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purpleflower144's review against another edition
5.0
This was a wild ride from start to finish! Really keeps you on your toes! Not my favorite ending but overall I really enjoyed the book!
ladykaylee's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I read this book for the first time in the summer of 2021, and it was my favorite book that I read for the entire year of 2021. It's one of my top ten favorite books of all time, and I was putting off doing a re-read (or rather, a re-listen) because I didn't want to be disappointed if it didn't hold up in my memory. However, I need not have worried.
This book is described as a genre-bending story, and it really is. It's a detective story, a spy novel, a horror book, a sci fi epic, and a fantasy adventure all rolled into one. I love the queer representation of Jane, who--though she's never given a specific label--is most probably pansexual. I love the method of storytelling. I already admired Kristen Cashore as an author, and it takes an inordinate amount of talent to explore five different genres and to do so well within the bounds of a single story, with plot points blending into each other in such a way as to make the first read-through brilliant and my re-read even better, as I was able to pick out clues that I had missed three years ago. I also love the characters. They all seem varied and flawed in different ways that emphasizes their verisimilitude.
I can't wait to reread it again in another few years.
This book is described as a genre-bending story, and it really is. It's a detective story, a spy novel, a horror book, a sci fi epic, and a fantasy adventure all rolled into one. I love the queer representation of Jane, who--though she's never given a specific label--is most probably pansexual. I love the method of storytelling. I already admired Kristen Cashore as an author, and it takes an inordinate amount of talent to explore five different genres and to do so well within the bounds of a single story, with plot points blending into each other in such a way as to make the first read-through brilliant and my re-read even better, as I was able to pick out clues that I had missed three years ago. I also love the characters. They all seem varied and flawed in different ways that emphasizes their verisimilitude.
I can't wait to reread it again in another few years.
catbag's review against another edition
3.0
Jane, Unlimited was overall a very quirky and strange novel that was constantly changing.
The premise of the book; a twist on the 'choose-your-own-adventure' story, was very interesting and going into it, I was very excited to see how Kristin Cashore was going to put her own spin on it. Fire and Graceling are two of my favorite books because of the vivid imagery, amazing characters, and an overall beautiful style, so of course I was excited to dive into Jane, Unlimited. However, I found that it was more similar to Bitterblue than I would have hoped for in that the attempted complexity overwhelmed the core storylines and characters of the book.
Four times in the novel, the storyline stops and restarts where the reader left off. It then progresses into a different genre when Jane follows a different character. Each story reveals its own part of several ongoing mysteries in a different way. Every genre comes along with a different tone and different ways of presenting the same characters and (extremely weird) house. As always, Kristin did a fabulous job helping me fall in love with her richly developed characters, but the genres sometimes seemed to get the best of me.
At times, I was so confused by and frustrated with what was happening in a specific genre that I had to put the book down. The fantasy and sci-fi sections were the most difficult to read for me because they pushed so far out of the norm that they actually became ridiculous. A good chunk of the sci-fi section was spent on a pirate-ship version of the mansion in an alternate dimension, with no explanation for it. The characters all went along with everything and I lost respect for them for it. It was just way too much for me as a reader to go along with the ridiculousness.
However, some of the sections were very good, which is why my star rating is so high for this novel. The other genres were very well done, and the overarching theme of Jane, Unlimited is one of hope and willingness to let go of what you know and who you've been in order to grow and see the world more wholly. I very much enjoyed getting to solve some of the mysteries, but just a few too many more were created in the process.
The premise of the book; a twist on the 'choose-your-own-adventure' story, was very interesting and going into it, I was very excited to see how Kristin Cashore was going to put her own spin on it. Fire and Graceling are two of my favorite books because of the vivid imagery, amazing characters, and an overall beautiful style, so of course I was excited to dive into Jane, Unlimited. However, I found that it was more similar to Bitterblue than I would have hoped for in that the attempted complexity overwhelmed the core storylines and characters of the book.
Four times in the novel, the storyline stops and restarts where the reader left off. It then progresses into a different genre when Jane follows a different character. Each story reveals its own part of several ongoing mysteries in a different way. Every genre comes along with a different tone and different ways of presenting the same characters and (extremely weird) house. As always, Kristin did a fabulous job helping me fall in love with her richly developed characters, but the genres sometimes seemed to get the best of me.
At times, I was so confused by and frustrated with what was happening in a specific genre that I had to put the book down. The fantasy and sci-fi sections were the most difficult to read for me because they pushed so far out of the norm that they actually became ridiculous. A good chunk of the sci-fi section was spent on a pirate-ship version of the mansion in an alternate dimension, with no explanation for it. The characters all went along with everything and I lost respect for them for it. It was just way too much for me as a reader to go along with the ridiculousness.
However, some of the sections were very good, which is why my star rating is so high for this novel. The other genres were very well done, and the overarching theme of Jane, Unlimited is one of hope and willingness to let go of what you know and who you've been in order to grow and see the world more wholly. I very much enjoyed getting to solve some of the mysteries, but just a few too many more were created in the process.
ilianaelizabeth's review against another edition
4.0
Bueno, sostengo que es el libro más raro que leí hasta ahora, por lejos. Iba por la página 350 aproximadamente y todavía no podía precisar de qué trataba el libro (la contratapa del libro físico no da mucha información y yo evito buscar para leer la mente lo más abierta posible). Y ahora que lo terminé, si tuviera que explicarle a otra persona, no estoy segura qué tan bien podría hacerlo.
Pero, a su vez, tengo que reconocer que en cada sentada leía 100 páginas o más, por lo que un poco era intriga, pero otro poco es un gran halago porque aun sin entender del todo no podía soltarlo y necesitaba saber cómo seguía esta historia tan misteriosa.
Una vez que logré entender un poco hacia dónde iba y pude hilar algunas ideas, se me hizo más fluida la lectura. De todas maneras, me gusta cómo está escrito, algunos personajes me gustaron mucho, y cuando pude armarme más en la mente el mapa de la historia, entendí que estaba bien contada y que yo intentaba darle otro sentido distinto del que le correspondía, y eso ya corría por mi cuenta.
El final es lo que me hace darle cuatro estrellas, porque venían siendo tres, ya que me tomó casi 400 páginas poder entender lo que pasaba (puede que yo sea el problema, no lo quito de las opciones pero era parte de mis parámetros para evaluar), pero a su vez sin entender leí 400 páginas sin esfuerzo y seguía expectante buscando respuestas sin poder soltar el libro. Hay muchos giros interesantes, un equilibrio justo entre narración y diálogos, un uso del humor y el sarcasmo exquisito, personajes simples y personajes complejos, detalles que aportan color y referencias o guiños a otras obras literarias muy bien empleados.
Me siento en condiciones de recomendar este libro porque como mínimo es diferente a otras cosas que haya leído, y el final sube muchísimo y da sentido a muchas cosas que en el desarrollo parecen incoherentes.
Pero, a su vez, tengo que reconocer que en cada sentada leía 100 páginas o más, por lo que un poco era intriga, pero otro poco es un gran halago porque aun sin entender del todo no podía soltarlo y necesitaba saber cómo seguía esta historia tan misteriosa.
Una vez que logré entender un poco hacia dónde iba y pude hilar algunas ideas, se me hizo más fluida la lectura. De todas maneras, me gusta cómo está escrito, algunos personajes me gustaron mucho, y cuando pude armarme más en la mente el mapa de la historia, entendí que estaba bien contada y que yo intentaba darle otro sentido distinto del que le correspondía, y eso ya corría por mi cuenta.
El final es lo que me hace darle cuatro estrellas, porque venían siendo tres, ya que me tomó casi 400 páginas poder entender lo que pasaba (puede que yo sea el problema, no lo quito de las opciones pero era parte de mis parámetros para evaluar), pero a su vez sin entender leí 400 páginas sin esfuerzo y seguía expectante buscando respuestas sin poder soltar el libro. Hay muchos giros interesantes, un equilibrio justo entre narración y diálogos, un uso del humor y el sarcasmo exquisito, personajes simples y personajes complejos, detalles que aportan color y referencias o guiños a otras obras literarias muy bien empleados.
Me siento en condiciones de recomendar este libro porque como mínimo es diferente a otras cosas que haya leído, y el final sube muchísimo y da sentido a muchas cosas que en el desarrollo parecen incoherentes.
lottie_mitchell's review against another edition
Didn’t realize this had multiple stories, first didn’t grab me
andrea321's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
You have to know it is a choose your adventure book
cmbohn's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25