this is a fun middle grade novel with some Jane Austen references....lack of any knowledge of Jane Austen won't hinder your enjoyment in reading this book. Can't wait to recommend this to my students

Through a number of mishaps, Jane attempts to meet her favorite author who has just moved to her sea-side town. Good addition to middle school collections with humor, marine science, a little romance.

My library currently owns a copy of this book.
Great for fans of realistic fiction and friendship.
I really enjoyed this and will be recommending it to the kids that come in.

Aspiring to be an author, 12-year-old Jane is eager to uncover the secret to literary success. When the author, J.E. Fairfax comes to her small town, she jumps at the chance to meet her. When a hurricane rolls in, she gets stuck with the author’s son, Devon. To make matters worse, her mother and her fiancé have shown up in town to get custody of Jane from her father. To stop her having to leave with her mother, she must find a significant other for her father. Will she figure out the secret to literary success? Will she be able to stay with her father? A comedy of error and romance, the plot is entertaining, engaging, and full of tidbits for aspiring writers. The characters are easy to relate to and enjoyable. Fans of middle grade realistic fiction, small town stories, adventure, and a bit of romance will enjoy reading this book.

Please note: This was a complementary review copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No financial compensation was received.

A dash of STEM, a pinch of Jane Austin and half a cup of middle grade magic gives you this book. It is a fun story that you could hand to just about anyone and they would like it. includes family drama, coming of age, crushes, moving and a hurricane!

A fun, coming-of-age novel, The Next Great Jane is exactly the type of book I would have read and loved as a kid. Jane Brannen adores her life on the coast of Maine with her father, and has aspirations to be a writer. When the opportunity to meet her favorite author is thwarted, a hurricane blows her out-of-the-picture mother into town, AND she gets assigned a project with the snobby new kid, Jane's life gets turned a bit upside down. Will Jane be able to get her life back on track? Is everything and everyone as they truly seem? The Next Great Jane definitely shows us, once again, not to judge a book by its cover.

Jane wants to be a famous writer and wants to learn the secrets of writing from the popular author who is visiting her town in Maine. When Jane's mother unexpectedly arrives in town, she expresses interesting in having Jane live with her in California. Jane would rather stay in Maine and decides to secretly find her father a girlfriend so he seems more capable of being able to take care of her. Jane learns about writing and relationships. This is a charming story of family and unlikely friendship

I really enjoyed the writing in this story! I felt very connected to the characters! I loved the subtle discussion of first crushes/connections. I enjoyed having a character who wanted to be a writer learning meaningful pieces of advice from a character who was a seasoned writer. The ending wrapped up a little fast, but it was wrapped up nicely and explained well when the seasoned writer talks about the strings she was pulling.

I received this ARC from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Next Great Jane is a story many kids will be able to relate to. Jane's looking for to become a world class writer, but when her chance at meeting a famous author gets waylaid, she could never imagine how much her world would change. Her mom drops in from California hoping to whisk Jane away to the Hollywood life she never wanted. The new boy ends up being her science partner, and she can't decide if she hates him or thinks he's not so bad.

I liked that Jane grew to stand up for herself and find her passion over the course of the two weeks of this story. It was a quick read, and I think there will be many readers who can identify with Jane's struggle with her mom.

Jane wants to be the next great writer, and what better way to perfect her skills than attending the visit of a published author! She is so excited to see her favorite author speak that she risks going out in a hurricane to do it. What she learns, though, is that there is no big secret that will make her a great writer.
Readers that dream of writing themselves will love to dive into Jane's quaint, Maine town. They will relate to her idealistic fantasies and cringe-worthy mistakes. Even if readers do not want to be writers themselves, they will be able to sympathize with Jane. From battling with the new boy, to barely tolerating her estranged mother, Jane - both fallible and lovable - learns a lot about what it means to be a friend, a daughter, a scientist and a writer.

This story strikes just the right balance between middle grade romance and action, beginning with the main characters getting lost during a hurricane. I know middle grade students will love all of the different relationships in this book, and will be hooked until the end!

A determined writer and a haughty science geek find themselves stuck together during a hurricane. When the wind winds down and the rain stops falling, they find their lives ever complicated by that day.

Jane's voice shines through brightly in The Next Great Jane. She knows who she is. She knows she loves her small seaside town of Whickett Harbor. Most of all, she knows she loves her father and couldn't bare to be taken away from him. I felt like I really got to know why Jane loved her small town. I could imagine myself smelling the sea air which added to a wonderful atmosphere that reminded me of summer in Florida. The added environmental discussion was surprisingly interesting as I was not bored reading about plankton. Who would have thought? The tenuous relationship between Jane and her mother was well thought out. I was invested in seeing how her relationship with her mother would change throughout the story. At first, I thought her father's absent-mindedness with forgetting to buy food (Anna, the babysitter, stocked up their refrigerator) and his overall silliness in the beginning of the story would become a problem with me liking his character. However, you really see him as a strong and caring father figure in Jane's life later on in the story. I liked seeing Jane and Devon discovering that maybe you shouldn't judge someone right away because there might be more to them than first meets the eye. Lastly, Jane's writing progression was so well done. She had ups and downs when it came to her writing but ultimately it came together in the most perfect way.

The main weakness I found was that I would have liked to get more of Devon's side of things regarding his parent's divorce and his feelings on his absent father. His family dynamic mirrored Jane's so it would have been nice to see a conversation between him and his mother since he had some pent up frustrations towards her at the beginning of the story. Explorations of his brother and sister's thoughts and feelings would have been interesting too. Kitty was another figure that could have been examined more as well since she was raised by her grandmother and lost her parents. She could have added more layers within the story instead of just being an ordinary side character. However, I truly didn't think about this while I was reading. I was thoroughly immersed with K.L. Going's writing and enjoyed my reading experience.

The Next Great Jane was a wonderfully layered story with a focus on family, writing, environmentalism, and second chances set in the perfect seaside atmosphere of Whickett Harbor, Maine.

I think this book would appeal to young Jane Austen fans. It is a great title for tweens. I will recommend it to other librarians as it is set in Maine.

Jane lives in a small town and wants to be a writer. When a famous author moves to town, Jane learns quite a bit not only about writing, but about finding one's passion, friendship, and being true to oneself. Very enjoyable! Wonderful descriptions of coastal Maine and ocean ecology as well.