I haven’t read a book this hilarious in such a long time, the humour was sharp and sarcastic and best of all, real. Jane Sinner is such a realistic character, and I can already tell - despite finishing it on the 5th January - this will be one of my favourite books of the year.

Written in a journal style, I found it easy to understand Jane’s character, and her relationship with others. It also allowed insight into Jane’s emotions regarding an event previous to the beginning of the story - her not mentioning it to begin with and later discussion make it easy to comprehend her thoughts. I surprised myself by enjoying the way that the dialogue was written too, as it is written as a script. However it did mean that we don’t get as much depth to the other characters and they are perhaps not as fleshed out as they could have been, but I still found them to be interesting and well-developed.

As a character, Jane is perhaps “unlikeable”. Saying that, I actually loved her, but I can see why some may get annoyed by her constant dry wit and self-deprecation. This is a part of her that is startlingly real though, especially in teens. Her discussions of depression and suicide can come across as somewhat dismissive, as though she doesn’t quite believe in it. However, the format undermines this surface portrayal as her vulnerabilities are revealed as the story progresses, and she struggles a lot more than she would care to admit. I admire this book for taking this step. Depression and suicide are not romanticised in the slightest and they are also dealt with in a realistic way; Jane’s struggle, denial, acceptance, dark humour and coping mechanisms are all examples of this.

A lot of aspects of Jane’s character are relatable - her mannerisms, her behaviours, and also the fact that she is deeply flawed and recognises this. I mean, we’ve all embarrassed ourselves in public, multiple times. She does too, in small ways - like the average person, no ‘grand gestures gone wrong’ kind of thing - and I loved this.

There are a lot of passages which are quite raw, and the writing in this is absolutely wonderful. Not necessarily because it’s beautiful and poetic (much more difficult with a first person narrative anyway, and Jane’s voice is very blunt), but because it reveals so much more than what is said. I genuinely don’t think I’ve read a YA book in a long while where so much has been packed into short extracts. Jane appears to brush off her experience - or the ‘event’, as she calls it - but it’s evident that there is so much more emotion than what she thinks she is showing. For a debut novel, I am incredibly impressed.

The plot was different and fun, and the challenges that the housemates have to compete in had me laughing aloud (and getting odd looks from strangers as I read it in public - oops). They were so ridiculous, but equally I didn’t feel like they were ‘cringey’ - just well thought out (and I mean, they’re students, and my uni experience so far tells me that students will go to any lengths to earn some cash… or food). Leading from this, the pranks that they pull on each other made me crack up. Jane’s plan to stop her food being stolen was just brilliant. The fact that it’s about the first year of college (though Jane is technically a minor to begin with), just made it more relatable and entertaining for me personally.

One thing to quickly mention is Jane’s views on religion. She leaves Christianity (before the book even begins - not a spoiler!) and is critical of the religion. Her thoughts and the developments that lead to her eventual leaving are discussed as the book goes on, and I enjoyed this. However, I have no love for religion in the slightest, so the criticism amused me more than anything (she does explain her arguments), but someone who is deeply religious may struggle with what she says (it completely depends on the individual here I think, a lot of people would be fine with it, whereas others may be more sensitive). It does not make up a massive part of the book, though I did feel it should be mentioned.

If I’m honest, I don’t think I can truly do this book justice in my review. I absolutely loved it. It takes on several difficult topics and deals with them well, and in an absolutely hilarious way. Well worth a read, I can already tell this is going to be a popular release of 2018.

If you’re looking for a fun and fresh read to start the new year off right, I’d like to highly recommend Lianne Oelke’s Nice Try, Jane Sinner. Nice Try, Jane Sinner follows the life of main character, Jane Sinner, a 17 year old who has just gone through a personal crisis, a crisis that has actually led to her being expelled from high school just shy of her graduation.

When the novel opens, Jane is at a loss. Her friends are in their senior year of high school and getting ready to graduate and go to college, while Jane is on the sidelines. Her friends keep trying to include her in school activities, but it just leads to endless awkward moments because everyone now only thinks of her as the girl from ‘the Incident.’ Jane is desperate to reinvent herself so when her parents push her enroll in a high school completion program at the nearby Elbow River Community College, Jane agrees – on one condition. The only way she will attend the program is if her parents agree to let her move out on her own. Jane’s parents aren’t totally excited about the idea but desperate to help her get back on her feet again, they agree.

Jane secures housing for herself by signing up to participate in House of Orange, which is a student-run reality TV show that is basically Big Brother, but for Elbow River Students. At first, House of Orange is just a means to an end -- i.e. the rent is cheap. But as the competition gets under way and the show’s audience grows, Jane’s competitive nature kicks in and she begins to see House of Orange as a way to reinvent herself. She can be a winner and prove to herself (and of course everyone else) that she is not just the girl from ‘the Incident.’

The main character Jane Sinner was, by far, my favorite part of this novel. Jane drew me in right away with her hilarious brand of dry humor. It especially cracked me up the way she drove her dad crazy by intentionally using common idioms improperly: “You’re meowing up the wrong tree,” “I’m trying to turn over a new silver lining,” etc. I could practically feel his eyes roll every time she did it, and it made me laugh out loud several times as I was reading, as did the full blown psychotherapy sessions she conducted in her head throughout the story. Jane is a funny girl, no doubt about it!

What appealed to me most about Jane though was that underneath of all that humor, she has a lot going on. She’s a complex and very realistically drawn character and it turns out that a lot of her humor is actually a coping mechanism that she uses to deal with some pretty major issues that she is going through, including depression. Yes, in addition to being a hilarious and entertaining book about living in a Big Brother-style reality TV house, Nice Try, Jane Sinner also delves into some more serious and important topics, such as mental health. To that end, even more so than her humor, I came to admire Jane’s spunk and her determination to reinvent herself and make the most of the second chance she has been given. That’s not to say that she is perfect either. She is most definitely a flawed character who makes plenty of mistakes along the way, but that just adds to her overall appeal because who doesn’t make mistakes?

Aside from Jane herself, I also really enjoyed the college setting. It doesn’t seem like there are many books out there that really capture college life and all that it entails. (I’m sure there are others, but Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl is the only one that comes to mind at the moment). I love books that focus on this time in a young adult’s life because I think it’s something we can all relate to – that defining moment when we’re turning 18 and starting out on our own, trying to define ourselves independently, and out from under our parents’ rules, etc. I know, for me, that was a messy time so it definitely made sense to me why Jane wanted to be out on her own, no matter what she had to do to make it happen.


I’m not even going to call these dislikes, more like just a couple of places that gave me pause as I was reading.

Journal Format: Overall, I think the journal format is fabulous in that it is unique and because with the way the dialogue is presented, in a script-like format, it makes for a quick-paced read. I also loved being in Jane’s head and seeing all of her innermost thoughts. I found it a very effective way to present this kind of story. That said, however, and this is just probably a nitpick/personal quirk with me, but I’m always a little confused when I see entire conversations recounted in what is supposed to be a journal. Do people who keep journals actually jot down conversations? I didn’t dwell on it too much and ultimately decided “It’s Jane’s journal. She can write whatever the heck she wants to in it” but I’ll admit thinking about that did distract me a little as I was reading.

Secondary Characters: Again, this is just me because I always enjoy getting to know secondary characters almost as much as I enjoy following the main character, but I definitely would have liked to learn a little more about some of the other students Jane interacted with throughout the novel. We barely scratched the surface when it came to Jane’s housemates and Alexander Park, the student who is the mastermind behind the whole House of Orange project. The few details we got were great, but they left me wanting to know more.


FINAL THOUGHTS

I went into Nice Try, Jane Sinner expecting a fluffy and entertaining read about trying to attend college while simultaneously taking part in a reality TV series. The reality (no pun intended) is that I got so much more than that. Yes, it is an often hilarious read filled with reality TV-style pranks and shenanigans, but, more importantly, it is a moving read because of its focus on Jane’s mental health and second chances. Nice Try, Jane Sinner shows readers that although the road to recovery is often difficult, it is definitely possible.


RATING: 4 STARS

Jane Sinner is almost 18 and she has decided that she no longer can be successful at her high school. There was an incident that happened, she just can't seem to escape the staring eyes judging her for what happened.

Knowing she can't just stop going to school, she decides to go to her local community college to finish her school credits. While there for an orientation, she stumbles upon a flyer to sign up for a reality online TV show putting her up against 5 other students competing for a car and a scholarship. Jane doesn't hesitate, she applies. She may not be old enough, technically, to compete, but she knows that she has what it takes.

Little did she know, the show would turn out to mean more to her than she ever thought possible.

Jane Sinner is an incredibly relateable character. I loved this book from start to finish. I am a reality TV junkie, so reading about a character in a show was right up my alley. I liked the mystery that surrounded her incident leaving readers wondering what could have happened to cause her to leave school. I was a little thrown by her therapy sessions, but it wasn't a deal breaker for my top rating. This is recommended for older teens, but will fit in well with most library collections without a doubt. Highly recommended.

I am very excited to share my review today of Nice Try, Jane Sinner because it has a lot of what I like to read. Jane, our main character, is not a perfect person and she owns that. There's depth to this and her reasoning; finding those reasons out was entertaining and a bit shocking.

Caution: talk about suicide/suicide attempt

Jane's cynical nature was entirely relatable from the onset. There are clues, as the book progresses, as to what she was like Before, Before here meaning "some big event as yet undisclosed that changed Jane's life FOREVER". Those tidbits hinted at something or someone that she was and now despises. You keep seeing her reflect on her past, things she's said or done that were cringe worthy at best, utterly horrible at worst. I thought these moments were evident of her growth to this person she is now while wondering what kind of event could have happened in her life to give her this jolt. Once her story was revealed, my understanding of her increased and, while she still had some rough moments, the relatable feeling intensified. Her memories about the epiphany she had in church, the questioning, it just meant so much.

There were times throughout the book where Jane's attitude was grating, such as when she moves into the House of Orange and mocks her neighbor for having an "unnatural" name, depicted when Jane spells it three different ways in her head (Chanel/Shawntel/Chaunt'Elle).

Despite the times when she was kind of intense and difficult to understand, there was a lot of insight from Jane regarding her past (being the church kid who follows the beliefs of her parents, resulting in telling her friend Bonnie that she'll go to Hell for her sexuality) and how she's found a different way of looking at things, growing past the close mindedness that she experienced growing up. It was hard, no doubt, and it's evident when she interacts with her parents and people from the church, but there's also the evidence that she cares for her family even as she wants to move away from their environment. Her younger sister, Carol, plays a big part in showing us how much Jane cared/still cares, through when they interact at Jane's parent's house and when Carol visits Jane's college accommodations.

There were a lot of different kinds of scenes in Jane Sinner. There were funny moments, tricksy moments, emotionally full moments; scenes when I was laughing so hard I teared up and ones where my stomach felt like it dropped to the floor. Readers will find a bit of everything in this book and while some of it may be hard to read (see caution warning above), it all leads to a fairly astute observation from Jane at the end of her story.

"And yes, I can be a motherfucking idiot sometimes, but today I was something else."




Favorite Quotes

"I also used to love running around half-naked with crayons up my nose because I thought they looked like fangs. I take comfort in knowing people can change."

"The family keeps acting as though going to community college is a big deal, as though I'm taking a step forward, not backward. As though this makes me an adult. If I'm an adult, what happened to my childhood?"

Jane has a personal crisis and isn't going to graduate high school. Instead her parents push her to attend a local junior college to complete her coursework and get her diploma. As we learn throughout the book, Jane is very skilled at manipulation and gets her parents to agree to let her move out (at age 17) in order to attend school. Instead of moving in with a friend, she signs on for a local reality tv show based on a group of college kids. While I am not a fan of reality tv, with the exception of Amazing Race, I enjoyed reading along as Jane grew during her time in the house. Additionally, I was surprised to find the other members of the house were not the stereotypical single-dimension characters that Ms. Oelke could have easily defaulted to and that the topics explored in the book were relate able to a teen audience but weren't viewed in a condescending manner. This made for a very enjoyable read.

Never really pulled me in -- a day after I finished it, I didn't remember much at all about it. An interesting concept, but the characters never came alive for me, and much of it seemed labored.

I was really looking forward to reading this story, but I only have my Kindle to read on and it wouldn't work on the .mobi platform. :(

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.



Content warnings: suicide, depression, religious family

This book was such an unexpected delight. I can already sense that Nice Try, Jane Sinner is a book readers will either completely love or completely hate. It follows our main character, Jane Sinner, who has been kicked out of her high school due to some mysterious event. She decides to finish her high school education at the local community college, and while there, she joins a reality show called House of Orange. This book documents the ridiculous antics that go along with the reality show, but it also shows Jane’s growth as a person during the course of her time on HOO.

I’ll start by talking about the thing that, to me, stands out most about Nice Try, Jane Sinner: Jane herself. She has a ridiculously dry, sarcastic sense of humor, and honestly? I saw some of myself in her. She’s excellent at observing people and, in the case of her fellow contestants on HOO who piss her off, manipulating them. Her antics often had me both cringing and laughing out loud. I found her so refreshing because, though she deals with mental illness, Jane employs a sort of gallows humor (which she sometimes takes too far) to cope with her depression. This is something I, and a lot of other people with mental illness, do, as well, so I found that refreshingly realistic. Jane, while hilarious, often frustrates the people in her life for her refusal to take anything seriously. What I love most about her, though? She’s flawed. She’s such an imperfect character; her nonchalance is all bluster that she uses to hide the fact that she deeply, deeply cares what other people think of her. As someone with social anxiety, I have always, always struggled with this, and it both broke my heart and validated my feelings to see a YA character dealing with the same struggles. Jane’s voice is one of the strongest I’ve read in recent memory, and she’s a welcome addition to my list of favorite YA protagonists.

Nice Try, Jane Sinner deals subtly with so many important themes. From friendship, to familial relationships, to mental illness, everything was handled thoughtfully and realistically. Not only is Jane dealing with the aftermath of her suicide attempt a few months prior, she is also navigating how to proceed with her friendships, which were somewhat damaged in that process. She also struggles with the fact that she no longer identifies with her Christian family’s beliefs. Jane’s relationship with her younger sister, Carol, was one of my favorite parts of this story. Plus, of course, Jane meets tons of new people through her time living in the House of Orange. The author deals with all of these seemingly heavy subjects with no shortage of humor and heart.

I also loved reading about a YA protagonist in a college setting! More of this, please– after all, many older teens are in college. The reality show plot itself was just as ridiculous as you’d expect, which of course made it TONS of fun to read about. The questionable challenges, the cringeworthy sponsorships, the way the contestants strategize and plot against each other… all of it is hilarious. Another unique thing about this book: most of the dialogue is told script-style. I think this is because this book is Jane’s journal, and she kinda paints the people in her life as characters. It’s really clever, and it makes Nice Try, Jane Sinner a much quicker read than you’d expect from its long (for a contemporary, at least) length.

All in all, while this wasn’t a perfect book for me, it was still lots of fun. I adore the narrator, and I think the topics addressed in this story are so important for a YA audience to read about. I recommend Nice Try, Jane Sinner to anyone looking for a witty, sarcastic protagonist and/or a fun contemporary plot!

Have you read Nice Try, Jane Sinner? If so, what are your thoughts? If not, do you plan to read it?

TW for depression and attempted suicide.

Jane is a delightfully snarky narrator and I loved all of her observations and manipulations of the people around her. I didn't really know what to think of the whole reality show element of this book, but I think it worked really well and I ended up really enjoying it even as someone who never watches reality TV, so if you don't like reality TV and you're worried about that, I would say go ahead and give this one a try. It's also told through Jane's journal and while that can be limiting, I still felt like all the side characters were nicely fleshed out and real, even if a couple of them were annoying (which was their purpose, so good job). It's funny and a little heartbreaking and I really enjoyed it. I did wish we got a little bit more, especially from the ending (although I did really like the last line). Overall, I definitely recommend this for its unique setting/format and the wonderful, hilarious narrator.

Whata wonderfully insightful and humorous book! I loved the unique formatting, eccentric characters and the way the topic of mental illness was discussed. Jane is an unforgettable and relatable character. Shes quirky and ambitious and unapolagetically herself. I loved every minute of her story.

Post review January 2018: Seventeen year old Jane Sinner has just been kicked out of high school, months before graduation. Now at the local community college to grudgingly earn the rest of her high school diploma, Jane stumbles on an offer to be part of a 'big brother style' reality show while living at a local house. Anxious to be away from her parents, create a new identity not tied to her past major mistake, as well as win the used VW car that's the grand prize for winning the show, Jane claims she's 18 and signs up for the reality TV show 'House of Orange.' Jane's younger sister Carol, who idolizes Jane, is crushed, but Jane promises (and sometimes comes through) to visit often. Jane is a snarky, self-loathing, and often hilarious character with plenty of flaws. At times it seems like she is nothing but flaws as she tries to adapt to life on-camera and away from home. She guards the reason for her expulsion from high school, at first revealing only that she hurt everyone around her with what she did. The novel is set in Canada, near Calgary, and one of the first things American teens will notice is that the legal drinking age is 18 in Canada. All of Jane's friends other than Jane's younger sister are old enough to drink, and do so regularly in the book. The drinking is so prevalent and regular that I'll likely only recommend the book to readers 16 and older. Author Lianne Oelke struggles at times to keep Jane's snarky humor relevant; at times we can feel the author's hand working too hard to make Jane funny. But where Oelke succeeds is in Jane's struggles to overcome her past, even as she continues to make mistakes that put all of her new friends in jeapordy. Students who love the drama and politics of reality TV shows like Survivor will enjoy the insider's look at a small-time community college version of reality TV. Snarky teens everywhere will relate to the wonderful Jane Sinner.

It takes a while for Jane Sinner, Oelke's titular narrator, to grow on you, but once she does, you will be happy you spent your time with her. Jane is a refreshing narrator: snarky, sarcastic, neurotic. Jane is also an important female character: funny, depressed, smart(ish), athletic(ish), clever, without ever seeming like a stereotype of any one kind of teenage girl. Romance is a part of the plot, but Oelke never makes it the defining element of Jane's story. Oelke manages to deal with issues such as faith, mental health, self-confidence, family, and forgiveness without even breaking a sentimental sweat. Since the book is quite long (400+ pages), struggling readers especially will appreciate the journal entry format and abbreviated dialogue.

Recommend to: older high schoolers interested in funny books about real issues and post-high school life

I’m going to come right to the point on this one: it was a big disappointment. Nice Try, Jane Sinner is an obscenity-filled book about a nasty person with a filthy mouth and a rotten attitude. That she finally decided to do something decent for someone else at the end of the book did not make for a satisfying character arc nor did it turn this into a worthwhile tale. It simply made me wonder why I kept reading in the hope that there might be a point to this book.

I understand the need to use language that a teen reader might use in order to make a book feel relevant, but it was not necessary to give Jane Sinner such a foul mouth. This is not a girl I would want for a friend. The constant vulgar language did not make her endearing or funny. In fact, her stabs at irony fell flat more often than not. That a nice guy like Robbie would find Jane Sinner attractive was hard to believe.

So much of the story required suspension of disbelief. Did her highly religious, highly responsible parents really not insist on knowing where their previously suicidal seventeen-year-old was living? Was the teacher who hung out with students, encouraging them to gorge themselves on Chicken McNuggets until they threw up, supposed to be for real? The whole “she-becomes-a-reality-TV-star” felt like a fantasy written by a wannabee YouTuber.

The writing itself was fine, and the formatting used for the various journal entries was interesting.

Seventeen-year-old Jane Sinner has been trying to reinvent herself after an incident that resulted in her being expelled from high school. She enrolls in Elbow River Community College to finish her high school credits, and while there, discovers what could be her chance: a reality show. A student-led production, House of Orange is basically Big Brother, starring Elbow River students, produced and directed by Elbow River students, and streamed online. Jane sees this as a twofold opportunity: to reinvent herself and to move out of her home, away from her overbearing Christian family. She applies for the show, makes it in, and moves out. The show starts ramping up, gaining popularity and sponsors, and Jane loves the chance to be her competitive and snarky self. She's determined to win, but things don't always go as planned...

Nice Try, Jane Sinner is alternately hilarious and unexpectedly deep. Jane, who narrates the novel, is deliciously snarky while deeply conflicted. Her incident - no spoilers - brings up plenty of discussion opportunities, one of the biggest being: can we reinvent ourselves? Do we need to, at 17? Jane and her fellow competitors form cautious friendships, but it's tempered with the knowledge that, as the group shrinks and the stakes get higher, people are going to be backstabbed: something that will fuel Jane's fire even more.

Lianne Oelke writes reality TV well. Her characters have the omnipresent camera and learn to work it to their advantages. She also creates smart, believable characters that you may like, you may loathe, but you'll recognize; whether from your own reality TV viewing or real life. This one will be a hit with teens, who don't remember life before reality, and readers will love Jane's snark.

Not gonna lie …. I really, really love a thoughtful and interesting character driven novel. Ones that allow us to see both the good and terrible sides of people, understand the motivation behind the choices we make, and the effect the consequences/reprcussions of said choices have on our psyche. “Nice Try, Jane Sinner” is that novel. Jane is a snarky, sarcastic, misanthrope with a squishy heart under all that cynicism. Her struggle with mental health feels authentic rather than overly dramatic making Jane a character you want to root for and one many will be able to relate to. The humor can be kind of dark at times, but it doesn’t create a mood that feels overtly negative. Rather, it complements the story’s protagonist as well as the competitive nature of reality television. Overall, this really is a fantastic novel. Jane is totally awesome and while she is the star of the story, the secondary characters are not only interesting in their own right, but completely necessary to the narrative and help make this the well-rounded novel that it is. Definitely a worthy read, one that will make you laugh a lot, cry a little, and bring out the competitor in us all.

After Jane's incident, she left high school and became the child her parents could never want. Jane has decided to reinvent herself by attending a local community college and participating in a local reality show. House of Orange allows several students from Jane's community college to live in a house for cheap rent, compete in challenges for decent prizes, and have the chance to win a used car. Happy to get away from her family, Jane treats this Big Brother-esq reality show like a mini psych experiment and totally messes with her housemates. Readers are treated to the best cat fights, romance, and dastardly deeds one would expect from a reality show.

I had a great time with this book. I found Jane funny. It did take me some time to warm up to Jane and to hit my groove with the format. I genuinely liked the characters and was interested to see how all of their story lines played out. I would even be interested to see a second book...or this as a real reality show.

I would really love to read this. The story seems very cute, but it is not available for kindle, which is the only platform I have available.

What a refreshing and phenomenal book this is. Jane Sinner is not welcome at her high school anymore, after a period of struggling with her mental health. Meanwhile she desperately wants to move out, to get away from her parents (who obviously mean well, but are still annoying). The parents are very eager for Jane to continue her high-school education at a local community college: River Elbow.
Jane in turn is not so eager initially. She accepts, but under one condition: that she gets to move out. Like any other seventeen-year-old she isn’t exactly rich so that is a minor problem that needs to be resolved. The student-run reality show House of Orange provides an outcome. Jane signs up for the program which is more or less like Big Brother but then for Elbow River students. Only, how is she ever going to keep this new life separate from her old one without even her parents knowing about it? Most likely it will involve a lot of drama.
Best to just come to the point immediately, I LOVED this book so much. Even though the description did not seem fundamentally different from all other Young Adult books that exist, reading it was a whole new experience. For one, it is set in Canada! Yay. Also, I feel that this book opens up a dialogue on mental health in a very honest way. I am no expert, but it did not feel fabricated at all, and it was not something that magically disappeared either. But I was most impressed by how the topic of religion was addressed in Nice Try, Jane Sinner.
Religion to me is something that genuinely makes me cringe most of the time it is brought up in books. From an Atheist perspective, most perspectives on religion are very hard to relate to, or way too cheesy. Yet Lianne Oelke created a book in which religion can be seen through more than one perspective, and the interaction between characters who each deal with religion in their own way is more than interesting.
Furthermore, this book is incredibly funny. Jane Sinner is full of sarcasm and that makes me adore her. The book felt a tad bit longer than the average book in this genre, and in this case that is a good thing.
without doubt 5 out of 5 stars.

Jane Sinner is a wonderfully snarky misanthropic protagonist, with a fantastic name to boot, but boy did this book drag on a LOT. It's taken me days to get through a book I would normally finish in an evening. I don't think the length added much value to the story or the characters. The concept - a YouTube reality TV show to win college tuition - was fun and interesting, albeit completely ridiculous, but there's only so many interludes with an imaginary psychiatrist I can take.

(I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review)