Bestselling author Laurie Faria Stolarz returns with Jane Anonymous, a gripping tale of a seventeen-year-old girl’s kidnapping and her struggle to fit back into her life after she escapes.

Then, “Jane” was just your typical 17-year-old in a typical New England suburb getting ready to start her senior year. She had a part-time job she enjoyed, an awesome best friend, overbearing but loving parents, and a crush on a boy who was taking her to see her favorite band. She never would’ve imagined that in her town where nothing ever happens, a series of small coincidences would lead to a devastating turn of events that would forever change her life.

Now, it’s been three months since “Jane” escaped captivity and returned home. Three months of being that girl who was kidnapped, the girl who was held by a “monster.” Three months of writing down everything she remembered from those seven months locked up in that stark white room. But, what if everything you thought you knew―everything you thought you experienced―turned out to be a lie?

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book! I have loved Laurie Faria Stolarz since high school, when I picked up ‘Blue is for Nightmares’ on a whim, and was utterly and completely charmed by her knack for writing supernatural stories with an undeniable aftertaste of horror. To say I was excited to pick something up of hers again was an understatement. It felt like coming home to be wrapped in her words and the worlds she so effortlessly creates. I can happily say she has not lost her touch, and that this book stands up well to the rest of her works!

Jane greets us at the beginning of the book, and she is speaking directly to the ‘Reader’. It felt so much like a real preface authors sometimes include in their books that I actually started to ask myself if Laurie had been kidnapped and was writing her story down. I quickly realized that it was only Jane, who, in an effort to keep her identity from the prying eyes of the world, changed all the names and places in the story. She became Jane Anonymous, letting us in to her broken mind. The book is told in chapters of Then and Now, separated as memories come back to present Jane, recounting her seven months locked away by a faceless monster.

I love supernatural tales and horror, but nothing is scarier than things that could conceivably happen. Jane is accosted by a man she doesn’t recognize, who takes her by surprise and transports her via the trunk of his car to an unknown location. Once there, she is locked in a small room filled with her favorite food and supplies, and clothes that are just her size. She hears unspeakable things but is left alone the majority of the time. She rebels for a long time; not eating or showering and contemplating ways to escape, but after encountering another captive, she sees a ray of hope and decides to play the game.

What follows is Jane’s complete unraveling, as should be expected from anyone in this situation. She is torn from her home and her life, and once she returns (which I won’t spoil the HOW on this one!) it seems impossible for her to pick back up where she left off. It is so heartbreaking to read how she sleeps in her closet to feel safe, how she distances herself from her best friend, and how her parents are at their breaking point trying to figure out how to ‘fix’ her. It is a striking display of guilt on everyone’s part, as you never think about the little decisions you make until something goes horribly wrong. The way her parents, friends, and curious onlookers respond to her is so diverse and takes my breath away. You really see each of their personalities in how they treat Jane. One of the things I related to most was how Jane took all this pain and guilt on herself. She felt as though it was her fault that she got captured, and that her whole sleepy town in New England State seemed to freeze until her return.

Laurie did such an amazing job of exploring trauma, and of how finding the perfect therapist for you is so important. The memoir writing style kept the stakes high, and my heart was in my throat as I was reading. Jane’s body survived, but the girl she was the day she was kidnapped died, and it was so incredibly uplifting to watch her slowly reinvent herself and carve her own path through this new and terrifying world she finds herself in. It’s a battle cry to the lost and the wounded, letting them know that they don’t have to tell their story right now, but in time, opening their heart even more could stitch the hole for good. It’s an addicting read, and I flew through it in one sitting! I couldn’t leave one bit of Jane’s story unread!

5/5 stars