A review by anishinaabekwereads
My Plain Jane by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows

3.0

3.5-3.75 Stars
I will say I did enjoy this paranormal retelling of Jane Eyre. I haven't read My Lady Jane but I felt going in that I had a fair idea that this retelling was going to be loose, filled with funny odds and ends, and, importantly, written for a YA audience. I confess, Jane Eyre is one of my favorite novels and has been since I first read it as a young teen. However, I went into this knowing I would have to be willing to let go of some of those deeply held feelings about Jane's story. It wasn't terribly hard until the story moved to Thornfield and Mr. Rochester (I simply couldn't stand how he was portrayed, but what can you do as a reader who went in with knowledge that beloved characters were not going to be the same?).

I enjoyed the ride this novel took me on. I enjoyed Helen (at least for a bit),

Bertha Rochester (to an extent because all of the small bits of French dubbed "creole" within irked me)

, and Jane (predominantly near the end when she seemed perhaps more similar to her true self). The real pull for me in this novel, surprisingly, was Charlotte. I was skeptical at the outset but I must say, her inclusion made it much much easier for me to leave Jane Eyre behind. The authors' inclusion of Charlotte allowed me to suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy the story as humorous paranormal mystery filled with enough pop culture and literary references (including quite a few nicely woven in references to the original) to make up for some of the things I disliked about it.

I would recommend for anyone looking for a light, fast-paced read who isn't super invested in the "retelling" aspect.