My Lady Jane: The Ultimate Young Adult Fictional Novel - A Book Review

Bibliographical Information

Hand, Cynthia; Ashton, Brodi; Meadows, Jodi. My Lady Jane. First published by HarperTeen of HarperCollins Publishers Year of Publication: 2016 Genre: Historical Fantasy and Young Adult Fiction Language: English Number of Pages: Approximately 491 pages

Introduction

My Lady Jane is coming-of-the-age novel by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows that takes the reader down the lane of an alternate history of 16th century England, where magic thrived and discord between ordinary humans called the Verities and the Edians formed the bedrock of the entire story. It explores the lives of mere teens and young adults belonging to the ruling class of England, exploring the world while politics endanger the trajectory of the kingdom. I personally chose to take this story up because it deeply resonated with me about the tumultuous choices that young adults make every day.

Brief Summary

The story revolves around two cousins; King Edward and Lady Jane; whose lives were set into turmoil by the evil mastermind duke Lord Dudley in his desire to usurp the throne by the means of a proxy and a twisted succession plan. While Lord Dudley tried to carry out his plans, on the other side of the coin, England laced with tension as divided groups fought amongst themselves to claw power and superiority. One such longstanding tension is the conflicts between the Verity and the Edians. Edians are humans who can turn into animals, and were clearly hated by the verity.

At the start of the story, it was revealed that the King Edward was sick due to the affliction, and might die soon. In an act of careful calculation and at the persuasion of his counsel Lord Dudley, King Edward chooses to make his cousin Lady Jane marry Gifford Dudley and transfer the crown to her after his death; to keep the Edians and the Verities safe. As Lady Jane was forced to marry Gifford at her protest, King Edward led her up the aisle. Gifford, however, turned out to be an Edian who was forced to spend the daytime as a horse.

As political conspiracies develop within the royal court, King Edward was forced to flee after he discovered that he was being poisoned. Jane was forced to take up the mantle of Queen under the presumption that Edward was dead. Throughout the story, the characters face turmoil and deadly decisions at every turn, forcing them to rise to occasion and make the right choices to ultimately restore political stability in the kingdom and ensure the kingdom remains safe for the Verities. At the same time, help from the most unexpected places like the French, the proverbial Edian "Pack" and a good dash of loyalty helped the story reach the ending that it deserved.

Thematic and Conceptual Analysis

My Lady Jane deals with the interesting theme of "growing up". In today's modern world, most children have the benefit of enjoying modern amenities and could afford to experience childhood to best of their abilities. However, other children are forced to grow up due to traumatic experience. In the story, the most important theme, that is subtly weaved into the fabric of the story, is the fact that people can develop into skillful individuals when the occasion calls for it. Lady Jane, for example, a bookworm who was uninterested in people evolved into a person capable of making difficult decisions and stand up for the right reasons. The King Edward, realizes through the entire experience that though the throne was thrust upon him by the virtue of tradition and bloodline, that the throne deserves a person who is much more capable of making the right decisions, handing over the throne to his sister Queen Elizabeth I in the end. Gifford, who was irresponsible in his formative years and unable to control his Edian transformation, enables himself via his love for his wife to control his transformation as well as learn skills and express loyalty for the betterment of the kingdom.