In "Looking for Jane," Heather Marshall crafts a compelling narrative that delves into the intricate themes of motherhood, personal choice, and the enduring connections that span generations. The story intricately intertwines the lives of three women, each grappling with their challenges and decisions, which ultimately intersect profoundly.

The novel is deeply rooted in the emotional journeys of these characters, particularly against the backdrop of societal expectations and the stigmas surrounding women's choices, especially in terms of motherhood and reproductive rights. Marshall skillfully portrays the struggles her characters face as they navigate a world that often attempts to dictate their life paths. Her writing is both empathetic and unflinching, allowing readers to fully grasp the weight of each decision and its subsequent consequences.

One of the novel's standout features is Marshall's ability to create rich, believable characters. As readers delve into their lives, they witness the characters' dreams, fears, and sacrifices, making it difficult not to become emotionally invested in their stories. The intergenerational aspect of the narrative adds depth, illustrating how the choices of one woman can impact the lives of others, reinforcing the idea that our history is a tapestry of shared experiences and legacies.

The pacing of the novel is expertly managed, engaging readers with suspense and emotional stakes that compel them to keep turning the pages. Themes of love, loss, and resilience are handled with sensitivity and insight, providing moments of reflection amidst the tension.

"Looking for Jane" is not merely a tale of individual struggles; it also serves as a commentary on broader societal issues concerning women's rights and the fight for autonomy over one's body. Marshall's portrayal of these themes is thought-provoking and timely, making this a relevant read in today's world.

Heather Marshall's "Looking for Jane" is a beautifully written and emotionally resonant novel that explores the depths of female experience. It serves as a powerful reminder of the significance of choice and the importance of understanding and supporting one another in our journeys. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking a deeply impactful story that will linger in their thoughts long after finishing it.

Synopsis:

2017: When Angela Creighton discovers a mysterious letter containing a life-shattering confession, she is determined to find the intended recipient. Her search takes her back to the 1970s when a group of daring women operated an illegal underground abortion network in Toronto known only by its whispered code name: Jane.

1971: As a teenager, Dr. Evelyn Taylor was sent to a home for “fallen” women where she was forced to give up her baby for adoption—a trauma she has never recovered from. Despite harrowing police raids and the constant threat of arrest, she joins the Jane Network as an abortion provider, determined to give other women the choice she never had.

1980: After discovering a shocking secret about her family, twenty-year-old Nancy Mitchell begins to question everything she has ever known. When she unexpectedly becomes pregnant, she feels like she has no one to turn to for help. Grappling with her decision, she locates “Jane” and finds a place of her own alongside Dr. Taylor within the network’s ranks, but she can never escape the lies that haunt her.

Review:

This is one of the books that will stick with me forever. It is an easy 5 stars. This book looks at the history of abortion laws in Canada and we follow the stories of several women who are a part of the underground network that are either receiving or facilitating abortions. I think with the current state of the world, books like these are so important for everyone to read. I recommend this book at any given chance and will be gifting it as a part of a secret santa gift exchange this season. I will literally read everything Heather Marshall writes here on out. She's coming out with a book in 2025 that has to do with the history of women's mental health in Canada, so I'm looking forward to that one!!

I read it as a host of The Gloss Oakville.

My book club chose Looking for Jane as our October read this year and I'm so thankful for that! I somehow missed it when it first was released. Not only is the subject matter extremely relevant, but it's also an engaging story that was hard to put down. I found myself recommending it a lot while reading it and also after I finished.

The narratives of all three characters were all great! They were each relatable in their own ways and it was interesting to see how the story would unfold through their eyes. I liked how a letter from long ago was helpful to Angela and also didn't completely reveal everything that was going to happen from the past. There were still a lot of surprises along the way. It felt realistic and honest. Heather didn't hold anything back and some parts were definitely intense and sometimes scary as a result.

I had a couple of concerns, but these did not affect how much I liked this novel. Some of the timing didn't line up with the synopsis. Evelyn is sent to the home in the early 1960s. I know I may have read an advanced copy, but the timing wouldn't make sense even if it weren't. Also, an epilogue would have been nice to tie some parts together and also let the readers know how the characters were doing further down the road.

This novel is eye-opening and heartbreaking, but also really satisfying.

(Trigger warnings below.)

Movie casting suggestions:
Angela: Kathleen Munroe
Tina: Jena Malone
Evelyn (70s and 80s): Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Nancy: Oona Laurence
Tom: Luke Macfarlane
Alice: Kirby Howell-Baptiste
Michael: Christopher Briney

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TW: suicide, abortion, rape (off the page), miscarriage, medical emergency

This was quite mediocre - the subject matter is so important, but the (not one, but two!) future timelines took focus away from the historic timeline. The subject would be better served if the plot focused only on the original timeline and the work of the Janes in the past. The characters in the later timelines did not ultimately add a lot of value to the story.

I'm not sure what I expected based on the synopsis of this story, but I guess I wanted to give this book a chance because even when I go into something knowing it doesn't align and agree with my views, I can still often grow from and through it. I am very much pro-life and could barely stomach this story and the themes within it. I will not knock Heather Marshall's writing and storytelling, again knowing I disagree with the content and that it clouded my entire reading of this book. So I will leave it at this, that the book was absolutely not for me.

Loved!

All the words needed here.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

Very timely given the politics in our country. This book tells the story of women--those who want abortions but can't get them, those who were unwed mothers, those health professionals who want to help women. It's powerful and riveting.

Loved the multiple viewpoints and how they all coalesced together. I thought the author handled a very difficult topic in an incredible way

This is a really interesting and compelling work of historical fiction that I absolutely loved. The novel tells the story of three different women in parallel with the focus on choices made about motherhood. There is exploration of abortion and the law, the difficult decisions young women faced (and continue to face) and the history of abortion in Canada. The characters are memorable, and the stories are vivid. Marshall writes seamlessly, handling a difficult topic with ease. I highly recommend this one!

Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall was a captivating, heart wrenching, and ultimately hopeful book. The author provided a well researched historical fiction book on the journey Canadian women went on both before and after the legalization of abortion. The happenstance of all the characters finding each other seemed a bit too neat, but I don't think I would have been happy if they hadn't found each other.

What an important story for this time in history. Even though the book is historical fiction, there are undoubtedly stories like it happening right now, in states and other countries where abortion is illegal.

We read Looking for Jane for book club, and it definitely made for a good conversation. It features different women, at different points in their lives, with different ideologies, who all grapple with reproduction in some form or another. We have an underground network of abortion providers, a string of young women in crisis, and a woman facing the earth-shattering losses of infertility.

I thought this was a great, well-written story. The only problems I had were with the few things that had to line up *so* perfectly for the story to work. It was just a little too much, and to me it took away from the beautiful and important stories the book tells. Overall, though, I’d still recommend it. 4 stars!

We all should be thankful to the Janes. I had hoped these days were behind us, bit sadly they are not. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley!

Special thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. I should have read more than just the first two lines of the synopsis to see if this would be a book I would enjoy. I thought the idea of a long lost letter being found and reuniting a mother and daughter was going to be a heartwarming story, but the true subject matter and focus on the entire book is on a extremely controversial subject,

An engrossing story that highlights the struggles endured over generations to legalize abortion in Canada. Very well written and told from many perspectives Both the modern and two historical storylines keep the reader engaged. Thank you to NetGalley for the arc of this book.

A Dazzling Debut and Canadian Historical Fiction Masterpiece

Heather Marshall's debut novel, "Looking for Jane" tells the story of three women connected by a secret network that provided safe abortions before they were legalized. The historical fiction masterpiece follows the characters through different eras in Canada, highlighting the struggles for women's reproductive rights.

The novel boasts three strong female leads. Angela, living in 2017, discovers a forgotten letter that sets her on a path to uncover a family secret. Evelyn, living in 1960s Toronto is a young woman facing an unplanned pregnancy with limited options. Finally, readers meet Nancy, a young woman whose world is upended by a life-changing discovery, propelling her onto an unexpected path.
Readers are sent on an emotional journey as Marshall's characters grapple with difficult choices and the societal pressures of their time.

"Looking for Jane" is a captivating novel that weaves history, mystery, and family drama into a powerful narrative. This well-researched story with well-developed characters sheds light on a dark period in Canadian history and the fight for women’s bodily autonomy.

Highly recommended for fans of Kristin Hannah, this thought-provoking novel, sheds light on a significant but often overlooked chapter in women's history. It is a story that celebrates resilience, sisterhood, and the enduring fight for reproductive rights.

4 stars. I found aspects of this story deeply confronting due to losing my great-grandmother to an at home abortion in the early 1930s - my grandfather never knew his mother - and although I know that back in the early 30s there were very very few choices for women who found themselves pregnant, and didn't want to be, it still makes me angry that she didn't have a choice over her own body to say no.

This is why it's so important that stories like this are told. And although I didn't always like the writing style, and found all the names and dates to be slightly confusing, I still think this is an important story to read. It gives a voice to those women who never had a choice, to those who made it possible for women to choose, and perhaps provides hope to those who now feel like they have no choice.

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book.

I loved this historical fiction book about the lives of three different women in three time frames. I never read the blurb about the book but requested it because it was historical fiction, I thought Jane was a woman who someone was looking for during the war or something, and I liked the cover. It was nothing that I'd predicted, but I loved it.

Angela Creighton begins the story in 2017 by finding a letter addressed to another person from 10 years previously, so she decided to open it. In it she found a letter that she felt she had to get to the person it was addressed to so she set out to find her.

Then we're introduced to Evelyn Taylor in 1960. She was a young girl put in a "home" for girls who'd "gotten themselves in trouble." Yes, I remember those days when that expression was used. It was a horrible place run by nuns, specifically Sister Theresa who was a cold-hearted, atrocious woman with evil intentions, not a good, compassionate woman whatsoever.

Spring forward to 1979 and we meet Nancy Mitchell, a twenty year 0ld woman who discovers something that changes her life forever, but she doesn't know what to do with the information.

I loved how the women's lives eventually converged and all the ends were neatly tied together. There was a huge twist in the end that I had not seen coming at all, but I loved it!

The Author's Notes in the back of the book explain in the author's own words what this book is about: motherhood, the confliction about being a mother, and "all the gray areas in between." Abortion and women's choice is a large part of the book, but only a part. Marshall says, "But most importantly, it's about women supporting one another through their individual choices and the outcomes of those choices."

I am a mother of five, grandmother of 22, and expecting my 7th great grandchild in two months, so my heart was torn and I cried while I read parts of this book. I have no doubt that anyone with a "mother's heart" will feel their heartstrings being pulled and probably need a little tissue.

I enjoyed learning more about the Jane Network in this book. I read it after Take My Hand and they shared some similar themes, among them, the plight of women's healthcare which is in grave jeopardy today. Before you vote, read this book and educate yourself about life before Roe V. Wade.

If you enjoy Kristen Hannah's books, you should try reading this book. I found it enjoyable, and well written.

An intriguing book about motherhood with Canadian history of treatment of single mothers and abortion rights sprinkled in.

I was captivated by the story of every main character and how they were interwoven at the end. Even though the story is sad and traumatic things happen to the characters.

The plot twist at the end seemed unrealistic to me. I would have preferred some ambiguity.

I would advise reading the content warnings if you are sensitive regarding certain topics. A lot is happening in this book