Fieldnotes:
1 Contemporary Re-telling of [Jane Eyre]
1 Time-slip (Maybe) into [Jane Eyre] leading to:
- Several Swaths of Text Only Marginally and Uninspiredly Taken from the Original
4 (!) Near-Death Experiences
1 Wholly Unnecessary Injection of Voodoo

2 Brooding Possibilities for Mr Rochester
0 Love Triangles (YAY!)
1 Irascible Roommate with Issues
1 Super-Creepy English Teacher
1 School Dance
1 Game of Poker Polygraph

2 Attempts at an Essay of which
- 1 Intriguing and Critical Thesis Regarding Source Material
2 Important Competitions
1 Pretty Bad Poem of Great Import
1 Disciplinary Hearing Threatening Expulsion

The Long Version:
I was lured in by the pretty cover, by the title, by the promise of what I like to call 'Book Hopping'. And it is probably partly due to my expectations (that this would be a mixture of Wuthering High by Cara Lockwood and The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde) that I was a bit disappointed with A Breath of Eyre.

While I really enjoyed the more critical feminist reading of the text and the exploration (though a bit one-sided without considering the historical context - though admittedly that might have made the entire book read like an essay) of Bertha's role in [Jane Eyre], I wasn't as sold on Emma's life mirroring the story (though Grey is more charming than Mr Rochester in my eyes).

And most surprisingly as it was the part I was most looking forward to, I really disliked the sections where Emma slipped into the story. The means (which seemed to involve her ending up in the hospital a lot) were not terribly satisfactory and after the first seemed increasingly contrived. And once arrived, large sections seem to have been simply taken from the Bronte novel and reworked/reworded to include Emma's POV. Not the wonderings of a girl suddenly trapped in an unfamiliar environment (other than an initial chamber pot incident), but an easy acceptance that seems out-of-place. Especially in the first section where she simply gives herself over to the Jane Eyre character, there is barely any of Emma's voice left at all. And when she starts deviating from the story line, there's barely any Eyre left at all. It just didn't work for me.

Surprisingly, the modern sections worked much better for me than the reworked Jane Eyre sections, and I found myself wanting to spend significantly more time with Emma's roommate of Haitian descent Michelle and her awesome Aunt Darlene at the incredibly tasty-sounding bakery (rather than with the actual protagonist who came off as oblivious and kind of whiny). ( )

As a lover of the original Jane Eyre, I am drawn to adaptations of the story. That being said, this wasn't what I was anticipating. More than anything else, it was a contemporary young adult novel with flashbacks (if you will) to scenes from Jane Eyre (some of which seemed to take the original text from the novel nearly verbatim.)

I find it interesting that the author chooses to address Bertha's plight or her side of the story and make it seem as though no one had ever thought of the feminist issues within Jane Eyre. There was no mention of The Wide Sargasso Sea or literary critiques such as "The Madwoman in the Attic", even as a footnote or anything like that. In addition, the characters from Jane Eyre seemed to lack their vivacity and charisma.

The book itself is well-written, and perhaps if I weren't such a big fan of Jane Eyre then I may have enjoyed this book more. I would suspect that young adults unfamiliar with Jane Eyre will appreciate this book more than I did. ( )

A Breath of Eyre was a sweet story about a teenager's self discovery, her family's past and about what she wants for herself. From reading the description you might think you were about to read a time travel type of book. But this definitely wasn't the case. I loved how Mont was able to get her heroine Emma, into the story of Jane Eyre, not in actuality but in her mind. I won't ruin just how that is pulled off but I thought it was well done and made the story more believable/enjoyable to me.

When I first read the description I thought this was going to be a typical teen romance with some interesting twists coming from her jumping into the story of Jane Eyre. I was way off the mark. This is more of a heavy read centering on issues such as depression, suicide, family turmoil, societal classes and prejudice. So if you are looking for a light romantic young adult book this is not it.

The story itself and all of details were well put together and the characters very believable in their personalities and development. Each character served a distinct purpose in the development of the story.

I know almost all of us can look back on our high school years (or heck if you're still going through them) and sympathize with the treatment that Emma and her friend receive while attending a private school that is usually for students from families with a much higher income. Issues are brought up here that go beyond the normal teenage hazing of a public school.

Emma's experiences with her family make you really think about all the little things we leave unsaid and how they could be effecting our overall relationships with our friends and family. While the tone of the book can be a bit of a downer at times the overall delivery did not leave me feeling sad.

I would definitely recommend this one to any reader who wanted to try out a YA book that dares to dig deeper, much more so than a lot of the other YA I have read recently.

On an additional note: I discovered that there are at least 2 more books due to come out, one dealing with Phantom of the Opera and the other The Scarlett Letter. I am pretty sure Mont will do just as good of a job with those two stories. However, knowing that they are going to use the same girl, Emma as the main character makes me less inclined to read them because I feel her story has been told. Plus, I am really not interested in those 2 titles that will be part of the upcoming books.
( )

This story is amazing!! It gave a different perspective on Jane Eyre. I enjoyed reading it.

First off, many thanks to Kensington for providing me with a review copy of this book. It's one I've wanted to read since I heard about it, so I was thrilled at the chance to get my hands on it early.

I'm a HUGE fan of Jane Eyre. It's one of my all-time favorite books. I was excited to read a new take on it. Guess what? It went far beyond everything I'd hoped for.

I was expecting a retelling, I guess. I thought that it would be kind of like every other retelling-same story with a few new elements.

But it wasn't.

It gave me the chance to view Jane Eyre in a whole new light.

It let me see what might have happened had Jane had a stronger voice, if she had been able to keep her resolution to stay away from Mr. Rochester after the incident with Bertha. It let me see Bertha in a whole new light, and I think that was what I appreciated/loved the most.

Every time I've read Jane Eyre, I've kind of glossed over Bertha as the insane first wife of Mr. Rochester. I never once stopped to consider WHY she was the way she was, who might have driven her to complete madness, and what her dreams might have been. After reading A Breath of Eyre, I'd like to go back and reexamine my feelings on Bertha. I'd like to give her a chance.

I loved that the overall moral of the story wasn't win at all costs or shame the mean girls into being nice (though I loved that one time when Elise got hers. Man, I didn't like that girl.). The point was really to find your own voice, to be able to be heard above the clatter. When Emma finally found her voice, I rejoiced.

Mont's writing is fantastic. I didn't feel like she ever got bogged down in the minutia, nor did she resort to cliches. She just wrote solid, beautiful words.

Yes, it was a YA romance. Yes, it had elements of YA that can drive people nuts. NO, it did not drive me nuts at any point. No, I did not find it mundane. I found it powerful, moving, and inspirational. There's a message of forgiveness, both through Emma's experiences as Jane and her interactions with Gray. I love that she could take what she learned as Jane and apply it to her life.

Here's an example of one of my favorite lines:

"The sign of a true woman isn't the ability to recite French poetry or play the pianoforte or cook Chateaubriand. The sign of a true woman is learning to listen to her own voice even when society does its best to drown it out." (p. 300)

Isn't that WONDERFUL?!

This is one of my new favorites, and I will absolutely be getting copies of the next two books. I'm giving this a 'Pick Me' for being fabulous! ( )