Tolog Review: Rosebush

Rosebush
by Michele Jaffe
reviewed by Tiffany Xia

Michele Jaffe’s thrilling and compelling novel, Rosebush, reveals the dramatic story behind how the very popular and gorgeous Jane Freeman got in a “small” accident a surprise party she prepared for her boyfriend, David Tisch. Jane, known as one of the Three Musketeers at her school, has a perfect life that every girl dreams about, but all popular girls have some deep secrets buried inside their hearts, and that includes Jane. In just a short 4 days, Jane’s life has completely changed from the moment she walked into her party. The story starts off with Jane waking up in a hospital, completely paralyzed, and unable to remember any single detail from the night before thinking, “What is going on? I wanted to scream. Someone tell me what is happening! (Jaffe 46).” Entirely clueless, Jane slowly pieces her scattered memories together and eventually finds out what really happened to her.

The police officers tell Jane that they found her tangled up in a rosebush, and while everyone believes that it was just a car accident, Jane senses something strange going on. As the days go by and Jane’s family, boyfriend, friends, and admirers come to visit, her memory begins to come back, she suspects that someone deliberately hit her with a car and is still out to take her life away. Yet, she cannot imagine that anyone in her charmed life would want to hurt her. Everyone, including her best friends Langley and Kate, recounts different versions of what happened that night, so an ever more confused Jane does not know who to believe when she cannot even trust her own memory. She debates whether her medication is affecting her judgement or making her paranoid, “Had it been a dream? Or was it a memory? Had someone really stood over me as I lay in the rosebush and said, “Jane Freeman, you’re a goner?” (245).” Afraid she is losing her grasp on reality and unable to trust her friends, Jane turns to Pete, the hospital’s owner’s son, who helps her gather information about that night and discover the truth.

Michele Jaffe’s writing style creates an ominous mood that really keeps the reader on the edge of her seat. Her use of foreshadowing gets the reader engaged in the story, searching for clues of what really happened with the main character that night. She also really knows what goes on in a teenager’s mind, and as a result teenage readers can relate to the story and characters. I really recommend this book to teenagers who like to read mystery or romance novels, especially those who enjoy playing detective while reading. Personally, the story was really exciting for me to read, and I enjoyed it immensely. The unpredictable ending was not only shocking but also sadly disturbing.