A review by claudiamacpherson
Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore

adventurous mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Jane was raised by her eccentric Aunt Magnolia after her parents were killed in a plane crash when she was a child. But then Aunt Magnolia dies suddenly, after making Jane promise to accept an invitation to the mansion Tu Reviens, so when an old acquaintance invites Jane to the Tu Reviens gala, she says yes. In the house, Jane meets a host of strange and interesting characters and is faced with choices that will alter her life completely.

First off, this might be the strangest book I've ever read. It was part mystery, part drama, part science fiction, and part fantasy, and it was amazing. I thought I could guess where the book was going at first, but quickly realized that it was not what I expected—but in a good way! Without giving too much away, I loved how the format of the book showed different perspectives and added details about each character.

The idea of the multiverse is head-splittingly complex, and I thought Cashore did an amazing job showing how small choices changed the story completely. I loved how each possible decision created a new universe, getting progressively weirder with each choice. After the portal to space in the fourth version of the multiverse, I didn't know how Cashore could create an even stranger discovery for Jane in the last section, but she managed it with the Narnia/Golden Compass-esque world in the painting!


Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just my judgement of how happy the ending is because I always wish someone would tell me this before I read books):
It's complicated...but ultimately there's a happy ending!
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