The Janis Project

The copy that I have is spelled "The Janis Project", not "Janice". I really enjoyed this book and have re-read it several times. It is definitely worth reading. My favorite line is "Sweet Mother of Jefferson Davis". That just really cracked me up!

Firstly, I'd like to point out that the title is "The Janice Project" - rather than "The Janis Project". Janice Kennedy - NO RELATION! - is 16 years old, motherless and painfully shy and lonely. When she moves to Virginia she knows everything will only get worse, she doesn't know anyone and will never make friends in this lifetime. But people in Virginia are not like the ones in Chicago: they just won't leave her alone. Janice tells the story of how she came to accept herself as a normal person and how she discovered that God had always done that anyway. I have reread this story so many times. Once for the story itself, then for the humour, then again because it was so funny, then again for the startling insights into the human mind, then again for the religious element, then again because I wanted to live in the book and finally to learn it all by heart. I know it is out of print, but I urge anyone who chances upon this review to go forth and find this book! It is a classic and will stay with you for ever.