I loved the humor in this one so much, but it was also so heartbreaking. I cried so much when I read this!

I want to love “The History of Jane” because I felt the sincerity of the author to say something about loss, grief, guilt, and mental health, but that earnestness does not quite translate into a story that will make me care about it for a long while.

I am not saying that I did not enjoy reading it because I did. In fact, I inhaled the book like there’s no tomorrow. The hook is in the humor of Ray’s voice. Him and his vampire-fiction enthusiast, milk chugger bestfriend, Simon, are really funny. They are the kind of average students whom I would’ve wanted to be friends with in high school. I cannot say the same for Jane, though. I wish there’s more to her. Throughout the book, she is an enigma. She becomes the object of Ray’s unknowable whys as opposed to history, his favorite subject, which is mostly concerned with just the factual who-what-where-when of things.

The book bounces around the before and after of something unthinkable that happened. The transitions are seamless, I have no problems with the switching timelines. I am not sure if this style is meant to keep the reader guessing as to what actually caused Ray to define a before and after in his young life but the something unthinkable that happened is too predictable. I guessed it right too early and too far away from the actual reveal. Plot-wise, there is really nothing going for it but to go through the motions of Ray's feelings. I wouldn't have continued reading if I wasn’t already invested with the characters.

There are emotional moments here and there but they did not reach the tug at my heartstrings level. What made me finally tear up is a note from the author at the back pages where he mentioned that mental illness is something personal to him and his family. That’s why I said earlier that I knew the author meant well in writing this book. So even though “The History of Jane Doe” was not able to totally pull off what it was trying to say, it gets points for trying.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Be prepared. This book is an emotional roller coaster, but in my opinion, it's a ride worth taking.

Top Ten Reasons to Read The History of Jane Doe

1. Ray was sarcastic, insightful, and his love and knowledge of history was unparalleled.

2. Simon has been added to my list of favorite sidekicks. His adoration of milk and vampires made me smile, and he was also a wonderful, supportive, and big-hearted best friend to Ray.

3. Jane was quirky and interesting without being a manic pixie dream girl. She had this whip smart wit, and I have never encountered a character who counts folk music and conspiracy theories among her favorite things.

4. The friendship between these three was sort of wonderful. I promise there will be lots of laughter for a majority of this book, and most of it will be due to the interactions between these three characters.

5. I have never seen "folk" used in so many ways. Jane wore these obscure folk music t-shirst, which never failed to make me smile with sayings such as "Let's Folk", "Folk You", "O Come, All Ye Folkful". I just started looking forward to these.

6. Tommy Beddington, because I like when people surprise me.

7. The format of the book was days before and days after "the event". It's a format I am a fan of, because I like the back and forth and the buildup.

8. Carnivorous Green Cows and all the other odd attractions in Burgerville. It was fun learning the history of this quirky little town, as well as, getting to know its oddities.

9. Mental health issues were treated in a very honest and sensitive way. We don't get a lot of first hand reflections, because the story was narrated by Ray, but rather, we see how a loved one's mental health issues affect those around them. Ray also worked with a therapists, Richard Dawson, who was simply wonderful. One of my favorite Richard quotes: "Depression is like this black light on everything in your life so you can only see the bad stuff."

10. The ending of this book was beautiful. Yes, I cried buckets, but I thought it was a wonderful way to end Jane's story.