This book is a very poignant read given the Supreme Court ruling on abortion in the States a few days ago. Whilst the author talks about the emotive topic of abortion, the story is so much more than this. It is about the history of women's reproductive rights in Canada, motherhood and relationships, beautifully and sensitively portrayed.

I didn't want to put this book down and there is an unexpected twist in the tale towards the end. It is heartbreaking to think that women could once again be forced to seek out illegal abortions, which are unregulated and the post-traumatic stress that is likely to occur as a consequence. Fantastic debut novel, that helps people understand why abortion should not be illegal.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. This is such a powerful read handling an important sensitive topic. This book moved me so much and I recommend everyone to read.

While I loved the idea of the story line for this one I did not love how it was written. The back and forth got confusing and for some characters time seemed to be changing in leaps and bounds and for the next characters point of View it wasn’t it didn’t flow smoothly in my opinion and it took away from the story. The plot itself was good and the way parts of this tied together was great and emotional. The characters themselves were well done. Overall this one just was not for me.0

This is a fiction book, but it is based upon true events that are just as relevant today. It's hard hitting and sometimes disturbing but it's written with sensitivity and I couldn't put it down.

The story is told by three incredible women. Evelyn, who was in a home for unmarried mothers, Nancy, who learns that she was adopted as an adult, and Angela who discovers a letter disclosing an adoption that should have been delivered many years previously. The book is based on the true policies regarding abortion in Canada and the USA and it seems particularly poignant at the moment with the current events in the USA.

There will always be a need for safe abortion and the Jane network provided many women with a haven at a time they most required it. This was an incredibly moving and well written book and I wholeheartedly recommend it.
Thank you to net galley and the publishers for my ARC.

Mixing fact with fiction this book is sensitively and exceptionally well written. Despite the hard to swallow subject matter, this book was hard to put down and I was hooked.

This debut book is a work of fiction but its story has a solid foundation of historical fact, so be prepared to be shocked and deeply saddened by some events.
Set in Canada, sensitive subjects of adoption, miscarriage, infertility and abortion are told. Canadian law forbid abortion until 1988. This made for pregnant girls and women who were unmarried, to be sent to homes for the unwed where they were treated without dignity and care.
The characters in this book are believable and offer raw emotion that shows how their past shapes their future. Their lives are bound together when a letter written many years ago is discovered accidently and the determination of the finder seeks to resolve its contents. Set in different timelines, motherhood is central to this story as is executed superbly by the author.
Looking For Jane is at times a painful read but it will stay with me as I thoroughly enjoyed it. My thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the digital ARC.

Wow! This is emotional. This book tackles some HUGE issues but does it in a way that is so sensitive and insightful. This should have been quite a difficult read but I actually found myself drawn i right from the beginning and then struggled to out this down.

This book is based on real policies and procedures in Canada and the USA where abortions were banned in all cases but serious health conditions. Consequently there was great demand for illegal operations. Looking for Jane is part of a code used by women to connect them to doctors to perform terminations. This book follows the story of 3 women - Evelyn who was in a home for unmarried women to give birth and forced to give up her baby, Nancy who figures out she was adopted but her parents never told her, and Angela who finds a letter revealing an adoption that was delivered to the wrong address so was never received by the person it was intended for. This story is really cleverly woven together through these 3 women.

This book tackles some serious issues. Its not just a book about abortion. Its about friendship, about the treatment of women in a world where policies are made by men, its about choice, pregnancy, miscarriage, suicide, injustice, religion, corruption... so many things. Despite this, its really accessible and has such a fast pace. This is a book I'll be thinking about for a long time.

An emotional and insightful read…. This story deals with a variety of issues, from young unwed mothers, to the desperation of a young girl having a back street abortion. Beautifully written, with such heart.

Unsettling and emotional, a great mix of history and fiction, very well written and overall a good read.
Thanks for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Really enjoyed this after it was recommended to me by the publisher. Especially relevant with what’s going on in the US right now. Learned a lot about how pregnant women were treated and the characters were very emotive. I recommended to friends.

Whether you are a mother, a daughter, a sister, an aunt this story will find something to resonate with you. I was in tears of joy and sadness throughout this story not for myself but for women of the past. It wasn't that far back in history that women had so little control over their bodies and their lives. Abortion was a dangerous situation, mentally and physically, but so having a child adopted.

I felt for Evelyn, a young woman who found herself pregnant just after her fiance had died. Such was the stigma of unwed mother she was encouraged to go into a 'home'. As a result her baby was put up for adoption to cover the cost of the care provided. This is not a story of a mother trying to find her baby, it becomes a story of empowerment, as action is taken (through the Jane Network) to give other unwed mothers a choice. An interesting reflection on life in the 60s and 70s when abortions were illegal.

The story links the past and the present through the characters Evelyn, Nancy and Angela. A very interesting read.

I requested Looking for Jane after reading the synposis but downloaded it randomly from my kindle library so came to it without really knowing what the novel was about.

Living in Ireland I would know about the mothers and baby homes and the horrors that went on them; and the difficulty that they were there in my life time. This novel is not just about the mother and baby homes (or the Magdalene Laundries as they are known in Ireland), its about so much more:

Woman's right to control their own bodies and their own fertility and their access to motherhood. Three women's lives and choices are entwined with a letter that was posted through a wrong letterbox. What develops is a fantastic work of historical fiction that covers the mother and baby homes, forced adoption and the road to legalised Abortion in Canada. Which was 1988 - a fact that I find that unbelievable as it was legal in the UK were I was brought up from the 1970s; but illegal in the Republic of Ireland until January 2019.

Special thanks to the publisher, and netgalley, for the advance copy which I am rating 5 stars as its a one to watch out for in 2022.

This was requested by mistake, not for me and I don’t see how anyone would want to read this book a history of reproductive rights for women.

Thankyou for giving me the chance to read in advance. Really sad yet thought provoking. Really enjoyed it though.

I have the greatest respect for authors who bring important issues to the fore via fiction. In this case, Heather Marshall explores the contentious issue of abortion. "Looking for Jane" refers to code used by underground abortion networks before termination of pregnancy was legalised in Canada. As explained in the Author's Note, it's more than a book about abortion. It's about motherhood, and the plot hinges on the concept of "every child a wanted child, every mother a willing mother". Marshall writes with great compassion and sensitivity. I would love to see this book open up conversations and destigmatize what is a necessary medical procedure for many women. In addition to the brilliantly informative author's note, there are reading group questions and suggested further resources at the end of the book.

Amazing! A really well written, thought provoking book. I thought I knew a little of this history but this book really brought it to life. There was real compassion for the women and girls involved and how badly they were treated by the state and religious institutions. Even their families turned on them. I can't begin to understand how alone they must have felt.
I can't recommend this book highly enough

This book was absolutely incredible. It is always so sad to read about how recently women’s rights were just non existent and the choices they had to make to get through. This story dealt with a variety of issues, from young unwed mothers in an awful home, to the desperation of a young girl having a back street abortion.
It was amazing to see the links drawn out in the story as the characters became part of an incredible network of women supporting women and protecting each other so that they could continue to help. I was genuinely blown away by the talent of Heather Marshall in writing so sensitively and passionately. I have already recommended it to everyone I know- so you should read it too!

This was a really well considered read about many aspects of being a woman including in an historical context. Told through the eyes of three women starting in 1961 with Evelyn who finds herself unmarried and pregnant in a maternity home where every decision has been made for her. We meet Nancy in the late nineteen seventies who is horrified when a botched backstreet abortion leaves her cousin in need of urgent medical help then in 2017 we meet Angela who has been trying so hard to have a baby through ivf but has had several failures and two miscarriages. Each of the characters has been so well formed including how their past experiences have affected them and shaped them. The reality of maternity homes continues to be horrifying however many stories you read about them but what most made me think was the awful choices left for whom abortion was illegal and the risks taken by the Jane’s to help them. This isn’t my usual type of read in honesty but the storyline intrigued me and it didn’t fail to deliver.

I cried a bit reading this book as part of Ireland’s shameful history is the treatment that young women like Evelyn and Maggie received in so called homes run by people claiming to be Christian when in fact it was brutal and nothing less than slavery. While it was mainly fiction, it was interesting to learn about the work that the Janes did for other young women and the risks they took. A great read but keep the tissues close by.

3.5 stars

An excellent mix of fact and fiction.
The realities of being unwed and pregnant back in the day were harsh, but equally harsh were those back street abortions.
This paints a good picture of the patient and doctors side at that time in history.

Other timelines are in this story, and it was interesting to guess where exactly they would merge.
A great read, that gives pause for thought.