breanna_gaudaur's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Abortion, and Confinement
cc_shelflove's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. This is me teaching myself how to breathe again, because I almost forgot. I am simply astounded by what I just read. Looking for Jane is written in a way that makes the reader feel like he or she is a part of something big. Furthermore, to write about true events without conveying the facts like you are writing a research paper is a real skill, and Heather Marshall has mastered it. Inspired by true stories, we follow our main characters through three separate timelines: 1971, 1980, and 2017. There is a ton of foreshadowing in this book, and I STILL did not guess the big giant whopping colossal enormous supercalifragilisticexpialidocious twist at the end. Talk about tears! As mentioned in the author's note, this book is about abortion and the right to choose, but it is also about so much more. I think there is room for a sequel, because something Sister Agatha said to Nancy was not addressed or revisited. I would love to read more. I'm going to go hug my mom now. Wow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Medical content, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Self harm, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Infertility, Confinement, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Forced institutionalization, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Rape, Child death, and Grief
Minor: Blood
drenning's review
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion
unnamed_individual's review
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Rating - 4.6 rounded to a 4.5 star.
Looking for Jane is a historical fiction exploring reproductive justice. I left reading this story extremely sad about the state of my country, the United States of America. Many states are making abortions illegal, resulting in infections (for women with miscarriages who cannot access a D&C), unethical adoption practices, and a loss of female bodily autonomy. I recommend this book to everyone, from men to women, pro-choice to pro-life, and from the North Pole to the South Pole. Everyone should read it NO MATTER their religion, beliefs, or "morals."
Setting ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Looking for Jane explores reproductive justice between the 1960s and 2010s in Canada. I didn't realize it was in Canada (I am bad at geography), but I do not believe the location was as important as the story's message. The story always matched with the historical context of the year. The author also described the setting in enough detail to visualize the place, but not too much where I felt bored.
Plot ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The book is separated into four parts and in the voices of three characters, Angela, Evelyn, and Nancy. Each character appears in a different period where they eventually collide in the present. The story was a little slow, where some people would DNF. I love stories that make me feel like I am living the character's life; however, many prefer stories with an apparent rise and fall in the plot. The main plot is to reunite mother and daughter, who separated due to a lack of reproductive rights. There is a twist and a good one. I didn't find it obvious, but many people were able to see it happen. My issue with the twist was that the explanation didn't fit into the story. It seemed a little off. Another issue that I didn't quite think fit in was that Evelyn named her daughter Jane, but coincidentally the organization used the name "Jane." It seemed unbelievable to me.
Engagement ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Looking for Jane is a historical fiction that caters to the audience. I felt immersed in the book and finished it in 2 days; I didn't need to speed the audio to 2x because I loved how beautiful yet painful the story was. The author explored reproductive rights through the church's forceful adoption of Evelyn's baby, Nancy's experiences with abortion, and Angela's pregnancy. The entire story honed into reproductive rights. Another critical lesson was never keeping secrets. Hiding secrets is never the right thing to do. I left reading this book with a stronger sense of pro-choice rhetoric and sure of my choice to enter the healthcare field.
Characters ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Angela - though Angela was an integral part of the story, the angel who brings mother and daughter together, she was the weakest link. I didn't see as much character depth or growth. her lack of development may be because she is the only character in one "age." She doesn't grow through the years but in a few months. While she does a lot of research and uncovers many secretes, I was never excited to hear her part of the story. Nonetheless, she was a necessary part of the story.
Evelyn - I thought she had the most depth and growth of all the characters. Her story starts in her 20s and ends in her 80s. Her life was full of giving back to the world and changing women's lives, though she didn't seem to get anything in return. Evelyn was a strong woman, though she held many secrets, fearing what revealing them would mean. Evelyn's final confession to Angela is overwhelmingly beautiful and provides closure to the reader.
Nancy - Nancy represents the effects of generational trauma. There is beauty in seeing her learn the importance of not keeping secrets and realizing that holding onto the secrets is destroying her life. Her growth was also gradual, from her twenties to her sixties.
Style ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The narrative is in the third person. The writing is easy to understand. If you listen to audiobooks, it is narrated by Sara Borges; her voice is descriptive and emotional, and the character's voices reflect their personality and background.
As you can see, my overall rating is 4.6 rounded up to 5 stars. This story maintains the historical context of the story, has a fantastic twist, and immerses the readers in the real-life experience of reproductive rights in women. I would recommend everyone read this book to see the perspectives of the embodiment of millions of women's experiences.
Looking for Jane is a historical fiction exploring reproductive justice. I left reading this story extremely sad about the state of my country, the United States of America. Many states are making abortions illegal, resulting in infections (for women with miscarriages who cannot access a D&C), unethical adoption practices, and a loss of female bodily autonomy. I recommend this book to everyone, from men to women, pro-choice to pro-life, and from the North Pole to the South Pole. Everyone should read it NO MATTER their religion, beliefs, or "morals."
Setting ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Looking for Jane explores reproductive justice between the 1960s and 2010s in Canada. I didn't realize it was in Canada (I am bad at geography), but I do not believe the location was as important as the story's message. The story always matched with the historical context of the year. The author also described the setting in enough detail to visualize the place, but not too much where I felt bored.
Plot ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The book is separated into four parts and in the voices of three characters, Angela, Evelyn, and Nancy. Each character appears in a different period where they eventually collide in the present. The story was a little slow, where some people would DNF. I love stories that make me feel like I am living the character's life; however, many prefer stories with an apparent rise and fall in the plot. The main plot is to reunite mother and daughter, who separated due to a lack of reproductive rights. There is a twist and a good one. I didn't find it obvious, but many people were able to see it happen. My issue with the twist was that the explanation didn't fit into the story. It seemed a little off. Another issue that I didn't quite think fit in was that Evelyn named her daughter Jane, but coincidentally the organization used the name "Jane." It seemed unbelievable to me.
Engagement ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Looking for Jane is a historical fiction that caters to the audience. I felt immersed in the book and finished it in 2 days; I didn't need to speed the audio to 2x because I loved how beautiful yet painful the story was. The author explored reproductive rights through the church's forceful adoption of Evelyn's baby, Nancy's experiences with abortion, and Angela's pregnancy. The entire story honed into reproductive rights. Another critical lesson was never keeping secrets. Hiding secrets is never the right thing to do. I left reading this book with a stronger sense of pro-choice rhetoric and sure of my choice to enter the healthcare field.
Characters ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Angela - though Angela was an integral part of the story, the angel who brings mother and daughter together, she was the weakest link. I didn't see as much character depth or growth. her lack of development may be because she is the only character in one "age." She doesn't grow through the years but in a few months. While she does a lot of research and uncovers many secretes, I was never excited to hear her part of the story. Nonetheless, she was a necessary part of the story.
Evelyn - I thought she had the most depth and growth of all the characters. Her story starts in her 20s and ends in her 80s. Her life was full of giving back to the world and changing women's lives, though she didn't seem to get anything in return. Evelyn was a strong woman, though she held many secrets, fearing what revealing them would mean. Evelyn's final confession to Angela is overwhelmingly beautiful and provides closure to the reader.
Nancy - Nancy represents the effects of generational trauma. There is beauty in seeing her learn the importance of not keeping secrets and realizing that holding onto the secrets is destroying her life. Her growth was also gradual, from her twenties to her sixties.
Style ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The narrative is in the third person. The writing is easy to understand. If you listen to audiobooks, it is narrated by Sara Borges; her voice is descriptive and emotional, and the character's voices reflect their personality and background.
As you can see, my overall rating is 4.6 rounded up to 5 stars. This story maintains the historical context of the story, has a fantastic twist, and immerses the readers in the real-life experience of reproductive rights in women. I would recommend everyone read this book to see the perspectives of the embodiment of millions of women's experiences.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Abortion, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Sexual assault and Cancer
Spoiler
talks about forced adoption, difficulty getting pregnant, religious agendas of abortion and adoption, suicide by hanging and suicide attempt by slitting of wristjenna11's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion and Emotional abuse
thealyssa_ann's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
This book has everything - multiple timelines, strong and complex women, intergenerational relationships, political commentary without feeling like you're being beat over the head with it, history, and even suspense. In typical Alyssa fashion, I read about this book in some newsletter or from some influencer, put it on hold from the library, and promptly forgot what it was about. So picking it up and having it be historical fiction about the legalization of abortion at first made me want to put it down immediately. But the story of Evelyn and Margaret at the home for fallen women was captivating and totally new. And I was hooked because I needed to know how all the stories connected.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion
kawooreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Self harm, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Confinement, Gaslighting, Grief, Infertility, Medical trauma, Medical content, Sexism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Abortion
Minor: Sexual violence, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Blood, Rape, Death of parent, and Death
jenbsbooks's review against another edition
4.25
I thought this was a really good book. Listened to the audio (borrowed from the library) but was able to get a KindleDoc copy too. Didn't need to turn to it, but glad to have it and will likely glance at the book again. I probably should have been more in the text with some highlights and notes.
Abortion is a main topic here ... this probably isn't the best book for anyone with super strong pro-life feelings or triggers. I thought everything was handled well, and fairly, although this definitely is a pro-choice perspective. It never really addressed the super tough cases (how late into a pregnancy would they terminate?) and while not every case was black and white (some more just for convenience, but even when it wasn't rape or the life of the mother in danger, it IS a huge thing for these women) it was an interesting look at before abortion was legal ... although things have taken a step back in recent years (this was just published in 2023, although the book wraps up in 2017 in the storyline). One wonders what some of the characters would think with some of the current changes.
Present tense (although the prologue was past tense, didn't really see the prologue listed in the table of contents). Three POVs in different timelines: (1) Angela in 2017 on (2)Evelyn, starting in 1960 and (3) Nancy, starting in 1979. A single narrator in audio (Sarah Borges) which was fine as it was all 3rd person (if it's first person, I like different narrators).
"Choice" was a major political pivot point in the last couple elections in the U.S. (this book actually takes place in Canada) and I became very aware of people's perspectives on abortion - some who as so pro-life (or pro-fetus) that the mother (and the baby once born) don't seem to really matter. So many claiming that "they want to be able to abort a fully developed fetus/9-months along" ... which I've NEVER heard of that happening anywhere. The claims that Planned Parenthood encourage abortions and sell tissue ... I don't know of the truth of that, but believe there is evil on all sides. It was VERY interesting here to have the other side of that coin, that the nuns, the good and Christian home for unwed mothers, was mistreating the girls, stealing their babies and selling them. I'm sure there were good places, just as I'm sure there are clinics now that do abortions that are good.
I felt like many sides were represented ... Just as ... some spoilers here Then of course there is Angela, who is desperately trying to have a baby, and who was adopted herself. In the author's note, the author shares that she became pregnant while writing this book.
I thought this gave a good background into what some of the "evil abortionists" might actually been thinking and what they might have had to go through. What some of the women seeking an abortion might be thinking and what they might be going through. Again, I appreciated the author's notes (and that they were included in the audio ... they aren't always, but always should be!) telling what portions were researched and based on actual events and facts.
Abortion is a main topic here ... this probably isn't the best book for anyone with super strong pro-life feelings or triggers. I thought everything was handled well, and fairly, although this definitely is a pro-choice perspective. It never really addressed the super tough cases (how late into a pregnancy would they terminate?) and while not every case was black and white (some more just for convenience, but even when it wasn't rape or the life of the mother in danger, it IS a huge thing for these women) it was an interesting look at before abortion was legal ... although things have taken a step back in recent years (this was just published in 2023, although the book wraps up in 2017 in the storyline). One wonders what some of the characters would think with some of the current changes.
Present tense (although the prologue was past tense, didn't really see the prologue listed in the table of contents). Three POVs in different timelines: (1) Angela in 2017 on (2)Evelyn, starting in 1960 and (3) Nancy, starting in 1979. A single narrator in audio (Sarah Borges) which was fine as it was all 3rd person (if it's first person, I like different narrators).
"Choice" was a major political pivot point in the last couple elections in the U.S. (this book actually takes place in Canada) and I became very aware of people's perspectives on abortion - some who as so pro-life (or pro-fetus) that the mother (and the baby once born) don't seem to really matter. So many claiming that "they want to be able to abort a fully developed fetus/9-months along" ... which I've NEVER heard of that happening anywhere. The claims that Planned Parenthood encourage abortions and sell tissue ... I don't know of the truth of that, but believe there is evil on all sides. It was VERY interesting here to have the other side of that coin, that the nuns, the good and Christian home for unwed mothers, was mistreating the girls, stealing their babies and selling them. I'm sure there were good places, just as I'm sure there are clinics now that do abortions that are good.
I felt like many sides were represented ... Just as ... some spoilers here
Spoiler
we saw some women whose lives were going to be impacted so negatively if they had to go through with a pregnancy, (Nancy and earlier, her cousin) who benefitted from an abortion, there was Evelyn and Maggie, young unwed mothers who, while likely considering abortion if it had been an option, actually wanted their babies.I thought this gave a good background into what some of the "evil abortionists" might actually been thinking and what they might have had to go through. What some of the women seeking an abortion might be thinking and what they might be going through. Again, I appreciated the author's notes (and that they were included in the audio ... they aren't always, but always should be!) telling what portions were researched and based on actual events and facts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion
erin_m_05's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion
Moderate: Suicide, Emotional abuse, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Rape
reading_rainbows's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
It took a bit to get into, then it was hard to stop. I stayed up 4 hours later to finish listening to the audio book. I cried a bunch reading this book and loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, and Death
Moderate: Cancer