ARC Review + Playlist: Jane Anonymous [Blog Tour]

Title: Jane Anonymous
Author: Laurie Faria Stolarz
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐💫
Genre/s and tags: Young Adult, Contemporary, Crime/Thriller, Trauma
Publication date: January 7, 2020
Goodreads synopsis:

Bestselling author Laurie Faria Stolarz returns with Jane Anonymous, a gripping tale of a seventeen-year-old girl’s kidnapping and her struggle to fit back into her life after she escapes.

Then, “Jane” was just your typical 17-year-old in a typical New England suburb getting ready to start her senior year. She had a part-time job she enjoyed, an awesome best friend, overbearing but loving parents, and a crush on a boy who was taking her to see her favorite band. She never would’ve imagined that in her town where nothing ever happens, a series of small coincidences would lead to a devastating turn of events that would forever change her life.

Now, it’s been three months since “Jane” escaped captivity and returned home. Three months of being that girl who was kidnapped, the girl who was held by a “monster.” Three months of writing down everything she remembered from those seven months locked up in that stark white room. But, what if everything you thought you knew―everything you thought you experienced―turned out to be a lie?

Hi book nerds! Welcome to my stop in the Jane Anonymous Blog Tour hosted by The Fantastic Flying Book Club! Not only am I posting a book review for this one, I’m also including a playlist I created!

Jane Anonymous is a gripping and deeply emotional story. It explores trauma and healing, and offers you suspense and heartbreak along the way.

My thoughts on Jane Anonymous

An interesting read and a deeply emotional story. That’s what this novel is. I was curious about this book because I wanted to know how the author will tackle such topic and how the characters will go through their journey. Safe to say, I was not disappointed.

The writing style of the author is great for this story. Not only did it grip my attention, it also provoked my emotions. As I read, I was able to connect with the main character Jane and her perspective, her thoughts, her trauma, her confusion, her struggle for closure, and her struggle to get back to normalcy. The exploration of trauma was really good and the alternating “THEN” and “NOW” perspectives made it more compelling. As a reader, I saw how Jane’s experiences in those seven months affected her life, her personality, her mind, her friends and her family.

The plot, although it was great, there were some aspects that were kind of predictable to me and there were still some subplots or questions that seemed unanswered. It would have been nice to get some answers about those certain things.

I also feel like the author could expounded more on certain elements. For example, most of the book was Jane recounting her experience and narrating her struggle on trying return to her normal life. It wasn’t until the end that we started to see Jane actually healing. And although I liked the ending, I would have liked to see more of that healing process and how she will overcome or accept her trauma.

Overall, this was a great read! My actual rating: 3.5 stars.

Content warnings: kidnapping, emotional manipulation, PTSD, self-harm, depression, mentions of sexual assault

Jane Anonymous Book Playlist

Paranoid – Post Malone
Escape Route – Paramore
Game of Survival – Ruelle
Find Myself – Faze
Breathe – I Belong to the Zoo
Praying to a God – Mr. Probz
Can’t Sleep – K.Flay
Man or a Monster – Sam Tinnesz feat. Zayde Wolf
Time to Heal – Vittoria Emanuelle

All these songs were inspired by various scenes and lines from Jane Anonymous. I definitely had a lot of fun creating this book playlist. I hope you like it!

This playlist is available to listen to! Listen to the Spotify playlist here!

Jane Anonymous Buy Links

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Books | Kobo

About the Author

Laurie Faria Stolarz grew up in Salem, MA, attended Merrimack College, and received an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College in Boston.

Laurie Faria Stolarz is an American author of young adult fiction novels, best known for her Blue is for Nightmares series. Her works, which feature teenage protagonists, blend elements found in mystery and romance novels.

Stolarz found sales success with her first novel, Blue is for Nightmares, and followed it up with three more titles in the series, White is for Magic, Silver is for Secrets, and Red is for Remembrance, as well as a companion graphic novel, Black is for Beginnings. Stolarz is also the author of the Touch series (Deadly Little Secret, Deadly Little Lies, Deadly Little Games, Deadly Little Voices, and Deadly Little Lessons), as well as Bleed and Project 17. With more than two million books sold worldwide, Stolarz’s titles have been named on various awards list.

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Tour Schedule

See more reviews, interviews, guest posts, playlists, and dream casts from other wonderful bloggers in this blog tour hosted by The Fantastic Flying Book Club! Click here to see the tour schedule!