Jane Anonymous was a very compelling read. I liked how the book was divided into "then" and "now" chapters, but I enjoyed the "now" chapters more. I was mostly interested by Jane's recovery and her thought process with coming to terms about what happened to her.

However, I feel like something was a bit off with this book. Overall, I think it was lacking emotion and it didn't really make me feel anything for the characters. I can see how Jane would have a lack of emotion in the "now" chapters, but I didn't feel anything for the minor characters when they expressed their feelings about Jane's disappearance. I also felt like the "then" chapters didn't convey Jane's struggles properly enough. It didn't seem like Jane was abducted for 7 months, so the only reason why we know she has such particular feelings after leaving is because the author keeps telling us it was 7 months of captivity.

The story isn't a particularly new one, but I did like the point about needing to find the right therapist for you. If there was a stronger focus on the "now", I think I would've enjoyed the book more.

Then: Jane Anonymous was a typical high school girl, living a typical life in a typical suburb until one morning she stops at her workplace to pick up her best friend's birthday gift. She is convinced to open the store to a charming stranger and he abducts her. She wakes to find herself captive in unit with a small bedroom and bathroom. She can hear other captives outside the small room she's kept in and is desperate to find a way to escape. Her only solace is Mason, a young man who has found his way through the ductwork of the building where they are being held and offers her companionship and comfort. Now: Jane escaped her captivity and has returned to her life, but it is far from typical anymore. Jane is famous for her abduction, traumatized and desperate, unable to reconnect with her former life.

Told in alternating timelines between then and now, Jane's story is compelling and keeps the reader enthralled, waiting to see how Jane escapes and what happens to Mason. Laurie Faria Stolarz is a talented writer and I kept having to remind myself that Jane Anonymous was a work of fiction; Jane's desperation and heartbreak was compelling and palpable. I highly recommend this novel.

this book has me hooked from the first page I couldn’t put it down I was always lost in this story I had to know what was going on I felt bad for Jane and her family I know they wanted to make up for lost time that she was captured I also know how it feels to write stuff down for therapy but I do not have a clue how it would feel to go through what Jane went through and that is terrible! I gave it 4 stars

Four weak stars for this one from me.

It's a haunting and compelling story, and when I first started reading it I got hooked and couldn't fall asleep. A teenage girl gets abducted and held captive for 7 months by a mysterious man. What does he want? Where is she? What is real and what is manipulation or her mind playing tricks on her? Basically this scenario is one of my worst nightmares, so in the beginning I was terrified. However, I do agree with another reviewer that it does feel a bit exploitative. Also, quite frankly it became less exciting after guessing what the "twist" was, and it was a little obvious.

I thought the writing was really good for the most part. Though...
Writing.
Like.
This.
For emphasis.
Gets old.
Fast.
See what I mean?

To be fair that was mainly in the beginning and then it either didn't happen so often or I was too sucked into the story to notice. Because it is a good story and it is well-written. It's quick and easy to read, it's engaging, and I really empathised with Jane.

I was a bit bothered by how most of the characters around Jane didn't seem to have much understanding or patience for her, but it could also be that she wasn't able to express herself clearly (like why certain smells or foods upset her etc.). And Agent Thomas's insistence on getting Jane to see things as she did was a little strange. She's an investigator. They know what happened. Why is she harping on about it to Jane? Seems more like a job for a shrink.

I liked the hopeful ending, and the bits in the animal shelter especially. It makes a lot of sense to me that animals and being around animals can help with healing in a way that human contact simply can't. There is no judgement or question, no fear of being discovered.

Overall it was an exciting story and a quick read, and if the premise appeals to you I'd say give it a go. Though you might want to make sure all your doors and windows are locked. Check under the bed. In the closet. You know, that sort of thing...

Psychological intrigue in a darkly twisted tale of abduction and its aftermath at its disturbing best. Laurie Faria Stolarz’s JANE ANONYMOUS is spellbinding in its raw presentation as we witness one teen’s painful journey to healing the scars of a seven month long abduction.

Will Jane ever find her place in the world again? Will she ever be able to enter a room without the hushed stares or whispered comments? Will she ever feel comfortable in her own skin or in her own judgment? Is it possible that all she believed, all she thought she knew of her abduction was a cruel ruse to torment her already ravaged mind? Will she ever see herself as whole again, damaged yet intact? Will her family, her friends and even strangers on the street?

I feel a little strange saying I loved this dark and twisted tale, but I did, I do. Laurie Faria Stolarz has held nothing back and if one person may just pick up on some subtle cues here, then, hopefully, the world could become a safer place with less morbid interest in knowing all the private hell a human may be faced to endure.

Hard-hitting, bold writing, a story that cannot be unread or forgotten. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC edition from Wednesday Books. This is my honest and voluntary review.

If you liked The Room, you will LOVE this book. Instead of being told more from the perspective of an adult taking care of her child, who were both kidnapped and held hostage, it's a teen's story of fighting for her life. After she escapes, of course her family is wanting to dote on her and try to do all of these things to cheer her up or make up for lost time. But trauma doesn't go away after a few shopping trips. It's deeply embedded. Others don't seem to know how to help her overcome, and the unpleasant memories resurfacing don't help the pain, but she will use them and her strength to overcome.

Thank you, Wednesday Books, for inviting me to view this title.

ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review

3.5

I don't quite know how to review this. I was completely riveted the whole time, the author did a fantastic job of pulling you into the story. I had figured out what was really going on early on in the story, but I don't think it was truly meant to be a mystery. Jane is writing about her abduction and captivity 10 months after when she's back at home. She has chosen to write about it as a form of therapy, both to just get her thoughts out of her head and as a way to piece together what had actually happened to her. The story goes back and forth between her time in captivity to present day when she's at home.

It was hard to read at times though, as the story is very visceral. There were moments where I wondered if it was necessary to be so graphic. But also, it made sense within to story. I think you should be uncomfortable reading about such a traumatic event happening to someone.

While I really liked this story, and it was a very fast read, I can see how some people might have a hard time with it. It's a very dark book. Lots of trigger warnings for things like emotional manipulation, kidnapping and possible sexual assault.

I have to start off by saying that this is one of my favorite genres so I was immediately drawn to it. I generally tend to read more adult content even though I'm a YA librarian. I wasn't sure how I would feel about reading this book but I was definitely not disappointed and could not put it down.

The book is written from Jane's point of view but alternates back and forth, from now (present day) to then (back when she was abducted and held captive) which I loved. She writes about the events that took place during the time that she was abducted as a way to cope with all the struggles she is currently experiencing. What I truly love about the book is that we can almost empathize with Jane because of the authors use of sensory words and imagery. She uses the five senses that give Jane flashbacks to moments when she was kidnapped which most people would otherwise take for granted. The average person might assume that because Jane is now at home safe, that everything should be ok and go back to normal. Realistically, that just isn't the case for many victims and most people might fail to realize that. Laurie Faria Stolarz gives Jane a real voice and let's us connect with her and understand how Jane is feeling and why she feels that way.

While the book is a difficult topic for many, I was concerned with how this would translate to YA. The author has written a beautiful and heartbreaking piece without going too far. It dives into the world of kidnapping and abduction which is a very real problem and opens our eyes without crossing limits or pushing too hard. It is the perfect book for addressing this difficult topic with teens.

The book as a whole was solid read, but I don’t feel like the book itself did what the author had intended it to do. Not for me anyways. But first lets start with this:

The.
Writing.
Was.
Choppy.
Like.
This.

And honestly-- I don't mind when sentences are structured like that 80% of the time (Marni Mann executes this type of sharp writing perfectly) but it was really repetitive throughout the entire book. Not just in important or meaningful parts. I just don't think the writing Jane Anonymous was strong enough. Not only that, but the alternating timeline at times got confusing, and no real plot direction. All from the writing I think. So it was definitely a snowball effect on this one.

This was a quick read that had some really great parts in it. I enjoyed it for the most part and really found the small twists and turns and psychological aspects very interesting. I just didn't love it.

I think this is a fairly gripping premise (I've certainly wondered how I would react in the - hopefully unlikely - event of being placed in a situation like Jane's) that ends up as a fairly middling read. The portrayal of PTSD and related symptoms (panic attacks, anxiety) is detailed and wrenching, and the writing flows fairly well, though every time I came upon one of the attempts to make the story "anonymous" (e.g. Berkshire Town, No Name High, New England State) I found it a clunky authorial choice.

Some of my issue came from the "then" sections reading a lot like survival fiction, which has never been my favorite genre; that's clearly a particular bias of mine. But a lot of it came from how almost uniformly disappointing the secondary characters were, both on a story and meta level. Jane's reasons for loving especially her mother and best friend Shelley often seemed a lot more tell than show: she describes her mother to a third party as this brave and amazing person, but the character we read on the page doesn't seem to have retained much of this, instead coming off as pushy and unsympathetic. Shelley is similar, a character whose imagined advice Jane relies on during her captivity and who describes her relationship with Jane as "like sisters" but who talks about Jane behind her back with a tremendous lack of compassion. I don't think you need to be in Jane's head as the reader is to understand that she went through something incredibly traumatic and is struggling. The mismatch between what we're told about characters by Jane and what actually seemed to be conveyed on the page was off-putting and made it hard to connect to the relationships. (Interestingly, I've seen other reviews saying that Jane came off as irritating or stubborn for not accepting help. I've had this experience with other books, but I think that the extremity of Jane's experience kept me from feeling that way in this case.)

(In this vein: I rarely if ever guess the killer on crime shows, but the twist did not shock me at all. Also, the introduction of Jack, the only character who seems supportive and not confused as to why Jane can't just get past things or whatever, was sweet and I don't actually suspect him of anything nefarious. But I did wonder why Jane didn't seem to have alarm bells ringing in her head, considering how much mental and emotional energy she's putting into realizing that sometimes the perfect guy who's the only one who understands you, the only one you can talk to, is actually dangerous.)

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC.

I flew through this book in one day--trying to find any possible free minute to dive back into the story for more. Jane Anonymous offers a bold look at trauma and its aftereffects. It is powerful, disturbing, heart-wrenching, and raw. Laurie Faria Stolarz depicts Jane's experiences and her inner most thoughts with such clarity, you feel like you are truly in Jane’s mind every step of the way. She doesn’t shy away from showing both the moments of courage and determination and also those of despair and pain. I was hoping to see a little bit more of Jane's recovery as more time had passed, but healing happens at its own pace. Thank you to Wednesday Books/ St. Martin’s Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this novel.

Thank you Netgalley for the the ARC!

Honestly, I’m not sure how I want to rate this book. It was engaging & heartbreaking forsure. I read almost all of it in one sitting. It was a similar experience for me with the authors previous series, which I read and liked very much when I was in high school. The author is definitely able to draw a reader in and keep them there throughout the book.

But this book felt a little... slow?? for awhile, like I found myself skimming and having to reread a few paragraphs. I kept thinking something more was going to happen or unfold and it never did. I did kind of see the “twist” coming, but it didn’t really take away from the story for me.

Maybe a 3.5 ?


“We’re all broken in some way; it’s part of that being-human thing I was talking about before. The key is to learn how to carry your broken pieces as you move forward day by day.”

This is one of those books that took me by surprise; I was compelled to read it in one sitting as it sucked me in from page one! Seriously, my husband asked, "What's on your plate for the day?" and I held up my kindle...sorry, not sorry. Jane is abducted after returning to her workplace to retrieve a birthday gift for her best friend. She doesn't recognize the assailant and is shocked to wake up and discover she is confined to a small room with all her favorite beauty products and snacks she loves. He never comes in; he doesn't assault her. It's a very odd situation for a kidnapping. Told in alternate chapters in THEN and NOW, the novel unravels as we see Jane find a kindred spirit in Mason who has found ductwork in the building and has a plan to get them out. Jane also worries about the other people trapped as she often hears voices and screaming. Nothing more about the plot; just know this will have you weeping for her as she faces PTSD upon her return as she navigates friends who missed her, therapists who are attempting to help her, and parents who also feel "broken" because of her trauma. Heart-wrenching but apparently I've found a new author I adore!

This was certainly an interesting book and one that kept me reading, not wanting to put it down. For a considerable way through the book though, I was a bit baffled at how this girl could be so deeply disturbed by her seven months captivity. Now, don't get me wrong, I do understand that the trauma of any captivity must be huge and horrific. But, apparently, from what I was reading, it seemed that the person who stole Jane was not making any physical contact with her at all. It seemed like she was just being kept in solitary confinement for no apparent reason at all. At least she didn't have to fear nightly visits (or visits at all) from the person who captured her. This was a major plus and seemed more along the lines of prisoners in jail or detention camps under solitary confinement. Things like that happen a lot more frequently than what Jane suffered and people survive.. So I was confused at her extreme behavior. But then, just because we don't hear about the after effects of someone held in captivity, doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. So maybe Jane's reaction is not that surprising or unusual. And as the story went along, more details came to light and changed things, made the psychological trauma more understandable. I was glad to have had the opportunity to read the book and will definitely recommend it to students, especially those who have suffered from one trauma or another and are finding their way back to health again.

Told from the perspective of a girl who was captured and escaped, JANE ANONYMOUS is a thriller of both physical and emotional survival. "Jane" is writing the book as a method for healing, as writing is how she copes, and she takes us back and forth between then (during the capture) and now, as she is trying to deal with her life and the way that she feels (described as being in pieces).

This book is completely captivating and engrossing, and even though it was pretty easy to guess who was behind it all, the journey is breath-taking. This is very much a thriller with plenty of suspense, but it also features a large emotional journey that is on the path of healing. It is difficult to put into words how much this is a page-turner, but highly recommend for fans of Caroline B. Cooney, SADIE, and other YA thriller masterpieces.

I completely devoured this book in less than a day because it was impossible to put down. This book is something different and an atmospheric page-turner. While I don't want to give anything away, I certainly recommend picking this one up. Also, if you are concerned about cliffhangers, the main plots are resolved herein. I also want to give bonus points for showing the process of selecting a therapist and finding your own journey to be ready for therapy. This is quite a potent read.

Fans of thriller/suspense YA reads, you will need to add this to your TBR. Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

So.... Honestly this was written in a way that made it easy to figure out what was going on early on in the book. Very anti-climatic I suppose. Predictable? It wasn’t a bad story though.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is a very interesting character study. It focusses on trauma and the impact not only on the person at the centre but also those indirectly affected.

For much of the story, I had figured out what happened. With a crime novel, this would have annoyed me and ruined my experience as a reader. In this case, it did not. “Jane Anonymous” really isn’t a whodunnit but rather an unflinchingly introspective exploration of Jane’s process through trauma. I did not feel robbed of plot twists once I’d established what had happened.

In fact, I feel Stolarz deliberately wields this dramatic irony as another tool to create the claustrophobic tone that permeates “Jane Anonymous.” I had the sense that Jane was holding her breath through the whole experience and I was holding mine with her. The ending isn’t conclusive or neatly tied up in a bow but it creates a sense of gulping down air. Jack is right: “breathe.” It feels like the first step and a victory.

I realise this review is muddled. That’s Stolarz’s fault! I’ve just finished the book and I’m still disentangling myself from the tale.

This book was amazing. I loved how raw and unfiltered it was. In stories like this, where that is an abduction and then the protagonist comes home, I feel like most of the time the character just puts up a front and goes on with their life. I love that Jane told us her story and was real and genuine about what happened and how she was feeling.

I loved how the one aspect in the story was prominent and it was refreshing to see that the character was fighting for what she thought was real and what was real to her for her to survive. I have to be vague to avoid spoilers.

What made this a 4 out of 5 stars instead of 5 out of 5, was the ending. I felt like it ended so abruptly. I was hoping that we would see more of Jane as she grew after what happened. I felt like it would have taken longer than 3 months for someone to start to come around after being abducted for 7 months.

This is a hard one for me to review. It was extremely entertaining and gripping, and I definitely feel like it accomplished what it set out to accomplish, but there were times when this felt a little... exploitative to me? I am definitely the odd man out on this one as all of the other reviews of this are glowing, so maybe I went into it with the wrong mindset, but there were definitely times where I felt like handling the topic sensitively took a backseat in favor of entertainment value. And it just felt.. odd. I did still enjoy reading this one and I would say to pick it up if it interests you, but definitely tread with caution if you're sensitive to any of the topics covered in this book.

TW: abduction, being held captive, death of an animal (in the past), emotional manipulation

A super read! Great story for academic discussions on many levels.

Jane is abducted for 7 months. The reader is brought back and forth between "then" and "now".This is a very easy to follow book. At 17, Jane looked forward to many opportunities in life and had a best friend, Shelley, and a boyfriend, Jack. Taken from the store that Jane works at she is brought into a situation that is quite different than the reader would expect.

I find it great that Laurie Stolarz had the ingenuity to write this story that displayed both courage and despair. The twists are awesome, characters depicted superbly and, well, the plotline gave me chills.

An extraordinary read for all!!!

Many Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a truly wonderful read.