Nice Try, Jane Sinner

Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Told as a series of diary entries and screenplay-style dialogue, Nice Try, Jane Sinner sits comfortably in the realm of current pop culture’s focus on self expression. Our titular protagonist enrolls in community college after dropping out of high school, for reasons eventually explained, but only after securing herself a place on (and residence in) House of Orange, a film student’s made-for-YouTube reality show. Living with five other students and enduring weekly challenges keeps Jane’s mind off her past life while helping her create a new one.

As relationships and alliances form in the house, Jane struggles to keep her former self hidden from her new friends. When the fictional Dr. Freudenshade reminds her that the past is “just a story we tell ourselves. And stories change each time you tell them” (p. 414), Jane discovers the satisfaction of allowing her stories to co-exist.

Jane’s sarcasm and proclivity for mixed idioms provides plenty of opportunity for humor, usually at her own expense, and contrasts with her parents’ conservative leanings. Readers who enjoy a self-deprecating narrator will appreciate Jane’s modest-yet-snarky confidence, which shows in conversations with her younger sister who adores her, a best friend who isn’t afraid to challenge her, and a psychiatrist who is completely made up.


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