29 ratings | 3 reviews | avg rating:4.90

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Jessica Francis Kane

Goodreads Author

Born

in Berkeley, CA, The United States

Website

http://www.jessicafranciskane.com

Twitter

JessicaFKane

Genre

Fiction, Historical Fiction, Humor and Comedy

Member Since

April 2010

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Jessica Francis Kane’s new novel, FONSECA, will be published by Penguin Press on August 12, 2025. It is based on the mysterious trip to northern Mexico made by English writer Penelope Fitzgerald in 1952 and took Kane eight years to write. It has been named a most-anticipated book of 2025 by the Los Angeles Times, LitHub, Publisher's Weekly and others.

Her previous novel, RULES FOR VISITING, was a 2019 Indie Next Pick and became a national bestseller. It was named one of the best books of the year by Oprah Magazine, Good Housekeeping, Vulture, The Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Wall Street Journal, Southern Living, Real Simple, The Today Show, and Good Morning America. In the UK it was published by Granta Books and was a finalist ...more

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Jessica Francis Kane’s books

Average rating: 3.73 · 17,105 ratings · 2,710 reviews · 16 distinct works • Similar authors

	Rules for Visiting 3.73 avg rating — 14,810 ratings — published 2019 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Report 3.70 avg rating — 1,298 ratings — published 2010 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fonseca 3.72 avg rating — 682 ratings — published 2025 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	This Close 3.74 avg rating — 267 ratings — published 2013 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bending Heaven really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 26 ratings — published 2002 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	American Lawn really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Old Beginning it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2013	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lucky Boy liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Double Take & Night Class 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Essentials of Acceleration 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Jessica Francis Kane…

Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman know the radical life-changing power of a good friendship. The two launched their hit podcast Call Your...

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Jessica’s Recent Updates

Jessica Kane liked Trish's review of Rules for Visiting: "It took me a minute to find the wavelength of this book. At first it felt like a simple story about a botanist with unexpected time off, drifting through a series of visits to old friends. I kept waiting to be pulled into it, and once I realized what" Read more of this review »
10 hours, 11 min ago · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Rules for Visiting by Jessica Francis Kane. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Rules for Visiting by Jessica Francis Kane <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jessica Kane and 3 other people liked Lyon.Brit.andthebookshelf's review of American Fantasy: "Book Report: American Fantasy by Emma Straub The Emma Straub fan in me is SCREAMING 🚢🎤✨ This book is everything I never knew I needed. All I knew going in was…a cruise…a ’90s boy band, and a middle aged heroine… say less. American Fantasy follows Annie" Read more of this review »
Dec 07, 2025 08:45PM · see review
Jessica Kane liked Margot's review of Fonseca: "I found this novelization about a short visit British literary editor and later novelist Penelope Fitzgerald took to Mexico after being invited by some unknown, wealthy relatives to be very interesting. I have never read any of her novels (that will " Read more of this review »
Nov 30, 2025 04:19PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Fonseca by Jessica Francis Kane. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Fonseca by Jessica Francis Kane <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jessica Kane rated a book it was amazing Mexico's Day of the Dead: A Celebration of Life Through Stories and Photos by Luisa Navarro (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 23, 2025 10:53AM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Mexico's Day of the Dead by Luisa Navarro. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Mexico's Day of the Dead by Luisa Navarro <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jessica Kane liked Sara Habein's review of Rules for Visiting: "Really just about perfect. It's been a little while since I read a really good contemporary character-focused story. Our gal May is barely peeking out from her grief, and she absolutely does not know how to begin relating to people (it is not said th" Read more of this review »
Nov 22, 2025 10:28AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Rules for Visiting by Jessica Francis Kane. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Rules for Visiting by Jessica Francis Kane <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jessica Kane voted for Heartwood as Readers' Favorite Mystery & Thriller in the Opening Round of the 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards. Cast Your Vote
Nov 18, 2025 09:33AM · like
Jessica Kane rated a book liked it Heart the Lover by Lily King (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 29, 2025 03:11PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Heart the Lover by Lily King. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Heart the Lover by Lily King <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jessica Kane rated a book it was amazing At Last by Marisa Silver (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 29, 2025 03:08PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of At Last by Marisa Silver. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — At Last by Marisa Silver <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jessica Kane rated a book it was amazing The Ten Year Affair by Erin Somers (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 29, 2025 03:07PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Ten Year Affair by Erin Somers. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Ten Year Affair by Erin Somers <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jessica Kane rated a book liked it Heart the Lover by Lily King (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 29, 2025 03:05PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Heart the Lover by Lily King. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Heart the Lover by Lily King <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

More of Jessica's books…

Quotes by Jessica Francis Kane (?)

“It seems to me that your oldest friends can offer a glimpse of who you were from a time before you had a sense of yourself.”
― Jessica Francis Kane, Rules for Visiting

tags: friendship, self

11 likes

“Because certain things only come into focus when a person is gone. It’s sad but true. You need memory and loss to polish your thoughts.”
― Jessica Francis Kane, Rules for Visiting

10 likes

“Forgiveness without understanding is like faith without proof.”
― Jessica Francis Kane, The Report

tags: faith, forgiveness

10 likes

See all Jessica Francis Kane's quotes »

Polls

It's time to vote for the first Graywolf Press Book Club selection of 2011! You have until Thursday, December 16th to vote on our January 2011 read, and the winner will be announced on December 17th. All new books in all genres from 2010 are included. Happy voting!

Your Presence Is Requested at Suvanto: A Novel by Maile Chapman

5 votes 29.4%

I Curse the River of Time by Per Petterson

3 votes 17.6%

The Report by Jessica Francis Kane

3 votes 17.6%

Ghosts of Wyoming by Alyson Hagy

2 votes 11.8%

Unincorporated Persons in the Late Honda Dynasty: Poems by Tony Hoagland

2 votes 11.8%

Vanishing Point: Not a Memoir by Ander Monson

1 vote 5.9%

The Art of Recklessness: Poetry as Assertive Force and Contradiction by Dean Young

1 vote 5.9%

Obabakoak by Bernardo Atxaga

0 votes 0.0%

The Stranger Manual: Poems by Catie Rosemurgy

0 votes 0.0%

We Don't Know We Don't Know: Poems by Nick Lantz

0 votes 0.0%

I Just Lately Started Buying Wings by Kim Dana Kupperman

0 votes 0.0%

The Art of Description: World into Word by Mark Doty

0 votes 0.0%

Out of Sight: New and Selected Poems by Eamon Grennan

0 votes 0.0%

The Wilding by Benjamin Percy

0 votes 0.0%

Essays from the Nick of Time: Reflections and Refutations by Mark Slouka

0 votes 0.0%

Crave Radiance: New and Selected Poems 1990-2010 by Elizabeth Alexander

0 votes 0.0%

Skin, Inc.: Identity Repair Poems by Thomas Sayers Ellis

0 votes 0.0%

Missing You, Metropolis: Poems by Gary Jackson

0 votes 0.0%

17 total votes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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One Million Pages...: Dan P's Million Pages	35	128	Oct 03, 2010 10:07AM
The Next Best Boo...: Dan's 36,500 Pages In 2010	45	357	Oct 03, 2010 10:15AM
The Seasonal Read...: Winter Challenge 2011: Completed Tasks -DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC	2866	790	Feb 29, 2012 09:03PM
The Seasonal Read...: Fall Challenge 2012: Completed Tasks - DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC	2291	756	Dec 28, 2012 03:29PM

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Jessica’s Quotes

“Forgiveness without understanding is like faith without proof.”
― Jessica Francis Kane, The Report

tags: faith, forgiveness

10 likes

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