By: Gayle Friesen
Pages: 224
Publisher: Kids Can Press, August 1998
Genre: Coming-of-Age, Contemporary Fiction
Rating: A+
Recommended to: Girls 11-14
Clarissa (nicknamed Claire) is fourteen the summer she and her single mom take a road trip to visit the town her mom grew up in, and her grandma. She hasn't been there since she was a young, young, girl, not even when her grandfather died. Claire doesn't know her father or her grandfather, and she tries to unravel her past and the mysteries surrounding it. Complications arouse such as the cute boy helping out around her grandma's farm, the sweet little boy Jamie who loves to play knights and dragons, and her mom's stubbornness to revisit the past.
I first discovered Janey's Girl on the shelf of the school library a few years ago. I read it in a matter of hours, and was devastated when I turned the last page, because I didn't want it to be over. I have since re-read this book 6 or 7 times (not kidding). I can truly say that this is one of my favorite reads. I love Clarissa's character, and how she is determined to find out about her family. Her grandma is one of my favorite characters - warm, friendly, cheerful, and bursting with happiness and love. The character development of Janey, Clarissa's mom, is beautifully crafted, and Jamie is so sweet, you will fall in love with his cuteness over and over! I would recommend this to every girl ages 11-14. It is a short, sweet read.
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