bottom of the mysterious goings-on in the house, the the book splits into multiple narratives in different genres. So, as Jane investigates each aspect of the mystery, the book branches into a new genre. There’s a mystery section, a sci-fi section and a fantasy/paranormal section. This seems at once like a nod to the multiverse (which the book alludes to) and a sort of sly wink at 1980s-era Choose Your Own Adventure books.

Taken alone, I felt that some of the sub-sections worked better than others. But they also built on each other (you read them one after the other – this is not a true CYOA book where you skip around). And I liked what (I think ) the book was trying to say about the nature of life, and choice, and storytelling choices.

Overall, I really recommend this, especially for YA readers who are looking for something different.

I love, love Kristin Cashore's writing. GRACELING is one of my all-time favorite books, so needless to say, I truly appreciated the writing and the tone for this novel. Two-thirds of it was an incredibly absorbing read. I loved the call-backs to Daphne duMaurier's REBECCA, an influence Cashore herself acknowledges. I was intrigued by the mystery of the house, the characters.

However, the last third of the book shifted into a fantasy novel that failed to capture my attention. I appreciated the beauty of the story and the writing, though. Cashore is truly imaginitive and she is a gifted story teller!

The novel is definitely worth a read for lovers of mystery and fantasy, and fans of Kristin Cashore.

It has taken me a couple of days to put together my thoughts about Jane, Unlimited. This is a weird book and that is not a bad thing.

Jane, Unlimited is the story of a young college dropout dealing with the loss of her aunt Magnolia. Fulfilling a promise to her aunt to visit Tu Reviens if ever invited, Jane travels to the mysterious Thrash estate on a mysterious island. One she arrives, Jane meets the cast of characters on the island and then the real story begins.

It is hard to classify Jane, Unlimited, which I think is one of Kristin Cashore goals. It is in turns mystery, a thriller, a horror story, a science fiction story and a fantasy story as each path that is laid out for Jane is followed. The story restarts to a specific point and Jane chooses the next step and the next step is straight into a new genre. It takes a little bit of time to get into the writing style and I think that may be part of the reason the first two genres are my least favorites. I loved the third genre for sheer unusualness (this got the red squiggles, I know it's not a word!) and the fourth genre was really creative. The fifth genre felt a little lack luster to me- I wanted to know more. It is hard to talk about my feelings on the ending because there were technically five endings but the fifth and final ending felt a bit too neat.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for the opportunity to read and review Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore. Jane is stuck in a rut, unhappy with her present life situation because she's lost her loved ones and feels alone and desolate. Kiran, Jane's ex-tutor, invites her to visit her rich family on their private island. She takes Kiran up on her offer and meets many new people. Jane accidentally eavesdrops and overhears a strange conversation. She discovers the jobs that Kiran's family members and visitors pursue. Two art pieces are missing, presumably stolen, and Jane wants to solve the mystery. When the art mystery is solved, Jane learns about her aunt's true past. Then the plot changes somewhat and the story becomes more science fiction than mystery. The story just got weirder and weirder after that with strayhounds and a place called Zorsted. Though, I do appreciate the author’s notes that help explain the path of writing that this book took during its creation and the research and sources that she used. 3.5 stars.

This book is weird, confusing, and exhausting.

I've seen reviews where Jane, Unlimited is described as five stories in one, and, while that it is true, it's not very accurate. There are five different stories --or paths-- and there is one protagonist and one main setting, but it's more of a Choose Your Own Adventure where you don't get to pick the path-- it's chosen for you. (In fact, in the author's note at the end, Cashore states that at one point in the book's life, it was a Choose Your Own Adventure.)

Think House of Leaves + Lost + Doctor Who + The Invisible Library.

Jane promised her late aunt Magnolia that should she ever receive an invite to Tu Reviens she should go. After receiving an invite Jane gets caught up in the strange happenings of the mansion and its inhabitants. Jane, Unlimited takes awhile to get going but once it does readers will find themselves in a wonderful world where everything has more layers than one expects. This book goes in several surprising directions that explains things that you may not notice when you first encounter them. Reading this book requires a lot of patience but patient will be greatly rewarded. Think of this book as a puzzle that becomes more complete as you move along.