The History of Jane Doe by Michael Belanger

How I Heard About It:  One  of my summer reading goals is to read a young-adult novel each week.  During this last school year, I got away from reading this genre and I wanted to get back to it.  This particular novel was written up as one of the best for the month of June on Amazon.  During a visit to the local bookstore, I picked up a copy of the book.  

What It Is About:   Ray and Simon are best buddies.  They are outcasts at their high school, but they have each other and that is enough for them.  Then "Jane Doe" arrives at school.  She is a unique, out of the box, and city girl.  She and her parents have come to Ray and Simon's small town to get away from Jane's "past".  Ray and Simon aren't sure what to think of this new girl, but they are curious to get to know her.  The three of them begin to spend more and more time together.  Each of them adds a unique quality to the friendship.  Ray begins to "like" Jane more and more and eventually the two of them begin to date.  Simon doesn't want to be the "third-wheel", and Ray and Jane work hard to make sure this doesn't happen.  The more time Ray spends with Jane, the more he realizes she is running away from something in her past.  He tries to get her to open up to him, but his proves more difficult than he imagined it would be.  

What I Thought Of It:  I laughed.  I cried.  I laughed again.  I cried again.  These characters provided me with a range of emotions.  The emotions changed from page to page.  I can't remember when I have laughed out loud so many times during a reading of a book.  The interactions between the three main characters were funny, sarcastic, and real.  It was a joy to read the dialogue.  Even though I figured out what was going to happen right away in the story, it was still a shock and crushing when it actually happened.  Part of the reason the reader is let in on the "outcome" is because of the format of the story.  That is all I want to say so as not to give too much away.  Such an enjoyable and emotional read.  

Who Should Read It:   High-school and/or college readers will begin this story and not be able to stop.  It really is such a strong young-adult story.  Adult readers will also find it a satisfying read.  I'm recommending it to all of my reader friends.  Happy Reading!  

Rating:  4 STARS out of 5 Stars!