Always Jane

“Love—and Fen Sarafian—do not care about your summer plans.”

Jenn Bennett has been one of my all-time favorite YA authors for awhile, and I love everything she publishes, so when I saw this book on the Joseph-Beth ARC shelf, I screamed with excitement, and then proceeded to read it all in one sitting.

While all Bennett books share the same calm setting and mature but youthful vibe, Always Jane felt different than Bennett's previous books. As she explains in the acknowledgements, Bennett experienced medication-induced aphasia recently, and you can tell that this book means more to her, that she wants to go beyond romance in the plot and message of her book, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Summary
Always Jane tells the story of Jane Marlow, who has grown up as a 'domestic' of a famous music producer, Mad Dog. Her father is Mad Dog's chauffeur, and her mother was a housekeeper, so Jane has been raised in the domestic's quarters, learning the tricks of the trade from the other helpers, and commuting from LA during the school year to Lake Condor for the summers. However this summer, Jane has graduated high school, and is an official domestic herself as the personal assistant to Velvet, Mad Dog's daughter. This means returning to Lake Condor for the first time in two years, after an accident when she was sixteen where she fell over the railing and into the lake's dam, hitting her head and leaving her with aphasia, a brain disorder that causes Jane to have trouble processing and communicating words.
Lake Condor is famous for their annual music festival that Mad Dog sponsors and is run by the Sarafians, a family in the music-booking business. For most of her life, Jane has been in love with Eddie Sarafian, the eldest son, and the reason she fell into the dam. But after reconnecting online, Jane and Eddie are 'dating,' which consists of poorly worded texts and brief long distance visits. In fact, Eddie is going to the Philippines on business over summer, leaving Jane feeling abandoned.
Until she reunites with Fen, Eddie's younger brother who has been kicked out of the Sarafian house. Unbeknownst to Jane, it was Fen, not Eddie, who saved her from the dam years ago, and Fen, not Eddie, who has been pining for her ever since. Distraught that she doesn't remember him, Fen and Jane have a heated and explosive reunion, leaving both emotional and fired up. However, as summer progresses, the two become friends and help each other battle the ghosts of their past that have left them so messed up, particularly the night at the dam. And with Eddie not answering her texts and Fen revealing things about Eddie she never knew, Jane begins to question which Sarafian brother she has feelings for.

Thoughts

This book was so good, not just because of the main narrators, but also because of the incredible side characters. The entire domestic staff was hilarious and heart-warming, and Fen's mother and the twins were a riot. The setting was peaceful and idyllic as always when it comes to Bennett, and made me yearn for lake life. I loved the music references and songs as chapters titles, and made a playlist of all of them together. Although Fen scared me a little at first, I quickly fell in love with his character, and just wanted him and Jane to be happy.

Overall

All in all, this was a great read to stay up late and avoid responsibility with, and I can't wait for Bennett to keep writing more amazing, five-star, tearjerking novels for me to absorb. This is a must-read for any YA romance fiends!

My rating: 4/5/5

Goodreads Average: 3.4/5

Information

Always Jane by Jenn Bennett (Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers)

Publication Date: March 29, 2022; Paperback: February 7, 2023

ISBN: 9781534482326

Hardcover: $19.99 (Order from Joseph-Beth!)

Paperback: $12.99 (Preorder from Joseph-Beth!)