Jane Airhead by Kay Woodward

November 2009, Anderson Press

224 pages, Paperback

Personal copy 

Children's (older/early teens) 

Divorced parents, school, teen crushes, trying to help others, friendship & family, having fun, teen drama, chocolate! 

Summary from Random House Children's Books

What’s not to love about Jane Eyre? Gothic and passionate, it features the ultimate male hero – Mr Rochester. And that gives Charlotte a top idea: she’ll look for a new Mr Rochester for her lovely mum.

So when Charlotte finds the ideal man, she can’t believe her luck. He’s dark, brooding and mysterious. He’s PERFECT. But the real-life romantic hero also turns out to be sarcastic and rude. Does Charlotte really want her mum marrying him? 

Perhaps it would have been better if Mr Rochester had stayed between the covers of Charlotte’s favourite novel…?

Nayuleska's thoughts 

Naturally after finishing Skate School I wanted to read more by Kay (Hi Kay!). She recommend Jane Airhead because it involves school life. I bought it and I love it! The funky cover is a dead giveaway to Charlotte's voice. She's a scream! She's so funny, especially when life goes wrong or not the way she imagines. Her imagination itself is extremely active, letting her create scenarios that aren't always true. Her friends and family know that sometimes she's lost in the world of Jane Eyre, and are mostly understanding. However, there are some mixups because of her passion for the book. These provide great conflict for Charlotte, and had me holding my breath every now and then.  

Charlotte is definitely a dreamer. She adores books. Her mother adores books too. The pair of them make the book awesome. I can relate to her passion (although I'm not fond of the classics), how sometimes reality can get a little blurred if you read a lot. What I like most about Charlotte is how much she wants to help her friends. More specifically how much she wants to help her mother find someone new. I felt this was important. Often when I read about divorced parents in fiction, one of the divorced pair doesn't get on with the other. Charlotte is loved by both parents, and there isn't any open rivalry between them. Wanting her mother to be happy shows how much she loves her, and realises that her mother needs someone. Charlotte means well, but by guessing about scenarios rather than asking about the truth, she gets the wrong end of the stick quite a lot. Overall this is a really funny, engaging book, one that will make you smile a lot. 

Final conclusion 

This is perfect if you're a Jane Eyre fan, and equally perfect if you aren't! Charlotte is an example of how having a hobby helps makes us all individuals, giving us different skills (or ideas). She also loves her family very much, which is always a good skill :) 

Kay (who is lovely) can be found hiding out on her website. 

Make sure you check out her other books, which include the now finished (nooo!) Skate School series: 

#1 Ice Princess

#2 On Thin Ice

#3 Stars on Ice

#4 Going for Gold

Suggested reads: Half a Sister by Kelly McKain