Jane Anonymous nicely creates a mesh of suspenseful kidnapping mystery and reflective representation of mental health associated with such happenings. Told in both past and present timelines, it paints the horrifying isolation of being held captive as well as the hopeful recovery from a traumatic experience. It works well to highlight the protagonist as an individual who knows everything can never be the same again amidst hearing the family and friends' thoughts of constant concern.


SUM IT UP IN POINTS!

➝ YA mystery
➝ seven-months captivity
➝ suspense build-up
➝ interesting plot twist
➝ best friend goals
➝ post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) representation

TRIGGER WARNINGS

➝ abduction
➝ police questioning & implications
➝ sexual assault
➝ panic attacks
➝ anxiety
➝ stockholm syndrome
➝ self-pain infliction
➝ blood & bleeding depiction

JANE ANONYMOUS follows two timelines: one while Jane was captured for 7 months and one after she is back home. While she is captured, she is confused and disoriented, unsure of where she is or why she was taken. Once she's back home, she struggles to adjust to her previous 'normal.'

My favorite part of Laurie Faria Stolarz's latest novel is the voice. Jane's narrative is emotional and compelling, and the tonal shift between her 'then' and 'now' is pitch perfect. While I expected to find myself more drawn to the mystery of her capture, I ended up equally enraptured with her healing journey. Her progress to find her new normal isn't linear. There are many ups and downs, steps forward and steps back. It felt completely realistic.

I also appreciated the relationships between Jane and her parents and Jane and her old friends. You can tell how much her parents want to help but don't quite know how. When it comes to her friends, Jane's primary response is avoidance and mixed emotions, but you get to see her work through those and identify why she's feeling the way she is.

Overall, this was a highly enjoyable thriller that I couldn't put down.

I am a sucker for a good thriller novel. Rarely are young adult thrillers this good. The novel alternates between present-day and while the main character, Jane is in captivity. My heart was racing throughout the entire book. Jane Anonymous is one book that I read in almost one sitting.

I loved the author's writing style. The entire thing was so entertaining! I felt for the character's so much. The idea of being taken is absolutely crazy to me. How do you even overcome something like that? Not to mention get over it and move on? The book explores these very questions.

Please, do not pick up this book if you are sensitive to abduction, abuse, etc. At times, it is very hard to read. Mental health is also greatly explored. How life can never go back to how it was before after such intense trauma. The book dealt with anxiety, PTSD, and depression beautifully. I applaud the author very much for this betrayal in young adult fiction. I haven't read such a powerful YA novel in a while as far as mental health goes.

Jane Anonymous tries to convey hope even in the roughest situations. The cliffhangers are absolutely insane and will have you on the edge of your seat! I still haven't gotten over this story. Jane Anonymous deserves so much more hype.

The only reason why this one didn't get five stars from me is that it dealt with such an emotional topic. That at times, it did become hard for me to read. Otherwise, it is a beautiful book. Don't be fooled... Jane Anonymous is one dark book. I will be picking up more of the author's books. I loved her writing style. Her characterization was flawless. Jane Anonymous was the thriller that I was looking to read.

"MY NAME IS JANE ANONYMOUS. HELP ME."

What a powerful and compelling read! I think every woman can agree that at some point in their life they have feared being "taken". We've had that moment of contemplation of what would I do in that situation? Would I fight back? Would I give in? Would I be a survivor? Would I tell my story?

Jane is a seventeen year old girl, once a fit and vibrant teen, gossiping about boys with her best friend, and writing her thoughts in her journal. Until one day, she's on her way to work before the store opens to pick up her best friend's birthday present. While there, she's confronted by a young man outside the door. He seems innocent enough, he's in desperate need of a gift for his girlfriend, so she decides to let him in. She had no idea that this decision would turn out to be the biggest regret of her life. "We've all carried our regret around like anchors, struggling not to drown."

Jane is taken against her will. While confined in captivity, she's given a set of rules she must follow, if she follows these rules, she will be rewarded. It seems simple enough, only Jane is not interested in playing her captor's games. That is until she meets Mason, another victim. Mason says he has been there for months, and he's been traveling through the walls looking for a way out. Mason becomes Jane's guiding light through the dark. Mason visits her almost every night, and without his visits, Jane's not sure she would have survived as long as she has. Days go by and she has not heard from Mason, she begins to worry and fears the worst. Has something happened to Mason? Did he escape without her? As much as she doesn't want to believe it, she knows it's a possibility. She decides to take action, she plans her escape.

Jane is now home... HOME... home is better than being locked up in captivity, right? Jane is struggling with the idea of this. She no longer identifies with "herself", she only sees Jane, the captive, the survivor. "What if there is no fixing me? What if I'll always be broken?" Her post-traumatic stress has become almost debilitating, spending time with her best friend is only a constant reminder of what's she's lost. For Jane though, the real question is, is it the loss of herself she grieves more, or her captor?

This was a very quick read for me, the short chapters made it easy to keep turning those pages. While the subject matter is very heartbreaking, it's also very poetic in the way it's written. The author lets us believe that Jane is truly telling her story. You almost forget it's a work of fiction, you become so connected to Jane's story. I will be sure to check out Laurie Faria Stolarz's other work. I am very happy to have uncovered this beautifully written piece of work of hers.

I want to thank NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Laurie Faria Stolarz for allowing me the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for my review.

Great book for YA. Jane speaks to so many situations that teens can relate to. Thank you Ms Stolarz for writing your words through Jane.

At some point in our lives we all see them.



The "Missing Person" posters hanging on telephone posts that flap to an unknown breeze as if to call for your momentary attention. The black and white eyes gaze as you read through your morning paper where one picture shows what the missing person would have looked like today and how they looked like at the time of their disappearance.



These are the anonymous faces that gaze upon us with muted expressions that are frozen in time. How often do we pass them with unseeing eyes that, upon closer inspection, could be that of your neighbor, former classmate...or that of ourselves.



This is the story of Jane Anonymous.



She is the voice of millions unknown to us in the world.



Her story unfolds like a slow-building song with a building crescendo that we can't ignore. At the first page, you can already hear that distant song composed of a million voices. Be ready for the journey ahead.



Eyes opened.





It is by no means that I lightly write: Laurie Faria Stolarz is an impressive writer. Like Emma Donoghue (the author of Room), Stolarz breaks the glass ceiling of our society and shows that there is a world beyond our safe compounds where others have to hold on with fierce determination to survive in the midst of captivity and despair. Jane Anonymous is a work that reopens your eyes to our world through a staggering journey presented by Jane, a teenage high school girl, who presents a dual narrative of coping with life after her kidnapping in the NOW and overcoming the horrendous situation she was in THEN.



More than a story, Jane Anonymous is a profound experience where Stolarz immersed us in the confounds of Jane's life and how her kidnapping changed her life and those around her. Throughout the work, readers experience Jane's difficulty to, not only escape her kidnapper, but the ghost of who she used to be before she was abducted.



This was a heartfelt book that went through a traumatic experience, took us to dark places, and held an underlying element of healing and hope for the future. Jane Anonymous is a work that brims with realism and changes your perspective on life and makes you face the monsters in the shadows of society with a newfound light.



I certainly rate this spectacular read as my first 5 star contemporary fiction of the year!

First of all, thanks to NetGalley and Beatrice from St. Martin’s Press who invited me to check out this book in exchange for a honest review.
You have to know English isn’t my first language, so feel free to correct me if I make some mistakes while writing this review.


TRIGGER WARNINGS: kidnapping, captivity, manipulation, death of a pet (past), PTSD.

Jane Anonymous - this is the name the girl telling us her story chose to call herself - has been kidnapped the summer before her senior year and held captive for seven months before she was able to escape.
Three months have passed, but a part of her - the majority of her, truth be told - is still living that nightmare.
A part of her is still inside that stark white room, unable to claim back any shred of the normalcy she knew before.
A part of her is still longing for Mason, a boy being held prisoner like she was - the only one being able to comfort her and keeping her sane, even if only thorugh a wall always separating them. She came to expect their daily conversations like a life preserver, a silver lining in a bad situation - she suffered every time he couldn't make it to wall to chat. They exchanged secrets, they told each others about their lives and your heart breaks not only for Jane, but for Mason too because he really had a horrible childhood - still, he always tries to stay positive even in a situation that seems destined to end awfully.
In her escape she was forced to leave him behind, but nobody - not the authorities, not her parents - believes he was there at all and Jane struggles everyday to sort her memories. She also fights them, because certain truths - the possibilities of what could have happened in moments that she has no memory of - are almost scarier than what she lived through.

Once you start this book, you won't be able to put it down until you reach the last page.
The writing is captivating and suspenseful bacause the chapters alternate between "then" and "now", usually ending with a cliffhanger that leaves you thirsty for more.
It's also extremely claustrophobic - and I loved it for that reason: you always live in a state of anxiety: first, when you're expecting the moment Jane will be kidnapped and then all the time she's being held captive. It's not over even when she's back home because, like her, you're always jumping every time somenthing might be suspicious or triggering.

It's a book that explores trauma and everything related to it: Jane unable to immediately return to a notmal life much to her parents' disappointment, the patience her friends Shelley and Jack demonstrate every time Jane refuses to see them, every habit from the captivity Jane can't seem to get rid of even in her own home.
I tried to avoid formulating any theory while reading the first half of the book, then I started to suspect how it all went - I wouldn't say it's fairly easy but since the focus is most on the trauma, you can guess who's the "monster" that took Jane and still it'll give you the chills.

"Jane Anonymous" is going to make you think about the freedom we always take for granted and the consequent trauma when it's taken from us against our will, how it's difficult to return to normalcy especially when others pressure us into it, how everyone deals with trauma in their own way and time and how much therapy is good when you find the right person to talk to.

Aware of the theme of this book, I went into this story with a prepared heart. But, alas, it was to no avail.

As gut-wrenching as it was gripping, Jane Anonymous is one story that’ll get under your skin and get through your heart. It explores trauma – its effects on both the victim and the people around them – healing and hope.

Gutsy main character “Jane” narrates the story, going back and forth between then, which covers the time before and during her seven-month captivity, and now, three months after her return home. She has a compelling voice, honest and raw and vulnerable. It was so easy to empathize with her.

The exploration of trauma and the long and varied road to healing is at the heart of this book.

Jane, at the beginning of the story, was in pieces: isolated, made to question her own experience. All throughout the book, I felt like Jane stood alone. Her parents, even her best friend Shelley, seemed to expect her to just go back to her normal self once she returned home. It could be because they don’t know how to deal with it, but I don’t think they ever understood what Jane has gone through. The only one who was open and willing enough to try was Jack.

Bleak her start may be, Jane ends the book at a hopeful place. I think she started coming to terms with what has happened to her, ready to start healing and take back control of her life.

Though heavy, I enjoyed reading Jane Anonymous. It was fast-paced and suspenseful. The story flowed really well even with all the switches between Jane’s then and now. Stolarz was able to handle trauma with care and sensitivity.

That said, there were a few things that didn’t work for me. Most characters, with the exception of Jane, were two dimensional. You really don’t get to know them much – Jane’s parents, Shelley; “Mason” and Jack were a little bit better but not by much.

Still, overall, this was a good read. Readers of crime and suspense YA thrillers will find something to love in this one. I highly recommend this especially for those who love Courtney Summers’ Sadie and Kathleen Glasgow’s Girl in Pieces.

This book! You guys! Aahhhhhh!

Okay, let me try to speak coherently. This was one of the last books that I read for 2019, and it was probably one of the best books I’ve read all year. I had been trying to branch out a bit more, to break out of my comfortable fantasy genre and read new things. This book was super suspenseful and had a few twists that I genuinely did not see coming.

I really enjoyed the way this book was set up. From the blurb, you know that it is about a girl who was kidnapped, but the author chose to alternate the narrative, switching between her time in captivity and the current day, after she had gotten out. So you know right away that she survived, but you also know just how much she hasn’t healed from the trauma. Plus, there are still a lot of questions about exactly what happened – did she get rescued or did she escape? What happened to the other voices of captives she heard down the hallway? Who is Mason, other than another captive and a voice on the other side of the wall? The captivity part of the story was completely riveting, with all the little details included, like how she used a part from the toilet as a makeshift weapon or how the kidnapper had stocked her room with all her favorite snacks and the toiletries she regularly used. That last bit made my skin crawl just a little, but in a good way. It’s supposed to be creepy!

It’s a suspenseful story, but it’s also a story about learning how to heal from a traumatic event on your own terms. Jane, who was a fascinating character study, has great difficulty relating to anyone once she is back home, from her parents to her best friend. Everyone has their own expectations about how she she be, which is especially hard since Jane doesn’t know herself. I love how part of her own self-prescribed therapy was going back to the animal shelter she used to volunteer at and help a particularly difficult dog learn how to trust humans. I’m a sucker for animals in stories, but having the two of them help each other was truly beautiful.

Also beautiful was Jane’s friendship with Jake, her sort-of boyfriend. He was perfectly willing to give her space and let her know that he was there for her no matter what and no matter how. We all need someone like that in our lives.

Final thoughts: everything about this book was awesome. GoodReads rating: 5 stars

I cannot believe how much I love this book. Although, I should have because Wednesday Books is proving time and time again that they truly understand YA literature. Jane Anonymous is a fantastic crime drama that focuses on healing and surviving trauma. I love this book. It’s perfect for fans of Courtney Summers and Sadie. I do hope that Wednesday Books includes trigger warnings. I haven’t experienced any abuse like Jane, but even I was feeling triggered several times. It’s always important when talking about abuse that we remain sensitive to triggers.

An interesting read and a deeply emotional story. That's what this novel is. I was curious about this book because I wanted to know how the author will tackle such topic and how the characters will go through their journey. Safe to say, I was not disappointed.

The writing style of the author is great for this story. Not only did it grip my attention, it also provoked my emotions. As I read, I was able to connect with Jane and her perspective, her thoughts, her trauma, her confusion, her struggle for closure, and her struggle to get back to normalcy. The exploration of trauma was really good and the alternating "THEN" and "NOW" perspectives made it more compelling. As a reader, I saw how Jane's experiences in those seven months affected her life, her personality, her mind, her friends and her family.

The plot, although it was great, there were some aspects that were kind of predictable to me and there were still some subplots or questions that seemed unanswered for me. It would have been nice to get some answers about those certain things.

I also feel like the author could expounded more on certain elements. For example, most of the book was Jane recounting her experience and narrating her struggle on trying return to her normal life.It wasn't until the end that we started to see Jane actually healing. I would have liked to see more of that healing process, and how she will overcome or accept her trauma.

Overall, this was a great read! My actual rating: 3.5 stars.

This is a pretty interesting journal style book. Jane Anonymous is telling her story through the pages, divided between then and now. You can see what happened before and after she was taken. It feels like a psychological thriller, but told in first person fragments. Pretty interesting story.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Fantastic Flying Book Club, Netgalley, and Wednesday Books for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

Oh my gosh guys. I’m not even joking about how hard this was for me to read especially in the beginning. This book alternates between the past and the present, and the past starts on the day that Jane Anonymous gets kidnapped. I couldn’t even imagine being in her situation, and especially watching a bunch of shows like Criminal Minds and all that where the episode could deal with a child being kidnapped, and then the gang has to find them before that person ends up dying. Stuff like that is so stressful to watch honestly, like I don’t know how we can continue to watch them and can be desensitized by that kind of violence.

So I’d please, please, please be careful about this one if this is something that you could be triggered by, because while some the shows and movies that we watch could be told from the rescuer’s point of view (like a detective or something like that, you know?) this is told from Jane’s point of view, and she’s dealing with the past and the present. From the moment she woke up that morning and didn’t think that anything was really going to be different.

The only thing different about that morning – before everything I mean – was that her best friend Shelley ended up coming home early from camp, and she wanted to have breakfast with Jane because she missed her so much. And of course, Jane kept procrastinating bringing the gift home from her work, so when she goes to get it… low and behold there’s a stranger that somehow convinces her to open the store for him so he could “get his girlfriend a present for their anniversary.”


Sometimes you can’t trust people and what their true intentions will be, despite wanting to believe the best in everyone. Or at least believing that there is some good in the world, worth fighting for. In Jane’s case, that didn’t happen, and that one mistake could have cost her so much more than seven months of her life. And books like this really end up breaking my heart, and I get really intrigued by how authors can get into the minds of someone like this. I don’t think I could do it, and I don’t know if I would even want to.

This is my second Stolarz book, and her reputation of writing books that can make me feel strange has continued. Strange isn’t always a bad thing, and it’s not in this case. In this case, I’m just hurt for Jane, and the aftermath of everything that she had to endure. And who is the real monster in this novel? Is it who we think it is? Or someone else?

You’ll have to see, because with Stolarz, I don’t feel like it’s always as it seems.

4.5 stars.
This book was really intense. I could barely put it down. We got what happened through Jane's eyes, but in flashbacks mixed with "Now" entries into her diary or journal that she felt would help her with the therapy everyone said she needed. I wondered if she had a bit of Stockholm Syndrome, if that was what the story was going to be about. But instead it seems that she falls in love or finds a connection with a fellow prisoner named Mason. Honestly, I had a feeling about the whole situation from really early on, and my hunch was correct. However the way the story went kept me guessing and thinking I must be wrong. Seeing how it all went for Jane after she got home and how hard it was just to even get back to normal in any little way was very interesting. How her friends and those around her dealt with it was also intriguing and made me wonder how it would be in real life. I did get that she had trouble working with different psychologists and therapists, until she finally found one that she was able to connect with. I know that for my own depression and anxiety I didn't click with the first person I was sent to, so I think it is a very important bit for people to realize that getting help isn't as simple as just talking to any person.

I only docked a half a star because some things were left unexplained or unanswered for me that I wanted to know. But it makes me feel like one of the people that Jane hated talking to if I ask those questions.

Rating 4.5/5

This was kind of a strange book to start off my reading year, not that I knew that when I picked it up, but honestly I don’t think I’ve felt this emotionally invested in a book in a while. The kind of invested where I felt every little thing that happened and it really started to affect my mood because there were a lot of heartbreaking moments in this book and gave me a severe book hangover for days after reading.

The pace of the book is brilliant, I managed to finish it within a day because I was so gripped I didn’t want to put it down. It’s told in two sections, then and now, and is at the same time exploring what happened to Jane in her captivity and how she is dealing with the aftermath of that captivity. I was pleasantly surprised at how it felt like a thriller book even though for me the draw of the story was really in Jane’s character progression and how she had to reacclimatise to day to day life.

I do still feel like there could have been more depth or focus given to Jane’s relationships in the now section, unusually I found myself less interested in the who and the why of her abduction so would have maybe preferred more of the balance shifted toward her trying to reconnect with friends but despite that, I still feel that this book is a must-read.

I feel like there is so much more that I want to say but this is the kind of book that I can’t describe accurately without spoiling that obsessive must read more feeling that I feel like most people will get with this book. What I will say is that it is well written, engaging and will definitely put you through the emotional wringer, this is an author that I would easily read again.

What a suspenseful ride! This was a lot stronger than I anticipated as I had very low expectations for a YA novel. I'm not a YA hater, but it tends to be very hit or miss. The character and plot development were very strong here. Emotions were tugged left and right.

I know that my reviews today are beginning to be repetitive, but I literally couldn't put this one down.

Laurie Faria Stolarz's Jane is a memorable protagonist as she recounts the seven months she was held captive and the aftermath in which she tries to rebuild her life by writing her story. The chapters alternate between "THEN" and "NOW" and highlight Jane's struggle to accept the traumatic event that she survived.


I have no idea why I like "kidnapping" stories so much, but something about Jane kept me from looking away. All I know is that I cannot stop thinking about this book.


Thanks to Beatrice Jason of St. Martin's Press who invited me to check out an egalley of this upcoming title on Netgalley.

Goodreads review published 07/01/20
Publication Date 07/01/20

This book was so terrifying and so intriguing at the same time! It was gripping, inspiring, and un-put-down-able!

Great work continuing in the bildungsroman tradition of YA of those finding their voice. Looking forward to seeing what Laurie Faria Stolarz does next!

A fictional story about a girl writing her abduction story, the horrors she faced, and the trauma she must now live with upon her return to life post-abduction.

Such a fast-paced read that jumps back and forth between then, pre-abduction/abduction, and now, post-abduction. I found my own anxiety building at times when the abduction and confinement is taking place, which is a testament to the writing of this novel. This could easily trigger someone that has PTSD from abduction or confined spaces, so beware of that before going into this.