I love Jane Eyre and was very intrigued at a modern retelling. Lindner somehow manages to capture the feel of Charlotte Bronte's narrative style through the voice of Jane Moore.

I honestly wasn't sure I would like this. There are so many things about the original story that I was certain couldn't translate believably to the modern day. And yet... there is suspension of disbelief, but then there has to be in any fiction.

I sped through this and while reading the book, the story lived dreamily in my head after I had put the book down to go about my day, and I couldn't wait to get back to it.

Fabulous. ( )

I stopped and started this book too many times, because I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps I love Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte too much to have given this book a fair chance. It is not a bad book, but all it did was make me want to reread Jane Eyre! I will recommend this book to any teen girl who is looking for an intense and drama-filled book, because this story is intense and dramatic. The characters are fleshed out, and Jane's POV is very relatable to every girl/woman who never felt pretty or strong enough. I just can't say that I loved it. It was like drinking a Diet Coke when I really wanted a regular Coke. It tastes similar to Jane Eyre, but in the end, it just wasn't. ( )

teen fiction; romance. Jane Eyre gets a modern update, with Rochester recast as a rockstar and Jane recast as a Sarah Lawrence dropout (for lack of funds following her parents' unexpected death). ( )

There are no werewolves, vampires, zombies, or really anything supernatural in April Linder’s retelling of “Jane Eyre.” Instead there is Jane Moore, a nineteen-year-old art student who is forced to drop out of college and become a nanny to support herself after the death of her parents. Jane is chosen by the nanny agency for a special assignment which requires a cool, calm, capable woman who doesn’t care about celebrities or pop culture. Jane’s employer turns out to be Nico Rathburn, a well known rock-and-roll guitarist who has been out of the spotlight for several years but is planning a return to the stage. His five year old daughter, Maddy, is Jane’s charge, and Thornfield Hall, his country estate, becomes Jane’s home.

The plot follows the Bronte original fairly closely, though streamlined and pared down for a less patient audience. Jane is a matter-of-fact, plain prose narrator, and does not mince words or express herself in an openly emotional way. The ethical debate of Rathburn’s refusal to divorce his mentally ill wife, and the illegality and scandal of Rathburn’s attempt to marry Jane while he is still married to Bibi seems oddly old fashioned in what otherwise seems to be a modern American society. Other events, such as Jane being taken in by three siblings after fleeing Thornfield, seem downright dangerous and ill-advised in the modern setting, while Linder’s reinterpretation of Mr. Rochester, while attractive to modern audiences, lacks the mysterious aura and danger of the original. Still, for teens who are interested in the genre of reinterpreted classics, or who like to read novels about rock stars, this is a good recommendation. Jane, as the unloved youngest sibling of a beautiful young socialite and an unmotivated alcoholic brother, may have particular appeal to those who view themselves as the only mature one amongst their family. ( )

Loved this book! Probably the best YA book I have read in years. ( )