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A review by writervid
Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke
5.0
*potential slight spoiler below?*
Oh, this was so much fun. So funny. So real. I read the whole thing in a plane ride (which it makes it sound less impressive when I say I read it in a sitting but. Whatever.)
For starters, the characters were incredible, especially Jane. Her sense of humor felt the most honest to a teenager I've read recently, and her nihilistic take on the world was accurate, relatable, and in character. I appreciated her variety of tasks, like work and binge watching, and how they made her a well-rounded character. I loved how all her character arc was executed, with her opening up and learning to trust and accept herself on two different levels: publicly, through the House of Orange, and personally, through her relationships with R and her friends and family (and how often do you see family factoring in majorly in contemporary? So refreshing.) The different levels of this character arc made it that much more real, but were perfectly balanced within the story. I also appreciated how side characters had arcs as well, even if they were started later in the book, like Alexander's.
The formatting of the book enhanced it and made it easy to read, and that support felt similar to Adam Silvera's History is All You Love Me (which is a compliment; I loved that book). Jane struggles to be open to other people and comfortable with them, but cracks jokes in her own journal to avoid confronting her own issues. Her learning throughout the book to even approach that was well done in both the style of the book and the arc itself.
I also really enjoyed the reality show plot point, especially how they showed the show skyrocketing from just a few hundred views to local television, and how that impacted their lives, as well as the challenges. I don't have much else to say about it; it was well executed and super fun, especially Jane's little psychology experiment throughout it.
Overall, great. Only complaint was a slow down in pacing when Jane's motivation changed. I really enjoyed it. Highly recommend.
Oh, this was so much fun. So funny. So real. I read the whole thing in a plane ride (which it makes it sound less impressive when I say I read it in a sitting but. Whatever.)
For starters, the characters were incredible, especially Jane. Her sense of humor felt the most honest to a teenager I've read recently, and her nihilistic take on the world was accurate, relatable, and in character. I appreciated her variety of tasks, like work and binge watching, and how they made her a well-rounded character. I loved how all her character arc was executed, with her opening up and learning to trust and accept herself on two different levels: publicly, through the House of Orange, and personally, through her relationships with R and her friends and family (and how often do you see family factoring in majorly in contemporary? So refreshing.) The different levels of this character arc made it that much more real, but were perfectly balanced within the story. I also appreciated how side characters had arcs as well, even if they were started later in the book, like Alexander's.
The formatting of the book enhanced it and made it easy to read, and that support felt similar to Adam Silvera's History is All You Love Me (which is a compliment; I loved that book). Jane struggles to be open to other people and comfortable with them, but cracks jokes in her own journal to avoid confronting her own issues. Her learning throughout the book to even approach that was well done in both the style of the book and the arc itself.
I also really enjoyed the reality show plot point, especially how they showed the show skyrocketing from just a few hundred views to local television, and how that impacted their lives, as well as the challenges. I don't have much else to say about it; it was well executed and super fun, especially Jane's little psychology experiment throughout it.
Overall, great. Only complaint was a slow down in pacing when Jane's motivation changed. I really enjoyed it. Highly recommend.