Lianne Oelke

Nice Try, Jane Sinner is as unique as it is relatable. In desperate need of independence, snarky Jane Sinner moves into the House of Orange, an amateur college reality show seemingly inspired by The Real World, where she uses her cynical wit and Psychology 101 tactics to prove to her budding fan base and to herself that she has what it takes to succeed. Jane is a complex protagonist who goes through a crisis of faith and identity, makes mistakes, fails, succeeds, and ultimately grows as a show more person. Her caustic, humorous voice is thought-provoking and compelling. Nice Try, Jane Sinner is a page-turner that I could not put down. show less

SunMar6
Ditching school five months before grad isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's too late to catch up now. I dropped the ship, that ball has sailed, Jane Sinner has left the building. Everyone is still a little scared to ask what I'm going to do now because they know I have no fucking clue. The parents certainly didn't see this coming. They're still scrambling to find "the window God must have opened, since he closed this particular door." I'm old enough to close doors on my own, thank show more you very much. But the parents don't want to hear that. They want to hear me say, "Why yes, I'd love to come with you to church this morning." Not "I can't, I have to catch up on a variety of reality television shows."

I love Jane Sinner. Besides being the queen of sarcasm, she's damaged but resilient, and she reminds me a lot of myself at that age.*

The novelty of playing hooky has worn off, and I'm desperate to fill my time with something other than introspection, the occasional afternoon stocking groceries, and Mario Kart.

Jane's parents want her to finish her high school credits at local Elbow River Community College, a very Greendale-like establishment, complete with a ridiculous mascot (#hashtags!) and a club list that includes Recreational Ceramics and the Nugz (as in chicken mc'nugz) Club. When Jane spots a flyer for a student-produced reality show, which includes cheap housing and the chance to win a used car, she agrees -- not exactly telling her parents that she'll be living in a coed house with video cameras everywhere, and not exactly telling the cast or crew that she's not exactly 18 yet.

My goal for now is simple: not to be the crazy bitch/douchebag/whiner/girl who cries at everything. Every reality show has one. That person never makes it to the end.

There's Marc, the 40-year-old, muscle-shirt-clad business major, who is pretty much the douchebag. Chaunt'Elle, who "listens to Meghan Trainor and Iggy Azelea and Nickelback" is clearly the girl who cries at everything. Robbie has signed up for the show to try to conquer his OCD issues. Raj and Holly are chem majors, who have a previous relationship, but he's a flirt and she's "ridiculously shy." The resulting story, told completely through Jane's journal, with dialogue written in script format, is hilarious and heartfelt and all the things.

If you like your YA smart and snarky (e.g. [a:Becky Albertalli|7579036|Becky Albertalli|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1392414949p2/7579036.jpg]**) and/or love Community and/or reality television, read this.

*I grew up in an evangelical christian house, where faith and church attendance were not seen as optional. My senior year "event" was much less dramatic/traumatic than Jane's, but it led to me moving in with my best friend and her mom for a bit. (Unlike Jane, I was already 18.)

**In addition to being in the same sub-genre, in her acknowledgments, Ms. Oelke thanks Ms. Albertalli, who "found me lurking in the obscure corners of the internet and encouraged, supported, and believed in me until I was ready to come out of the writing closet. I wouldn't be where I am without you." (I love it when authors I like are friends!) show less

Nicely done!

Sort of Breakfast Club meets an underground reality show. I loved the way this was written with the continual running commentary in Jane Sinner's head. Her interaction with the therapist in her subconscious was just delightful.
Jane Sinner, recovering depressant and attempted suicide survivor is looking for a second chance that doesn't involve God. This causes concern and consternation in her very active Christian family. Her old High School memories are too raw to continue show more attending. She enrols at the local community college, and in an attempt to leave home, auditions for an internet reality tv show. This gives her a rent free place to stay. Way to go, Jane!
I enjoyed all the participants and their quirky, sometimes grievous behaviour. Janes's fridge antics are a hoot. Pavlov's dogs taken to a new height! Very clever.
There's is some pointed social comment about acceptance throughout the novel, particularly in this age of same sex relationships, via Jane's friend Bonnie. Really about acceptance generally of those who are different. It seems it takes a reality show to make that happen, and to have Jane accept herself.
We continually live in Jane's head. I really enjoyed this. Jane's angst and fears and way to deal with them are sometimes funny, sometimes sad but all the time real.
Her self deprecating manner and ironic commentary gives that extra special oomph to the novel.

A NetGalley ARC show less

I’m always weary of book suggestions when people pitch them as “You’ll love this book. This character is 100% you.” Which I heard twice. I also had it generally recommend as “You’ll love this book because you love crunchy characters” which I am much more accepting of. There’s also this hesitation with the first because it feels like I may be stepping into some introspection that I didn’t ask for. However, the whole “You are Jane Sinner” was spot on.

And I fell in love show more with this book.

I would like to start this review off with a warning. Jane did attempt suicide before this book picks up. What we see in NICE TRY, JANE SINNER is Jane living with the consequences and social stigma that follows a failed suicide attempt. No one warned me about this going in because I think it’s supposed to read almost like a plot twist- Jane mentions it as “The Event” until she reveals what actually happened. I’m sure someone is going to think that I’ve ruined some part of the book, but I haven’t. This book isn’t about Jane trying to die. This is about Jane trying to live, and she’s trying to live while being mentally ill, while dealing with her own shame. It was refreshing to see a character who wasn’t instantly like “Oh, I’m so glad I didn’t actually die.” Jane never says that she’s glad or regrets that she survived- she’s just trying to move forward which felt so authentic and real to me. Jane finds ways to be happy, she finds joy in parts of her life, but she still has an underlying sadness that made her feel so relatable. Jane is your best friend who slips in and out of focus- she’s there but not always. She’s surviving but not necessarily thriving… and she’s working hard to change all of that. That’s what makes Jane Sinner such an important character. Not what she did but that she’s trying to fix it.

The relationships in this book are amazing. I like that the love interest, Robbie, isn’t a perfect guy. He’s not your typical YA love interest- Robbie is a nice person who does shitty things. I’ve seen a lot of hate for him for things that happened in the book but I honestly loved him more for what he did. I think we’re so used to these self-sacrificing characters that when one breaks away from the mold, it seems horrifying. However, Robbie and Jane didn’t know each other that well. Yes, there was a friendship and it felt like they were moving towards more, but at the end of the day, they were two people who were competing in a game. I don’t blame Robbie for what he did and I don’t blame Jane for her reactions. Those emotions, those feelings, those actions are what made them real for me. Even the fights Jane had with her sister and her best friend were real- small fights that felt so devastating to the characters in the moment but were later forgiven. There were no giant grudges held. Jane and her best friend go weeks without seeing each other and guess what? They were still best friends! It was refreshing to see two best friends living separate lives and still loving each other.

I don’t have much to say about the Park siblings other than I love them. I love them so much. Especially Alexander who has tons of ambition and is trying to prove himself. Does he do really shitty things? Yes. And he feels guilty about them. And he apologizes.

The last thing I want to talk about in this book is religion. Jane grew up in a devout Christian family. She grew up going to church, being a part of youth groups, and surrounded by church people. She even admits that she used to tell her best friend she was going to hell for being bisexual (she admits this, has apologized, and feels terrible for it- this does not go unchallenged on page). But when Jane realizes she no longer believes the way her parents do, it shakes her world. I think that’s what tied in the realness of this book for me. In YA book, religion goes one of two ways: the character either finds God or the character doesn’t believe in God because lol science. This was the first book I’ve ever read where a character loses their faith and feels like they’ve lost a part of who they are. From personal experience, when you grow up in church and start questioning what you’ve been taught, what you believe, and what your family believes… it’s shattering. When I realized that I didn’t believe the same way my parents did, it felt like someone had died, like I had lost this person I loved, and I was worried that it would mean losing the people who still did believe the way I used to. Jane goes through those emotions. She questions herself. She is terrified. She mourns losing that part of her identity. That was such an important part of this book and I am SO glad that it was included.

I honestly feel like I could go on and on about this book, but I don’t want to get into spoilers. If you like Crunchy On The Outside, Soft On The Inside characters, this book is for you. show less