Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore

JANE, UNLIMITED by Kristin Cashore was a book that I eagerly anticipated because I know how much I – and students – have liked her writing, particularly Graceling. And I found the first two-thirds or so of JANE, UNLIMITED to be a fun, engaging read. Jane, just out of high school and looking for a life direction, is mourning the aunt who raised her and is creating one-of-a-kind umbrella works of art when she is invited to Tu Reviens, the family home of a very well off acquaintance.  She visits, remembering her promise to Aunt Magnolia to go there, if anyone ever asks. And then the strange behaviors start: disappearing works of art; spies and espionage; magical realism as the house seems to have powers of its own.  While I liked the mystery element, there is a significant shift in the story and Jane starts repeating her day, depending on the choices she makes (kind of a choose-your-own adventure feature ultimately across five genres) with the events becoming more weird, horrific, and unreal.   

Honestly, these multiple realities felt like more of an interesting writing challenge for the author than an entertaining story for the reader. At over 450 pages, this book may appeal to ambitious readers, but I wonder if most students will be patient enough to keep struggling with Jane through all of the strange events.  JANE, UNLIMITED received a starred review from School Library Journal.  

A year or so ago, I had some very positive comments about Jessica Cluess’ A Shadow Bright and Burning and I am happy to see that a second book in the series, A POISON DARK AND DROWNING, was recently released. This one, too, is filled with magic, romance, secrets and monsters! And isn’t the cover absolutely beautiful?  Read both of Cluess' books, in order. Then you will be ready for the third!  Yes, these titles also appear long, but the lexile levels are low (670) and both middle school and reluctant high school readers will enjoy the page-turning fantasy adventures of Henrietta (Nettie), her dear friend Rook, flirtatious Magnus, and the Earl of Sorrow-Fell.  Author Jessica Cluess is a graduate of Northwestern University and I love that she has worked for Writopia Lab – here’s hoping that we can get a representative to consider attending our annual Literary Festival held every Fall. 

University Press and professional reading ….

I recently evaluated two new titles from Yale University Press and can see applications for both at school. First was Haunted by Leo Braudy which, per its subtitle, deals with “Ghosts, Witches, Vampires, Zombies, and Other Monsters of the Natural and Supernatural Worlds.” Braudy, a Professor at the University of Southern California, is already recognized for his work on war, masculinity, and the nature of fame. In his new book, Braudy discusses monsters from nature, man-made, created monsters, the monster from within, and monsters from the past. Haunted is a perfect fit for the Monster Symposium we hold each year wherein our students explore the monster as “other,” as “evil,” and so forth.  Class discussions of texts like Shelley’s Frankenstein or Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray will also be enriched with Braudy’s insights. Recently reviewed in The Wall Street Journal (“The Monsters that Torment Us”), Haunted provides an enlightening read ("Fear is the pervasive topic of our times") in this Halloween (and election!) season.

The second title was The Battle for Syria by Christopher Phillips. This, too, is an excellent piece of scholarship and could be referenced by our Geography and Social Studies classes. A potential concern is the timeliness of this text given the constantly shifting news from the Middle East and Syria in particular. Phillips, however, provides a unique perspective and cogent analysis of underlying involvement of international forces:  US, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Iran. The goals, subsequent actions and outcomes fro each are described. We will likely pair The Battle for Syria with Richard Engel’s And Then All Hell Broke Loose.