Jane, Unlimited

I'm sorry, but I just couldn't do it. I couldn't finish it. Don't you hate when that happens? I hate when that happens. First, I feel like I'm missing something when I don't finish a book. And I am,  because obviously I don't know the resolution. Second, because I'm not getting what everyone else seems to get. I start thinking, am I reading it wrong?

But there are too many good books out there for me to spend time reading books I don't enjoy. I tried for almost 100 pages of this 443 page book. I really did. What gets me is that this book was inspired by (and pays homage to) Rebecca and Jane Eyre. I LOVE THOSE BOOKS! HOW DID I NOT LOVE THIS ONE?

I really think that was actually part of the problem--it felt like the characters were behaving as if they were in the 1800s/1900s but also as if they were contemporary, and I couldn't tell what the time period was supposed to be.

Jane's an orphan who has been living with her adventurous aunt for most of her childhood. But she's grown up now, and her aunt has died. Before she died, she extracted a promise from Jane: if she was ever invited to Tu Reviens, she was to accept. Jane doesn't understand why, but she agrees. And then her high school tutor, Kiran, invites Jane to Tu Reviens.

Well, the weird thing is that as you learn about them, you can tell they're not even friends. They barely know anything about each other. Kiran is distant and cold. So why did she even extend the invite? Then they arrive at the house and there's an odd assortment of other characters with weird relationships to each other also there, and I never could really figure out why. The relationships between characters felt very abrupt. Not in their development--most of them have known each other for a long time. It just feels hard to understand why they're there. They don't seem to like each other. It also feels like the Clue movie--a bunch of people assembled together for a reason and they all have their own agendas. I expected the butler to come out and say, "There was a murder!" Never happened, but there was a priceless piece of art stolen.

So this was originally supposed to be a choose your own adventure story. It was revised, but what you have is a kind of introduction to the characters and setting, and then 5 different choices (for Jane) that end five different ways. I didn't get that far, so I don't know what actually happened. I finished the intro, but couldn't bring nyself to read the rest. I didn't like the main character--she was rude. When I don't like a main character, I have trouble with the book as a whole. I mean, it seems silly because there are legit bad (not badly written, but bad) characters out there. I don't like them, but they're at least riveting and that makes the story better. I didn't feel the same about Jane. So this was a bust for me. It makes me sad.

But! On to bigger and better things! Well, at least better...