Jane of Battery Park

2020’s so far has been a crazy part of my life. Things that I used to take for granted have now gone and are slowly coming back. The weirdest thing about this pandemic is that any country could become the next dystopian empire with their own crazy rules if power falls into the wrong hands. I’ve always loved reading books and I’ve been reading more now than I ever did when I was younger. It’s one thing that’s been keeping me sane over the years, by reading books.

One of the last books I read is a romantic thriller called Jane of Battery Park by Jaye Viner. This is a crazy book. But that’s okay: I like crazy. It’s not yet out in the shops, but you can pre-order it on other sites. I though the blurb was interesting when I saw it it. It grabbed me and I wanted to know about Jane and Daniel and how they can overcome the challenges in the novel. It’s clear they grow as characters. We see Jane and Daniel fall in love and BOOM, everything turns tipsy turvy. In this world, celebrities are put on trial and Daniel is an actor. Plenty of conflict and tension going on. I was hooked straight away.

I think the world building in this is great. And is the book’s greatest strength. I thought the clippings in between the books are a great touch. Made me feel like I was a part of the world.

On Goodreads, I rated this four stars because I liked the dystopian flavour. There’s a fantasy element with the movie stars and star-crossed-overs and also an element of truth because of the inspiration behind missionary upbringings. Ultimately, Jane is seeking a normal life, but is facing culture shock from California, trauma from her strict upbringing, and trying to fill the gap from Daniel.

Reading this book was a great couple of hours of escapism. I consider Jane of Battery Park to be a romantic thriller. I got vibes from several classic stories when reading this. The most prominent one is Romeo and Juliet because Jane and Daniel’s love is not approved by their families. There’s also a little bit of 1984 and Handmaiden’s tale because Jane’s family is a religious cult that puts celebrities on trial. Jane also reminded me of a refuge who escapes their country to seek refuge in another only to struggle with the new cultures and how the world works. What I really like about this novel is that it adds its own flare and twists instead of just rewriting classics.

As international nurses day was this month, I thought it is a funny coincdence I finished reading this book in May. First of all is because Jane is a nurse. I was able to connect with Jane quickly because she reminds me of somebody I work with in a nursing home.

I don’t normally post spoilers in my reviews, but this one is an exception because I really liked the ending, and I think the book does something that I think is really powerful and brave. Jane reveals that she has an abortion which I think is brave particilary when facing the religious cult she’s been a part of for so long. I don’t think the topic of abortion is tackled enough in fiction.

From the very beginning I was routing for Jane and Daniel. I thought their personalities complimented each other. The beginning is very light-hearted and then further on it gets more intense and unpredictable. I want to read more about Jane and Daniel sometime in the future.

If you’re curious about this book and looking for somewhere to preview this, the author has uploaded a video of herself reading an except of the novel. She’s picked a really good scene in my opinion.