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Plain Jane: When does being stuck become ... unstuck? by Kim Hood
At nearly 16, Jane has lived in the shadow of her little sister Emma’s cancer diagnosis for over three years. Not that she was ever in the limelight; it is her sister who is the talented one, a dancer who at ten had been outgrowing her small town teachers’ skills. Jane had never resented her sister’s talent; without any interests herself, it had always kept the pressure off her.Now though, with her parents struggling to cope financially and emotionally, Jane’s life in her rural mining village seems to be a never ending monotony of skipping school, long bus rides to the hospital and hanging out with a boyfriend she doesn’t even know why she is with. Nobody really cares that her life is stuck in neutral; she is finding it difficult to care herself ...Ultimately, Jane begins to understand the real parts of her life that are good; her sister Emma's chances of recovery begin to improve and the two sisters try to rebuild the relationship they shared before the illness took over.
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About the author
Kim Hood
7 books9 followersKIM HOOD grew up in British Columbia, Canada. After earning degrees in psychology, history and education, she wandered through a few countries before making the west coast of Ireland home.
Her eclectic work experience in education, therapy and community services has presented endless opportunity to observe a world of interesting characters. She has always had a passion for trying to understand life from the perspective of those on the fringes of society.
Her eclectic work experience in education, therapy and community services has presented endless opportunity to observe a world of interesting characters. She has always had a passion for trying to understand life from the perspective of those on the fringes of society.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 4, 2016
I was sent a copy of this book by O'Briens Press, Ireland, in exchange for an honest review.
Jane is struggling. Her sister is ill with cancer, her parents are always in the hospital or working and Jane feels numb to it all. She's kipping school and wandering aimlessly around town or watching her boyfriend play video games. Then Jane meets Farley and she begins to participate in life again and confronting the things pulling her down.
I'm a little bit undecided about this book. I found Jane a little bit of a flat character for the most book. Her state of mind throughout most of the book was quite worrying and hard to read. She was very numb and pretty emotionless about everything. And I feel like while this came across well in the story, it did mean the majority of the book was a little bit dreary and dull because it refected Jane's mood. She's dealing with a lot and feels like she's basically taken a step back from everything so she doesn't have to feel everything about her sister's situation, her granddad's death and her general family situation. She's on her own for a lot of the book and I did feel for her a bit and cry out for her parent's to notice that she wasn't quite well either.
I wasn't crazy about Jane's relationship with Farley. It seemed to come on very suddenly and I could never quite work out exactly how much older he was. She was 16 but said he looked around 20 which is a bit of an age gap for a teenage girl in my opinion. I wasn't crazy about their 'meet-cute' either if i can call it that, it was just a tad weird. I think Farley could have possibly been more developed, I felt like we got some snapshots of him and his life and I could have gone deeper.
I wasn't expecting the mental break near the end of the book and Jane's dialogue becomes really fast and crazy and her whirlwind thoughts came across really well. It was obvious she was in trouble and needed help. I'm glad it was dealt with though I was a bit uneasy how she explained she needed to 'rebuild' things with her parents. She was sick, just like Emma, and I feel like they needed to see that a bit clearer, particularly her mom.
Overall, I ended up liking this book a lot more. Would recommend anyone to may have liked the family drama and the 'forgotten sibling' theme of My Sister's Keeper and books that touch on mental illnesses such as depression and bi-polar disorder.
Jane is struggling. Her sister is ill with cancer, her parents are always in the hospital or working and Jane feels numb to it all. She's kipping school and wandering aimlessly around town or watching her boyfriend play video games. Then Jane meets Farley and she begins to participate in life again and confronting the things pulling her down.
I'm a little bit undecided about this book. I found Jane a little bit of a flat character for the most book. Her state of mind throughout most of the book was quite worrying and hard to read. She was very numb and pretty emotionless about everything. And I feel like while this came across well in the story, it did mean the majority of the book was a little bit dreary and dull because it refected Jane's mood. She's dealing with a lot and feels like she's basically taken a step back from everything so she doesn't have to feel everything about her sister's situation, her granddad's death and her general family situation. She's on her own for a lot of the book and I did feel for her a bit and cry out for her parent's to notice that she wasn't quite well either.
I wasn't crazy about Jane's relationship with Farley. It seemed to come on very suddenly and I could never quite work out exactly how much older he was. She was 16 but said he looked around 20 which is a bit of an age gap for a teenage girl in my opinion. I wasn't crazy about their 'meet-cute' either if i can call it that, it was just a tad weird. I think Farley could have possibly been more developed, I felt like we got some snapshots of him and his life and I could have gone deeper.
I wasn't expecting the mental break near the end of the book and Jane's dialogue becomes really fast and crazy and her whirlwind thoughts came across really well. It was obvious she was in trouble and needed help. I'm glad it was dealt with though I was a bit uneasy how she explained she needed to 'rebuild' things with her parents. She was sick, just like Emma, and I feel like they needed to see that a bit clearer, particularly her mom.
Overall, I ended up liking this book a lot more. Would recommend anyone to may have liked the family drama and the 'forgotten sibling' theme of My Sister's Keeper and books that touch on mental illnesses such as depression and bi-polar disorder.
April 24, 2017
A bit boring plot-wise in the first 100 pages which put me off, but the plot twists concerning Jane's granddad and Jane herself were brilliantly planned and well written.
April 19, 2016
I've reviewed Kim Hood's first book Finding a Voice last year and I wasn't too crazy about it. I thought the topic was amazing and important, but the writing just didn't go in depth enough for me to really connect with the characters. With Plain Jane, Hood tackles other important topics, physical and mental health, but this time the writing makes it incredibly easy to connect to all the characters.
As the title suggest, Jane feels like she's plain and nothing special. Her younger sister Emma has cancer and all the focus is constantly on her and her treatment. While Emma is practically famous in their small Irish town, Jane wants nothing more than to explore more than the live she's living right now. With practically no parental help, Jane has to figure out if she really does like her boyfriend, how she can achieve more than her classmates and she also has to try to keep her more and more confusing thoughts in check.
Though Jane thinks she's plain, very early on in the narration the reader gets the idea that Jane's thoughts aren't that usual. Hood subtly weaves in more and more doubt in the reader's mind about Jane's mental health and about the way she observes things. Though first person narration is often considered inferior (even though I love it), in this book it works perfectly. We see what Jane sees and hear what Jane hears... or thinks she sees and hears. The unreliability of the main character is one of the biggest strength of this story.
I also love that the focus of this story is on Jane and not Emma. Though we are introduced to Emma's cancer struggles, it is never the main focus of the story. It's all about how the cancer influences Jane and how it switches the focus on how everyone is so distracted by Emma that Jane flies under the radar and is a 15 year old living with the freedoms of a college student. This obviously plays a huge part in her development and, also new for YA, the parents are never blamed for it. They really try to be there for Jane, but it's virtually impossible for them. For once, the fact that the parents don't play a direct role in the story is normal and explained instead of a mystery.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Plain Jane. I think at times, I still would have liked more depth in the story and for the whole plot to be slowed down. Certain elements are still rushed, but I really related to Jane and I loved reading this story. There are important topics in here, but it doesn't read like a mental and physical health instruction booklet - it's just a great story that sticks with you after you've finished it.
As the title suggest, Jane feels like she's plain and nothing special. Her younger sister Emma has cancer and all the focus is constantly on her and her treatment. While Emma is practically famous in their small Irish town, Jane wants nothing more than to explore more than the live she's living right now. With practically no parental help, Jane has to figure out if she really does like her boyfriend, how she can achieve more than her classmates and she also has to try to keep her more and more confusing thoughts in check.
Though Jane thinks she's plain, very early on in the narration the reader gets the idea that Jane's thoughts aren't that usual. Hood subtly weaves in more and more doubt in the reader's mind about Jane's mental health and about the way she observes things. Though first person narration is often considered inferior (even though I love it), in this book it works perfectly. We see what Jane sees and hear what Jane hears... or thinks she sees and hears. The unreliability of the main character is one of the biggest strength of this story.
I also love that the focus of this story is on Jane and not Emma. Though we are introduced to Emma's cancer struggles, it is never the main focus of the story. It's all about how the cancer influences Jane and how it switches the focus on how everyone is so distracted by Emma that Jane flies under the radar and is a 15 year old living with the freedoms of a college student. This obviously plays a huge part in her development and, also new for YA, the parents are never blamed for it. They really try to be there for Jane, but it's virtually impossible for them. For once, the fact that the parents don't play a direct role in the story is normal and explained instead of a mystery.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Plain Jane. I think at times, I still would have liked more depth in the story and for the whole plot to be slowed down. Certain elements are still rushed, but I really related to Jane and I loved reading this story. There are important topics in here, but it doesn't read like a mental and physical health instruction booklet - it's just a great story that sticks with you after you've finished it.
December 24, 2018
I really liked this book. Some people have said it seemed a bit dull at the start, but that was clearly related to Jane's state of mind and it was clear (to me) that something would have to give - she obviously wasn't happy and it felt like something was bubbling beneath the surface. I was really concerned for Jane and kept wishing she would stop pretending everything was fine and give her parents a chance to notice that she needed help.
It's always interesting to me to read a "child cancer book" that doesn't focus on the child with cancer but on their sibling, who is obviously also affected by what's happening within the family. Interestingly, bith books I've read this year that fold the story of someone whose sibling had cancer both had a mental illness aspect and I enjoyed them both.
It's always interesting to me to read a "child cancer book" that doesn't focus on the child with cancer but on their sibling, who is obviously also affected by what's happening within the family. Interestingly, bith books I've read this year that fold the story of someone whose sibling had cancer both had a mental illness aspect and I enjoyed them both.
March 6, 2023
I went into this book with quite literally no expectation of liking it but surprisingly I actually really enjoyed it. It's such a cute YA novel that takes a real look at grief and how a teen might deal with this alongside the reaction and it seems to be a pretty honest and not overly-glamorised look at what it might be like which was really nice to read.
For a book I bought in Poundland because it was cheap, I'd say it was pretty decent.
For a book I bought in Poundland because it was cheap, I'd say it was pretty decent.
April 22, 2018
Plain Jane is such an amazing book I have not felt so connected to a character in a long time. The way Jane's character was written was just amazing. The story never felt dull or boring. The sister bond between Jane and Emma was just so believable. I really don't know how else to describe this book but if I where to put it in three words it would be. Believable, Heartbreaking, Family-Oriented
September 12, 2017
DNF at 26%
I was excited to read this book, but it was just so dull. There was no story development. We got a sense that Jane was struggling and alone, but it too long for any kind of storyline to develop.
I was excited to read this book, but it was just so dull. There was no story development. We got a sense that Jane was struggling and alone, but it too long for any kind of storyline to develop.
May 18, 2022
I want to rate this 4 stars but there was parts that bored me but over all I quite liked the book and the mini plot twist and I do love the characters, but there wasn’t much about this book that was different to some others,still liked it though.
May 15, 2018
I knew nothing about this book when it first landed on my doorstep and because of that, I didn’t pick it up for the longest time. It’s one of those books that didn’t immediately jump out at me and so it fell to the side. By chance, I picked it up due to its length and it turned out to be one of those books that I wished I had picked up immediately.
Jane is a character that didn’t sway me one way or the other. Long after finishing this story, she didn’t stick in my head as a character. The story itself was good and kept me hooked while I was reading it. There’s an excellent twist that had me genuinely shocked.
This book is something I would call a slow burner. It’s not overly in your face exciting or gripping to begin with but the further into the story, the more facts that reveal themselves, the more you really can’t put this one down.
I particularly liked Farley. He’s an excellent character and was the perfect counterbalance to Jane. While I didn’t always enjoy reading Jane, Farley always kept me going. He’s one of those characters that makes you smile when you see them on the page.
I will leave this warning that there are some very graphic depictions of a suicide – it’s a little spoiler but I feel like this is something that you can’t just omit from a review. While it’s not something triggering for me, it did make me feel uncomfortable to read.
Overall, I enjoyed the story as a whole. There were parts that I felt let it down but I still thought it was a good read.
Jane is a character that didn’t sway me one way or the other. Long after finishing this story, she didn’t stick in my head as a character. The story itself was good and kept me hooked while I was reading it. There’s an excellent twist that had me genuinely shocked.
This book is something I would call a slow burner. It’s not overly in your face exciting or gripping to begin with but the further into the story, the more facts that reveal themselves, the more you really can’t put this one down.
I particularly liked Farley. He’s an excellent character and was the perfect counterbalance to Jane. While I didn’t always enjoy reading Jane, Farley always kept me going. He’s one of those characters that makes you smile when you see them on the page.
I will leave this warning that there are some very graphic depictions of a suicide – it’s a little spoiler but I feel like this is something that you can’t just omit from a review. While it’s not something triggering for me, it did make me feel uncomfortable to read.
Overall, I enjoyed the story as a whole. There were parts that I felt let it down but I still thought it was a good read.
March 4, 2016
Plain Jane was a very exciting, gripping and touching read that showed the real struggles of someone with a sibling who has cancer!
What I love about this story is the way the author Kim Hood didn't write a story about the cancer patient herself it was a story of how Jane deal with this in her life! It very rarely written about but is something that needs to be written about more, the other child who is mainly forgotten about.
Kim writes this story in Janes perspective and has done an excellent job of expressing Jane' feeling though out the whole book as more and more parts become apparent. I enjoyed guessing what would happen next and getting emotionally attached to Jane herself!
An unforgettable and must read book for all teens!
From lovereading4kids !
What I love about this story is the way the author Kim Hood didn't write a story about the cancer patient herself it was a story of how Jane deal with this in her life! It very rarely written about but is something that needs to be written about more, the other child who is mainly forgotten about.
Kim writes this story in Janes perspective and has done an excellent job of expressing Jane' feeling though out the whole book as more and more parts become apparent. I enjoyed guessing what would happen next and getting emotionally attached to Jane herself!
An unforgettable and must read book for all teens!
From lovereading4kids !
February 28, 2016
Wow. I enjoyed every part of this book and couldn’t put it down. I thought Jane was so intriguing and I couldn’t help but fear for her as the plot unravelled. I loved that it wasn’t a book about the girl dying of cancer, but more the people around her. I thought it was written so fantastically, and every page added something new and valued to the plot. The way Jane’s thoughts and emotions were written as she became more manic, were completely fascinating, and they really captivated me. Overall, I really loved this book and I think it is so important for young people to read.
April 14, 2017
I wasn't quite sure what I expected when I started reading this, but what I got was a beautifully written emotional roller coaster of a read, that keeps you guessing and hoping with every turn.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews