Meet Jane Frank. It’s been a year since her last (and only) long term relationship, and with reality looming large in the form of the LSAT, Jane decides it’s been far too long since she’s been kissed and that she’s ready to meet the man of her dreams. Meredith Schorr’s A State of Jane takes us through Jane’s adventures in dating. As she grows more frustrated with the online dating scene and the way men tend to flake out for no reason, Jane decides to take her friend Andrew’s advice about dating, and this is where our story really takes off.

Much the way she did in Just Friends With BenefitsMeredith Schorr gives us an all-too-recognizable heroine.  OK, I’ve never gotten up to some of Jane’s antics, but there have been times when I’ve certainly wanted to.  Certainly, navigating the dating terrain is not easy, and Schorr captures that feeling of “I don’t know why it went wrong” so perfectly. Of course, as interested but objective observers in Jane’s life, we can see the mistakes she’s making… which makes an interesting point about not being able to discern our own dating foibles, but I digress.

I confess that at times I got really frustrated with Jane.  I can’t explain too much of why here, or else it would spoil the story, so I’ll say this about it: I didn’t like the way Jane treated people sometimes.  For a few pages there, I frankly didn’t like Jane. However, Jane’s behavior is an integral part of her journey and she had to go through this stage to grow into her true self. That being said, I still wanted to shake her, and which made me again appreciate the authenticity of the friendships Meredith includes in her stories.

We tell our friends we want them to be honest with us. But sometimes, when they are, no matter how lovingly the message is delivered, we just don’t want to hear it.  So in A State of Jane I thought the confrontations between Jane and her friends and the conflicts in their relationships were portrayed authentically.  It is often the people we love the most who are also the people we hurt the most.

And the final thing I really liked about A State of Jane is the way that it ends. No spoilers here, but I felt the ending was perfect.

Chick lit fans- and fans of Just Friends With Benefits- will really enjoy A State of Jane.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.