Customer Reviews

Jane In Bloom

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There aren't many books I would describe and both gentle and "packing a punch" but JANE IN BLOOM is just that. In reading this book you'll meet Jane and Lizzie (her anorexic sister), Jane's mother (sneaking cigarettes), her father (using The Voice when displeased), Ethel Barnaby (a babysitter with great wisdom) and Hunter, the cute "boy next door." While the predominant thread of the story is Lizzie's anorexia and how it affects the family, Jane is at the heart of things, and the story is told from her point of view. The author appears to have done her research (or had close experiences with anorexia) and its effects on the family are portrayed in heart-wrenching detail. The story has light moments as well, and Jane's family and friends are refreshingly non-stereotyped. There a few times when I (as an adult reader) felt the book was trying a little too hard to cover all the emotional bases, and a few of the happenings seemed unnaturally coincidental, but overall I appreciated the author's seeming wish to present a story that was at once enjoyable and true to the weight of the subject matter.

"My thoughts and feelings float through me like wisps of fog. They touch down and then lift off before I understand them..." In an honest and compelling voice, Jane shares the story of her emotional journey from a loss that threatens to shatter her and her family to acceptance and healing. In Jane, Deborah Lytton has created a genuinely likeable character who engages the reader from page one, making them mourn with her over the loss of her sister, struggle alongside her to understand the complexity of her family, revel with her in the warmth of her friendships, and blossom with her as she finally comes to understand that you must, "...grab onto happiness with two hands..." because "life is all about the journey." Beautifully written with sensitivity and tenderness, Jane In Bloom will make you cry and laugh and, most of all, root for the courageous heroine as she learns that "life takes you forward, even when you don't want to go."

In jane in bloom, janes sister recieves all the attention i the family; as in most stories. What i found interesting was that it was from janes point of view.(most books that i have read on this topic are from the anorexics or bulimics point of view.
All in all i found this a delightfully good and fast read that is well written and focusses on this topic very well.

It seems this year that there has been quite a few books dealing with eating disorders ( Wintergirls, Purge, Purge: Rehab Diaries). Though, out of those bunch of novels, none of them have focused on being a loved one of a person dealing with an eating disorder. So, when I found out that Jane In Bloom dealt with the other side, I knew I was in for a great book!

Luckily, Jane In Bloom was one of the most heartwarming and heartbreaking books of the year! Deborah captures the feelings of Jane in such a wonderful way with her writing. Since, you could feel Jane's frustration and love for Lizzie throughout the book. Lizzie was also a fantastic character, because you could feel her fight to be perfect, even when people already thought she was.

As mentioned above, Deborah's writing was great and added a bunch to the story, because of her well developed plot to the people she created within this. I'm looking forward to reading more by her.

Overall, Jane In Bloom is definitely one of my favorite books so far this year. I highly suggest you go pick up a copy from your local bookstore or library. I promise that you won't regret it!

Grade: A+

Amazing. Period. I cried through it all. A story of a girl's sturggle of love, courage, hope, faith and the strength to never forget, but to keep moving on.

Jane's big sister Lizzie has always been the center of attention and her eating disorder has always had the family on edge. But when Lizzie's habits become fatal, Jane discovers that the only thing worse than living in her older sister's shadow is living without her. Her efforts to blossom in the midst of tragedy make for an outstanding story.

Actress/musician Deborah Lytton proves herself a gifted children's author with a spare, sensitive voice with Jane In Bloom, her debut novel for middle graders. When 12-year old Jane's sister dies from an eating disorder, Jane learns how to refocus - figuratively and literally, thanks to the gift of a camera - ultimately accepting both her broken family and herself. Jane's at times heartbreaking story is given added poignancy by Lytton's clean, uncluttered prose. A beautiful story, beautifully written.

This book is very short- it's about 200 pages-, but it still packs a punch. It's unique in that it's about after the girl with the eating disorder is dead; it isn't about her, it's about the effect she has. Although Lizzie is dead, Jane's descriptions of Lizze and the funeral scene make Lizzie come alive; she still is extremely mysterious, but it feels as if she is real.

The book is written sparsely, which makes Jane seem older than her 12 years. I wasn't that big of a fan of the short sentences and descriptions, but I do think it helped the book. The different writing style did not stop Jane's voice from leaping off the page though. She starts off as more innocent, which definitely influences the tone of her writing, but as soon as Lizzie dies, there's a noticeable change in the tone. It sounds sadder, showing not only the change in tone, but also the change in Jane.

I loved Jane's development throughout the book. As expected, she mourns Lizzie's death, but as she interacts with her neighbors, she grows up. Learning to cope with Lizzie's death is something she does much easier than her parents, but she still learns to cope in a realistic way. It takes her time, a few bad moods, and a few new friends to get her out of her slump, but she still does it. I wished a little more time would have been spent with her being in a slump since it went by so fast, but that would have conflicted with the writing style a lot.

Jane in Bloom is an emotional, powerful read, but the sparse writing style may be distracting to some.

JANE IN BLOOM is a beautiful story of love, loss, and discovery. Ms. Lytton, a member of the Class of 2K9, comes out hitting with a winner.

The story starts out on an emotional high for Jane. It's the morning of her twelfth birthday and she is finally going to get her ears pierced. She is literally the last girl in her class to get them done. But the day soon turns bleak for Jane. Not only doesn't she get her ears pierced, nor get to open her presents (she's been secretly wishing for a digital camera), but her older sister, Lizzy (perfect and popular Lizzy) is found unconscious on the bathroom floor.

Three months later, Lizzy comes home, along with her eating disorder. No one talks about it, but it's always lurking in the background. And then, Lizzy is gone. The autopsy reveals she died from taking too many laxatives and diuretics. Jane's family is in slow motion and feels like it's falling apart.

Jane was always in the background, and after the funeral, her mother runs off to Arizona to Jane's grandparents. She's left her husband and Jane alone in the empty house. Slowly, Jane and her father begin to bond again until he has to go away on business.

Her dad brings in his old secretary to stay with Jane while he is gone. It's during Jane's time with Ethel that she finally starts to come to terms with her life. She's got a natural talent behind the lens, capturing life as it unfolds. While photographing Ethel's prized roses one day, she discovers that Hunter, the cute boy that came to her school halfway through the school year, lives next door. Hunter and Jane form a strong bond when they realize they each have lost loved ones.

The summer after Lizzy's death is a tough time for everyone in Jane's family. They all struggle with their grief in their own private ways. And it's through Jane's tragic summer that she can even emphasize with the girl that bullies her at school. Jane reaches out to someone else in trouble and proves that even though she's had loss, she's grown into a different and stronger person.

The story is told by Jane, the 12-year-old narrator. However, the surprising thing about JANE IN BLOOM is that Jane could be anyone. Ms. Lytton writes the novel in such a way that Jane could literally be ageless. The narration does not sound childish or overly exaggerated. It's a straightforward, heartfelt novel that will be sure to touch all who read it.

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

Twelve-year-old Jane has always been in awe of her big sister, Lizzie, who is perfect in so many ways. But there's nothing Jane can do to help when Lizzie's obsession with being thin spirals into unending arguments with their parents and ends in Lizzie's death. Suddenly the rest of Jane's family is struggling for survival as well, not sure how to forge a future together.

This tender book shows how one family member's emotional and psychological state impacts everyone else in the family in both large and small ways. Lizzie's parents are very human as they struggle to understand their daughter's eating disorder. They make choices that are well meaning and stem from their love of and fear for Lizzie, but ultimately they cannot save her. It's easy for everyone in the family to forget about Jane, who doesn't cause trouble and is not expected to perform as highly as Lizzie does. So when Jane becomes the only child, she has to find her way forward as her own person, not as a younger sister.

While Jane in Bloom deals with heartbreaking issues, it is also uplifting. It ultimately can lead to a good discussion in a mother-daughter book club about family roles, eating disorders, and how to find what's important to you in your life.