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Posts Tagged ‘Stan and Brianna Schatt’

Jane Blond International Spy by Brianna and Stan Schatt

Posted by: on: May 27, 2016


JaneBlond

If the terrorists kidnapped your friend, would you know how to save him? Fourteen-year-old Jane not only knows how to track down criminals, but she also knows how to use a gun. However, Jane Blond International Spy by Stan and Brittany Schatt isn’t just about bad guys and espionage. Jane spends a large part of her teen life battling school bullies and dealing with the fallout from her parents’ divorce. Suspense and teen drama mix in this two-hundred page novel aimed at young adults. Sounds too good to miss, right? Unfortunately, I struggled to finish.

From the youngest to the oldest reader, who hasn’t wanted to be either a detective or a spy? Or least doesn’t enjoy a good mystery or suspense story? Jane Blond must prevent terrorists from blowing up her school during a presidential visit, as well as protect CIA secrets from falling into the wrong hands. To do so, Jane draws on the help of a friend with Aspergers and a parrot with an attitude. I enjoyed the positive portrayals of those with special needs, as well as found amusing the scenes with the family parrot.

Its target audience will also appreciate how modern Jane Blond International Spy is. Everyone makes ample use of cell phones and computers. They regularly send emails and text. On one occasion, Jane lands in trouble when an unfriendly computer programmer hacks her account to send a nude photo of her to all her classmates. On another occasion, Jane tracks down an incriminating blog of a bully. In addition, Jane uses the internet at other times for seeking out clues to the whereabouts and activities of the bad guys.

With all these positives, why did I struggle to finish Jane Blond International Spy? Mostly, I didn’t care for the character portrayals. The good characters are too inconsistent in their actions. One minute the adults in Jane’s life are praising her and seeking out her help; the next minute they’re disparaging her and acting as if she’s wasting their time. The same rollercoaster is true for how Jane treats her friends. One minute, Jane praises them but the next minute she’s outlining their flaws. In gym class, despite knowing that her friend is viewed as clumsy, Jane doesn’t even use the opportunity of being leader to stand up for Anouk. Instead she picks her second to last. Many people often do send conflicting messages, and so there’s a certain amount of realism to the characters, but I felt too often jerked about like a yo-yo to feel as if any of them were memorable.

As for the bad characters, they’re sadly all stereotypes. The popular kids in Jane’s school call her names, try to fix votes to keep her off the cheerleading team, and even attempt to get her kicked out of school. More offensive is how anyone who isn’t white was depicted. While Anouk (who is Inuit) is portrayed in a somewhat positive way, her parents not only arrange her marriage but ignore that her intended abuses her. In addition, the popular kids follow the Muslim faith, and use the Koran to excuse their death threats on Jane, her friends, and even on the country. While bad can exist in any nationality or race, there’s an imbalance here.

Jane Blond International Spy has been aimed at young adults. I’m guessing the reason for targeting older readers is the violence. Not only do bad guys attempt to kill Jane and her friends, but she shows no remorse in gunning one down when she’s threatened. However, the simplicity of the book’s style feels more suited to a middle-school novel. While at times Jane Blond International Spy does make for an engaging read, I was disappointed in it.

My rating? Leave it: Don’t even take it off the shelves. Not recommended.

How would you rate this book?

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Interview with Stan Schatt

Posted by: on: May 26, 2016

StanSchattDr. Stan Schatt and his grand-daughter are the co-authoring team of the young adult novel Jane Blond International Spy. Shatt has taught at the university level, spent many years “as a futurist responsible for forecasting future technology products and markets for Fortune 500 companies,” and authored over thirty books. Below is my interview with Schatt.

According to Tiffany Clark Kent, when Shatt’s grandchildren were young, he began making up stories to tell them at night. As they grew older, his stories became longer and more complex, and he ended up inspiring his grandchildren to write too.

His grand-daughter, who came up with the basic plot and major characters of Jane Blond International Spy. She also wrote dialogue that captured the way teenagers actually talk. Tomorrow I’ll review Jane Blond International Spy. Save the date: May 27!

ALLISON: Have you always wanted to write?

STAN: My childhood consisted of lots and lots of reading. I set out at 12 to write a novel because I wasn’t happy with the selection in my school library.

ALLISON: Why did you start to write?

STAN: I loved reading and couldn’t find the book I wanted to read.

ALLISON: What appeals to each of your about spies?

STAN: There is something fascinating about people forced to play secret roles. There’s a lot of drama built into the notion of someone who is in danger should their real identity be discovered.

ALLISON: How easy or difficult was the collaboration process?

STAN: Very easy — Brianna came up with the characters and plot and later added dialog.

ALLISON: Talk about the road to publication.

STAN: The biggest problem was finding a cover that we both liked; Brianna is much more visually aware than I am. The book went through a number of publishers until we hit upon Booktrope.

ALLISON: Sell my readers on Jane Blond.

STAN: Jane is a normal 14-year old girl with a world of problems that most girls her age don’t have. It’s bad enough having a father in prison and a mother who insists on having her boyfriend living with her, but poor Jane finds herself under constant attack at school from a bully and queen bee. What I think makes the book fun is that Jane is forced to use a lot of skills and traits she doesn’t even realize she has in order to save the day. She’s one of the few people who is nice to or pays attention to a boy with Asperger’s. He provides a clue that helps her solve a mystery. She discovers she has courage and intelligence she never realized. So, in that way the story is very satisfying since most of us would like to believe that we are all superheroes just under the surface.

To read more about the process behind Jane Blond International Spy, check out the below links:

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