Abducted from her workplace, Jane spent seven long months in captivity. Her captor passed her food, and clean laundry through a cat door. Jane could hear other captives screaming and pleading. One night, Mason came to the duct in her room. His visits brought her comfort and kept her sane. Alternating with the present, Jane outlines her parents attempts to make her normal, and the confusion she feels on the outside.

I could not put this book down. It was absolutely fascinating. I'm glad that the author included two different time-lines, it worked well with the story. Jane was an extremely realistic and sympathetic character. Overall, highly recommended.

I liked this book a lot and read it in just one sitting. There's not a whole lot happening but you get sucked in because it was such a roller coaster of emotions.

The back and forth between past and present was interesting and I especially liked the part when past and present came together for the reveal.

Loved the scene where she has a panic attack and it turns out to be a psychologist that is able to walk her through it. That conversation about finding a therapist that works for you is such an important one.

The themes of PTSD and trauma played out so well and the characters were so well flushed out. Highly recommend!

Honestly I loved this! I was surprised at myself because usually YA isn’t my thing but this is a solid thriller-ish book about a girl who is kidnapped and held captive and trying to come to terms in the present with what happened to her. There is no sexual violence in the book which I was worried there might be, and I appreciate that, so the material stays very YA appropriate, and I feel like the character’s struggle mentally with her experience is depicted in an accurate and respectful way. It did take a couple chapters for the story to get going but I thoroughly enjoyed it once it did

Yes! This is a darn good book.
I expect it to do as well as "Room" - it manages to capture the nausea and horror of abductions, but also the massive fallout of what happens after, for a YA audience.
I cried multiple times during this read. Anyone that's a survivor of abuse and has developed coping strategies, read with caution, because the way Jane reacts and deals with her trauma is incredibly well written and real, and hit home.
A sad and moving novel that kept me turning the pages until I'd finished it in one sitting.
Highly recommended - if youve read Room, then this is right up your street.

This...this was a rough one.
Even though I read and loved some of the author's previous work, I was definitely not ready for Jane Anonymous.
So raw and painful, it made me feel as if a brick was lying on my chest while reading.
At certain parts I even regretted ever starting it.
I was googling if it's possible to get a chip installed in people (me), so they (I) can be tracked if ever gotten kidnapped, after only reading the first few chapters.
This story seriously got me frightened!

And, yes, I figured out the who the kidnapper was and his motive about halfway through, but I wouldn't say it's easy to see it coming. It was just my gut feeling (and reading too many mysteries), that I couldn't shake off and ended up being right. You might be completely and utterly surprised.

Such a great, compelling story. It's fast-paced, vivid, and forces the reader to feel what Jane feels.
In the "THEN" chapters, there is a clear, palpable feeling of the panic and despair of being held captive, fading in and out of consciousness, and being unsure of what's to come.
In the "NOW" chapters, Jane is back home, seven months later, struggling to piece together what happened to her and trying to find some sense of normalcy.


Huge thanks to NetGalley & the publishers for providing me with an advanced copy.

I received this arc courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Jane Anonymous is a book I recommend wholeheartedly, but it's also a book that's intensely dark, so dark that at times one might question whether it really belongs in the YA section. But while the subject matter is something hopefully no teen reading it will go through, in many ways the kidnapping could be a metaphor for any of numerous situations teens face, like depression.

There are a lot of content warnings for this book, including kidnapping, possible sexual assault, and a variety of mental health issues. It's hard to warn for things without spoiling aspects of the book, but just be prepared for a lot of dark elements.

The disconnectedness and searching for a sense of self and identity are common themes in YA. This novel certainly pushes those themes to extremes, but they still resonate because they are things most teens face at some point in their lives.

The way the story was told (divided between Then and Now, all written by Jane in a journal-type format) kept the suspense going. The way things end with the kidnapping will likely feel like a punch to the gut; because Laurie Stolarz is an amazing writer and provides plenty of twists. I don't want to spoil the ending because it's worth the journey of reading the book unspoiled.

I will definitely be reading more of Stolarz's books, which is one of the best recommendations I can give.

This book was a fantastic read! I loved how we went back and forth between then and now, of the story of being kidnapped, and the story of recovering from what she experienced. It was pretty intense, and such a great read!

One thing that I really enjoyed, was that everything, from her school to her name, which wasn't her real one, her name probably isn't Jane, was generic, fill in the blank kinda of name. So you could fit her story in pretty much anywhere, imagine it was your town where this had happened.

With going back and forth, we knew that there was something up with the kidnapping and the subsequent captivity. And then when we found out what that was, wow, did that make for great reading! Jane had a long journey to go through!

The now side of the story was for healing. That nobody really knew what she went through, who might have guesses, well, yeah, that wasn't easy to go through. And her method of coping, from the outside, was worrying. She had to come to terms with that she knew, and what she didn't, and find out the truth of what happened to her.

Loved reading this book, it was a fantastic read!

Jane greets us at the beginning of the book, and she is speaking directly to the 'Reader'. It felt so much like a real preface authors sometimes include in their books that I actually started to ask myself if Laurie had been kidnapped and was writing her story down. I quickly realized that it was only Jane, who, in an effort to keep her identity from the prying eyes of the world, changed all the names and places in the story. She became Jane Anonymous, letting us in to her broken mind. The book is told in chapters of Then and Now, separated as memories come back to present Jane, recounting her seven months locked away by a faceless monster.

What a great read! I think my students will love how this book parses out what happened to Jane between chapters of how Jane is dealing with her ordeal in the current time.

This book, about a teenage girl who is trying to “readjust” to life after 7 months in captivity, was a total mind-bender. I liked the framework of the story being that “Jane” is writing her memoirs but never reveals her identity or where she lives to us. So there is this interesting juxtaposition between the first person POV creating a sense of intimacy and trust with the reader, yet also keeping basic information from us.

Jane is an unreliable narrator. She’s deeply traumatized and in ways that even she cannot begin to grasp. But while on the surface we, the reader, are the only ones getting the “real story” (the one she doesn’t want to tell people in her life), it’s not really true. This book is best read with as little information as possible; instead, let the story unfold and go on this journey with Jane.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author but this certainly made me interested in reading more from her.

3.5 stars. This is my first book by this author and I enjoyed her style of writing. It flowed well and her development of the plot and characters kept my attention. I almost stopped reading it at the beginning because I am not a fan of fictitious kidnapping plot lines, esp if they go into detail of what the character endures while held captive. Although the main character is held captive the author keeps the story interesting without adding gratuitous details. With that said, Jane is still kidnapped and the story is told through her journal after she escapes. She goes back and forth between her time as a captive and after she escapes. It’s heartbreaking to read her thought process as she tries to make sense of her experience. She deals with shame, regret, guilt, anger and loneliness. You go on her journey of recovery and you are rooting for her the whole time.

Thank you #netgalley for the ARC of #JaneAnonymous

This was an amazing book to read but I have to admit it was out if of my ordinary reading preferences. At times the writing is clunky and sad as to be expected but it truly is eye opening. The twist was somewhat lacking but that can be due to me reading a ton of thrillers lol. All in all this was a pretty good read and the writer has a fantastic way with words.

Thank you very much to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy of my ARC.

The story of Jane as she works through the trauma of a 7 month captivity. She tries to make sense of that experience and find a way to reenter the world she no longer feels a part of. Dark and raw, a powerful look at trauma and recovery.

In the vein of Ask Alice or Speak, Jane Anonymous tackles a difficult subject - life after abduction. Alternating between memories of the seven months she was kidnapped and modern day, Jane attempts to learn how to relive the life she left behind as she is now. I really enjoyed this novel, although I will admit that the Jane was a little immature and the book skirted some topics that could've been explored more in depth. Still, a good and important read!

A special thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

It is very tricky of the author, to have the protagonist Jane Anonymous attend No Where High School in Anytown. It makes it more relatable. Perhaps the cover could be just a silhouette, to appeal to more readers.

The plot is tantalizing, although I skipped ahead to find out the truth about THAT GUY. And then I got pulled away from the book before the end. I will go back to it, though. I just have to,

This book totally sucked me in and I loved it! It was such a cool premise, a girl who was kidnapped and managed to escape, telling her story. The Then and Now back and forth really broke the story up and made it engaging. Seeing what Jane went through and how hard it would be to adjust was great. I also thought the way her parents, especially her mom, reacted seemed realistic. They tried to understand, but no one really can. Jane's mom just wanted her to get back to her life, but to do that when you're a completely different person and have been through trauma is hard, if not impossible. Jane had to come to terms with things and decide how her life is going to play out. Great story, highly recommend!

Oh my goodness, the twists In this book I almost feel like she was more content living as a captured girl then living in her own home with her parents. This book is trigger some on so many levels but I could not put it down. I'm about 20 minutes from being done I am anticipating this ending like you wouldn't believe. Will have a finished review on my Goodreads so stay tuned and follow me on there.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was SO excited to get approved for this 2020 release. This book IS intense, but very well written. Jane writes her experiences with her kidnapping as a healing mechanism for her trauma. The book is split between then and now. **trigger warning ** there is NOT any sexual abuse detailed in this book but it could be interpreted that there was inappropriate touching.

Jane is a 17 year old girl with a loving set of parents, a best friend and a maybe boyfriend. When she is kidnapped, all of that life is not only on pause but she isn't the same girl when she rescues herself 7 months after she was taken.

I had suspicions somewhat early on into the book that Mason was an unreliable character. The things he was saying weren't adding up, his stories about trying to date in the outside world somewhat mirror Jane's memories before she was taken. He also attempted to reframe her relationships, something that struck me as manipulative. That he "befriended" Jane and was her only contact with another human for 7 months is a trauma most of us could not understand, which is why I had to remind myself, as smart as Jane is, she couldn't see what was blindingly obvious to the reader. Even after Jane escaped (I was cheering her on and practically biting my nails) she struggled with the aftermath, sleeping in her closet, feeling detached from her loved ones and having food issues. Volunteering at the animal shelter and rekindling her friendship with the lovely human Jack helped put Jane on the road to recovery, along with finally finding the right therapist. The only thing is I wish Jane would have verbalized that her stalker took her because of his obsession with her and maybe a little of his back story.

OH I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!

I will have my main review coming later on Goodreads when I can get my thoughts together. BUT THIS book was so good. I highly recommend it. I will make sure I watch for other works by this author. Laurie did a great job and I loved the writing. There were moments I was holding my breath for the main character hoping she the best!!!

ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review