See Jane Run

December 16, 2013
Jayne (Truly, Madly, Deadly) swiftly establishes a sense of urgency when 17-year-old Riley Spencer finds a birth certificate in her baby book that isn't her own. Or is it? The discovery leads Riley to reflect on her parents' odd behaviorâthey insist that she take an antianxiety pill each morning, are stiflingly overprotective, recently moved the family to a remote subdivision, and claim her baby pictures were destroyed in a flood. In crisp sequences reminiscent of The Face on the Milk Carton, Riley launches an extensive search to uncover the identity of Jane Elizabeth O'Leary, while sensing that someone is pursuing her. A missing child poster that appears on her computer and cryptic notes that show up in her purse fuel her suspicions. Despite the harrowing circumstances Riley faces once she learns more about her family's past, her biggest obstacle lies in overcoming her own apprehension. The weightiest elements of the novel are Riley's growing sense of independence and her process of staking claim to her identity. Ages 13âup. Agent: Amberly Finarelli, Andrea Hurst Literary Agency.

January 1, 2014
The teen years are a time of self-discovery and exploration. For Riley Spencer, this is harder than for most, because she's no longer sure of anything...even her name. Riley's parents have always been somewhat overprotective, especially since they moved the family to a new house in an isolated new development. But Riley never really worried about that, until the day she finds a birth certificate tucked away in her mother's photo album, for a girl named Jane O'Leary. Who was this girl, and where is she now? Her curiosity mounts when she starts receiving mysterious notes tucked into her book bag that indicate that she herself might be Jane. Riley knows she needs to solve the riddle of who she really is and what happened to the baby Jane before she can get on with her own life, so she sets out to explore her history with the help of local bad boy JD. Little does she know that by starting this search, she's setting herself up as a target for more than one kind of danger. Suddenly, life isn't normal at all. The premise is certainly an interesting one, reminiscent of Cooney's classic The Face on the Milk Carton, and the characters are appealing. Unfortunately, the plot itself is thin, and the end will strike many readers as disappointingly contrived. Nevertheless, a quick, mostly entertaining read. (Thriller. 13 & up)

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February 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-Riley Spencer's parents have her on an ultra-tight leash and insist on monitoring her every move. When they finally relent and permit her to attend an overnight college visit with classmates and many chaperones, Riley and her friend Shelby are ecstatic. They plan to see Hudson University, where Riley's dad matriculated. As the girls rummage through cartons to find old Hudson shirts and memorabilia, they come across Riley's baby book. Strangely, it has no pictures of her prior to age three. Instead, it contains a birth certificate for "Jane Elizabeth O'Leary." Is Riley really Jane? Are her parents kidnappers? Riley begins receiving mysterious messages, and her sleuthing soon leads her into terrible danger. This suspenseful thriller is well paced with carefully developed characters and sharp dialogue. Sure to be popular in many collections, especially where Caroline B. Cooney's The Face on the Milk Carton (Delacorte, 1990) is loved.-Susan Riley, Mamaroneck Public Library, NY

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2014
Grades 8-11 The birth certificate that falls out of Riley's baby book has another girl's name on itJane Elizabeth O'Leary. From there on, Riley's questions about her past begin to mount. Why are there no photos in her baby album from before her toddlerhood? Why have her parents always been so overprotective of her? And who is this Jane O'Leary? While in pursuit of answers, 17-year-old Riley unravels unsettling mysteries about her family, and soon it seems that she's not alone in trying to find the truth about herself and Jane. Suddenly, Riley can no longer trust her parents, her memories, or anything she ever thought true about herselfjust as she starts receiving haunting postcards and unnerving visits that threaten to push her paranoia over the edge. A captivating mixture of mystery and thriller, the latest from Jayne (Truly, Madly, Deadly, 2013) is suspenseful but not overtly scary. From the heart-pounding pace to the compelling puzzle at its core, this page-turner will appeal to fans of Caroline B. Cooney's classic, The Face on the Milk Carton (1990).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)