Thursday, April 11, 2013

J is for Janelle



J is for Janelle.

Janelle from Liz Norris's Unraveling stood out among the heroines I've read over the past few years. With a bipolar mom and a workaholic father, she acts older than most kids her age because she has to. She's tough, but not like Katniss tough (hmm...I wonder who K will be about tomorrow). Janelle is a bit more anti-girly girl.

A defining moment that stuck with me was her participation during an English class discussion. While discussing whether or not a proposal was romantic in a Dickens' novel that I really should remember, Janelle declares to her entire class (after being provoked) that she would not want an overly romantic proposal. She would want something honest. She would want a guy to simply say "'Janelle Tenner f-ing marry me.'" (Only she doesn't use f-ing) Certainly not a proposal that I would want (luckily my hubby went a different route when he proposed), but it creates a moment in Norris's book as one that defines her character (it's also a fun scene between her and the boy who clearly likes her).

Like I said - tough girl, rough around the edges, brave, intelligent, vulnerable, likable, relatable..... She also saves the world - that's defining too, I guess.

I'm looking forward to more of Janelle's story in Liz Norris's next book which comes out April 23.

Sorry "J" wasn't for Jacob! ;)

7 comments:

  1. I so enjoy a together reading about that ... no nonsense ... kind of girl...

    I real life, well, I do prefer a bit more femininity. LOL.

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  2. English class discussion, huh? Sounds interesting.

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  3. We need more tough girls in YA books.

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  4. Looking up Unraveling on Amazon to buy now. Thanks for the recommendation!

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  5. Love that afterthought; "She also saves the world"! I haven't red this book, but she sounds like a strong character, which makes me inclined to check it out.

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