June 2025

WHAT KIND OF PARADISE by Janelle Brown captured my attention on so many levels. First, I was intrigued by Jane’s story of being raised off the grid in the woods of Montana from the time she was a toddler. Second, since Bookreporter started in 1996 and we were in the planning stages in 1995, it was a reminder of the primitive days of the internet, as opposed to what it has become now. Third, it made me think about the instant connectivity that we have today --- and what that means for good and bad.

When we meet Jane, she is living in Montana with her father, Saul. Now 17 years old, she has been told that her mother died in a car accident, and her father was so heartsick over it that he moved her somewhere safe. She is homeschooled by Saul, who has her reading classics and discussing topics with great meaning. At the same time, he is writing his thoughts on the internet and what it is going to mean. Jane slowly starts to understand that the story she has been told about her life is not true, and her father is working on nefarious things to keep digital progress from happening.

I am not going to spoil what happens next for Jane. All I will say is that her real name is Esme. On the run from her father and what he is up to, she works on building a life for herself.

Hearing about people coding in HTML brought back memories, as well as stories of the communal spirit that was felt by those who were building platforms at that time. I confess that occasionally I am nostalgic for the early days. While I love what we have built, there was something about the endless discovery of “what’s next” with technology that was such fun. And while we embrace the instant connectivity that the web has brought us, WHAT KIND OF PARADISE will make you think about a time when the world was so much quieter.