Dark Companion by Marta Acosta

Published: July 3, 2012
Publisher: Tor/Macmillan
Pages: 368

Orphaned at the age of six, Jane Williams has grown up in a series of foster homes, learning to survive in the shadows of life. Through hard work and determination, she manages to win a scholarship to the exclusive Birch Grove Academy. There, for the first time, Jane finds herself accepted by a group of friends. She even starts tutoring the headmistress’s gorgeous son, Lucien. Things seem too good to be true.

They are.

The more she learns about Birch Grove’s recent past, the more Jane comes to suspect that there is something sinister going on. Why did the wife of a popular teacher kill herself? What happened to the former scholarship student, whose place Jane took? Why does Lucien’s brother, Jack, seem to dislike her so much?

As Jane begins to piece together the answers to the puzzle, she must find out why she was brought to Birch Grove and what she would risk to stay there..because even the brightest people make terrible decisions when they are offered the things they desire most.

My Thoughts:
Alright, seriously, if you're going to do a retelling of sorts of Jane Eyre, DO IT RIGHT!!! Every time I have read some sort of retelling they've destroyed the whole point of Jane Eyre!

Jane-Here we have a girl-our main character-who is so street-smart and so fiercely intelligent who falls apart when she meets a boy named Lucian. WHAAAT? She ends up lying to her friends, lets a boy treat and use her like garbage, she allows this boy to do things to her that are painful and makes her uncomfortable, she allowed him to put her in danger all because she was hung up on his good looks. I couldn't stand her once she had this insta-love for the boy Lucian. UGH! I was annoyed with her constant defensiveness in regards to herself and her relationship with Lucian and became wishy-washy which I felt betrayed what the author originally created for her character. She was a disappointment. However, my biggest complaint against Jane? SHE GAVE IN! The WHOLE point of Jane Eyre was that SHE. DID. NOT. GIVE. IN. so when I read retellings where a Jane "gives-in" it ticks me off because it ends up completely destroying the original point of the original Jane Eyre.

Jack, was actually great, I loved that he was arrogant, silly, a bit on the crazy and wild side, he was funny a bit absurd at times, but in a way that was a breath of fresh air which was much needed thing throughout this book. His character actually made me want to hang out with him.

Lucian was just....creepy. I appreciated the angle this book took on the "forbidden/mystical" aspect, however the character of Lucian was beyond wrong. He was messed up and I can't believe his parents or whatever allowed him to get away with so much. I did NOT like him, one bit.

Another character I quite enjoyed was Mary Violet. She was hysterical and I appreciated her made up words, french, personality, and overall comic relief to the overall story. Just had to throw that out there. Another character I would love to be friends with in real life.

Ok the overall story was blatantly obvious at times, and some how ended all neatly with a beautiful bow that was a bit disturbing and wrong. However there were many aspects of the story with the twists and turns which I could appreciate and keeping many aspects of the original Jane Eyre in the story yet making it the author's own unique story. However if you are a fan of Jane Eyre this story might be a little too crude for you and I would steer clear of this one.

Sexual Content: moderate (PG-talk of pimps, whores)
Language: mild
Violence: mild
Drugs/Alcohol: mild