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Nice Try, Jane Sinner: ARC Review/Blog Tour


Author: Lianne Oelke

Page Count: 432 pages

Genre: Contemporary // Young Adult

Rating: 5 stars

Publisher: Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Release Date: January 9, 2018

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SYNOPSIS

The only thing 17-year-old Jane Sinner hates more than failure is pity. After a personal crisis and her subsequent expulsion from high school, she’s going nowhere fast. Jane’s well-meaning parents push her to attend a high school completion program at the nearby Elbow River Community College, and she agrees, on one condition: she gets to move out. Jane tackles her housing problem by signing up for House of Orange, a student-run reality show that is basically Big Brother, but for Elbow River Students. Living away from home, the chance to win a car (used, but whatever), and a campus full of people who don't know what she did in high school… what more could she want? Okay, maybe a family that understands why she’d rather turn to Freud than Jesus to make sense of her life, but she'll settle for fifteen minutes in the proverbial spotlight. As House of Orange grows from a low-budget web series to a local TV show with fans and shoddy T-shirts, Jane finally has the chance to let her cynical, competitive nature thrive. She'll use her growing fan base, and whatever Intro to Psychology can teach her, to prove to the world—or at least viewers of substandard TV—that she has what it takes to win.

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MILANA'S REVIEW

I have so many things to say about Nice Try, Jane Sinner I have to make sure to keep it concise otherwise you'll be here for days reading! This was a fresh new read I devoured. I am always on the search for books set in the college timeframe so when Nice Try, Jane Sinner popped up I just had to read it!

The premise is so unique and wonderfully crafted I had a blast reading it. Reading it I couldn't help but think of Big Brother and the ideas Lianne drew on. If you're a fan of those shows you'll really enjoy Jane's adventure.

I loved experiencing Oelke's outlook on anxiety and depression. While this is a fun read it also draws on really important themes and topics that many of us can relate to. Reading this book was an eye opener as well. 5/5 stars for Nice Try, Jane Sinner from me! Read on for an excerpt from the Q&A with Lianne Oelke.

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Q: Shows like Big Brother always have certain characteristics or stereotypes in their cast. The nice girl, the jock, the trouble maker, etc. I know I'd be the one that would be too scared to do anything! I'd hide somewhere in a bathroom with books, haha! If you were on a reality TV show similar to the one Jane is in what “personality” do you think you would be cast as?

A: I’d definitely be the quiet one. Either I’d come across as super judgmental and people would vote me off because they wouldn’t know what’s going on inside my head, or I’d play it nice and unthreatening and fly under the radar for as long as I could. I don’t think I’d be bold enough to play pranks on my roommates like Jane does, but I’d still be the one quietly paying attention, watching and waiting. Maybe I’d play the game more like Robbie does– reserved, subtle, and ruthless, with a couple surprises up my sleeve.

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Grab yourself a copy of Nice Try, Jane Sinner (links above). Also check out the rest of the blogs on this tour (see image above) for more Q&A’s with Lianne and her thoughts on the book and more!


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