Review: See Jane Run by Hannah Jayne

Title: See Jane Run
Author: Hannah Jayne
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release date: January 1st 2014
Pages: 288
Genre: Young Adult mystery
Source: Bought

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Riley Spencer never thought twice about keeping secrets from her parents--not big ones, at least. They didn't need to know that her math tutor was also her boyfriend and that cocktail dress she "borrowed" from her mom would be back before she missed it. But when she finds a birth certificate with the name Jane O'Callahan wedged inside her baby book, Riley must face the reality that her parents are the ones who might be lying to her.

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

See Jane Run is very different from what I’d expected. I had assumed that Jane would find out that her parents did kidnap her as a child, and that the rest of the novel would be Jane dealing with that and figuring out her past. But there is so much more to See Jane Run. The mystery goes in a very unexpected direction, which I really appreciated. The suspense is expertly done: throughout the novel, I was trying to figure out along with Riley what was going on, and just like Riley, I had no idea who to trust and what to believe. I’m not sure if the plot is entirely realistic and logical at all times, but that didn’t even bother me because the suspense is so well-done and the mystery captured my attention throughout.

The characters are okay. I felt for Riley, but she also frustrated me to no end because she can be incredibly dumb at times – there are many situations when she just seems to completely lack common sense or logic. I feel bad for judging this because she is in very stressful and traumatic situations and of course I can’t imagine what anything like this would be like, but as an outsider, she frustrated me to no end with her lack of rational thinking. The secondary characters are pretty good, but I wish the parents’ characters had been more developed, considering how important they are for the story. Shelby, too, seemed more of a cut-out than an actual person. I really liked JD – for once, a romantic interest with depth!

The ending is a little too happy for my tastes, and I don’t think it’s entirely realistic. Like I said, the story takes a very unexpected turn, which is good, but this means that the side plot that turns into the main focus ends up providing a resolution for the central conflict and all the other issues that are addressed over the course of the novel.  I understand why Hannah Jayne must have done this – a 300 page book doesn’t have time to resolve each of these conflicts separately – but the set-up just seemed a little too convenient for me, and I would have preferred for things to end up a little less perfect.

I know large parts of my review are very negative, but that’s not really what I’m trying to say. This book isn’t perfect – logic just isn’t its strong suit, and some of the characters lack depth – but I really did enjoy this. It’s entertaining, unexpected, and suspenseful, so if you’re looking for a fun mystery, you should definitely give See Jane Run a try!

Review: Truly, Madly, Deadly by Hannah Jayne

Title: Truly, Madly, Deadly
Author: Hannah Jayne
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release date: July 16th 2013
Pages: 262
Genre: Young Adult contemporary mystery
Source: Bought
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Sawyer Dodd has it all. She's a star track athlete, choir soloist, and A-student. And her boyfriend is the handsome all-star Kevin Anderson. But behind the medals, prom pictures, and perfect smiles, Sawyer finds herself trapped in a controlling, abusive relationship with Kevin. When he dies in a drunk-driving accident, Sawyer is secretly relieved. She's free. Until she opens her locker and finds a mysterious letter signed by "an admirer" and printed with two simple words: "You're welcome."

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Truly, Madly, Deadly sounded right up my alley. I love when books combine mystery - in this case, the murder of Sawyer's boyfriend - and a more personal, emotional storyline - Sawyer dealing with the trauma of her abusive relationship. Sadly, however, not all parts of the novel impressed me: most of the mystery storyine is well done, but the emotional aspect is very underdeveloped.

The suspense is what I liked best about Truly, Madly, Deadly. The scary atmosphere is really well-done, and it had me wondering about the different suspects. The mystery turned out to be a lot more complex than I was expecting - I thought it would just be about finding out who had killed her boyfriend, but it's a lot more complicated than that. There are various murders in Truly, Madly, Deadly, all committed to "help" Sawyer, which kept me on my toes throughout the novel. Even when I was having problems with other parts of the story, the suspense is what kept me reading and what made me finish the novel within a day.

Despite the well-done suspense, there is one part of the mystery that I didn't like, which was the ending. The culprit became obvious to me fairly early on in the novel, but I kept hoping I was wrong, that Truly, Madly, Deadly wouldn't use this cliche. Sadly, though, the cliche turned out to be true: a predictable culprit with predictable motives. Asides from the predictability, the implications of this reveal of the murderer also frustrated me because it could be seen as regressive in regards to a social issue. (Sorry for being so vague, but I can't really talk about this without revealing the ending.)

Looking at Hannah Jayne's website, I can see that she is a mystery writer, so it would make sense that this would be the strongest part of the novel. Not knowing that going into the novel, however, I was expecting the emotional side of the novel and the character development to be a lot stronger. I was really looking forward to the interplay of the mystery with the trauma of Sawyer's abusive relationship, but the latter was poorly underdeveloped. The story doesn't start until after Kevin's death, and we only see their relationship in flashbacks, so it makes sense that the main focus wouldn't be the abusive relationship. But I still find it unrealistic how little Sawyer is traumatized by the abuse she has undergone. Especially the two new love interests (who seem to only be introduced to have more suspects for the mystery) frustrated me because Sawyer's relationships with them do not seem to be affected by her past all that much. The emotional implications of other issues in the novel are underdeveloped as well: the other murder cases deal with suicide, bullying, and sexual harassment, but these issues are never really addressed; they're simply used to move the mystery along. I understand that the mystery was the main focus, but I still would have liked to see the emotional effects be elaborated on more.

Truly, Madly, Deadly reminded me a lot of the Pretty Little Liars series - both have good suspense, but are still relatively lighthearted in regard to the emotional effects of these events and issues. I enjoyed the mystery, but I would have appreciated a more in-depth look at the emotional implications, characters that are more than plot tools and potential suspects, and a less predictable ending.