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The Epitome of Femistry #1
Jane Doe
Series Jane Doe (Growing Pains- 1) Thou Shall Not Keep Me Wondering (growing Pains -2) Just (Growing Pains - 3) Jessica N. Watkins wrote Jane Doe during her freshmen year of high school and after giving birth to her son. She was fifteen years old. She wrote Jane Doe as a heart wrenching reflection of life through the eyes of the urban teenager. Jane Doe is set in the “Windy City” during the year 1996. The main characters, Lyric Caldwell, Latrice Anderson, and Victoria Renee Brown, allow you into their adolescent world of fitting in, insecurity, boys, heart break, and love. Entering their first year of high school at Kraton High, Lyric, Latrice, and Victoria find themselves battling with common factors of the urban environment; teenage pregnancy, single-parent homes, and peer pressure. Victoria was forced to move in with her estranged father after the death of her mother. Forced to work and fend for herself, “Vic” has grown a thick skin against her father’s verbal and physical abuse, and strangers have to climb the wall that she has built around her heart. Lyric has a hard time helping her best friend break down this wall as she is forced to handle matters of her own; refereeing a game of tug of war between her older boyfriend, Russell, and her virginity. With substance abusive parents, Lyric often times prefers to lean on the maturity of her other best friend, Latrice, for counsel. However, Latrice is dealing with problems of her own when she realizes that she is possibly pregnant by the neighborhood high school dropout, Taij. Now she is faced with the unfeasible task of explaining to her demanding and strict mother that she has not only been sneaking and having sex with the boyfriend that she was not supposed to have, but also may possibly become what her mother has feared the most; a statistic. Through this novel, Watkins reveals the genuine thoughts and motivations of the urban teenager. Jane Doe is geared toward the urban adolescent, but is attention seeking enough for any adult by illustrating the rebellious teenager living “ghetto fabulous” with consequence, and highlights the unexpected heroes of our urban communities. Jane Doe reaches out to that insecure and yearning teen, and illustrates the consequences of refusing to look beyond the small window of fitting in.
298 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 21, 2008
71 people are currently reading
254 people want to read
About the author
Jessica N. Watkins
94 books1,183 followersAuthor of Urban Chick Lit, Erotica, and Contemporary Urban Fiction... Jessica N. Watkins was born April 1st in Chicago, Illinois. She obtained a Bachelors of Arts with Focus in Psychology from DePaul University and Masters of Applied Professional Studies with focus in Business Administration from the like institution. Working in Hospital Administration for the majority of her career, Watkins has also been an author of fiction literature since the young age of nine. Eventually she used writing as an outlet during her freshmen year of high school as a single parent: “In the third grade I entered a short story contest with a fiction tale of an apple tree that refused to grow despite the efforts of the darling main character. My writing evolved from apple trees to my seventh and eighth grade classmates paying me to read novels I had written about kids our age living the lives our parents wouldn’t dare let us”. At the age of twenty-eight, Watkins’ chronicles have matured into steamy, humorous, and realistic tales of women's literature. She hopes that The Epitome of Femistry series will successfully emulate ideal femininity while tackling stereotypes, familiar heartache, and relatable distress in a humorous, sophisticated, and erotic fashion.
Jessica N. Watkins is available for talks, workshops or book signings. Email her for more information at Jessica@femistrypress.net.
Additional information can be found at www.jessica-n-watkins.com.
Follow Jessica on Twitter - @authorjwatkins.
Follow Jessica on Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/authorjwatkins
Jessica N. Watkins is available for talks, workshops or book signings. Email her for more information at Jessica@femistrypress.net.
Additional information can be found at www.jessica-n-watkins.com.
Follow Jessica on Twitter - @authorjwatkins.
Follow Jessica on Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/authorjwatkins
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 20, 2020
This story was so good. It was emotional and I truly was at a lost for words during reading some of this book. This story takes place in 1996. So one of the girls is 14 years old and 4 months pregnant, she had no idea she was even pregnant and her mom is so strict because this was the very thing she was trying to avoid. Another girl got raped by her very own boyfriend. She was a virgin and was trying to save herself for... love. Maybe? Then the last girl (and was just the saddest in my eyes) her dad was beating her and I’m not talking about whoopings, he was brutalizing her and then he finally decided to upgrade his abuse from physical beatings to physical molesting. Yes he began coming into her room at night.
The saddest part for me besides that last night was:
VICTORIA
To Whom It May Concern: Honestly, there is nothing that I can say. I feel so…Well, actually, I can’t feel anything right now. I’m numb…
When I heard Jesse’s footsteps coming up the stairs, I immediately stopped writing and a cold chill went through me. It was fear. The same fear you feel when you know that death is near. The same fear that I felt when my mother’s eyes were telling me that she wasn’t going to live through the week. The same fear that I felt when they told me that I would never see Charles again. I blew my candles out, tucked my diary and pen beneath the pillow, and closed my eyes tight. I tried my best to appear as sound asleep as possible and hoped that the footsteps would continue pass my bedroom. I peeked out of the corner of my eye and saw two feet standing in the light that shone between the carpet and the door. My heart began to race. I swallowed the lump in my throat and stopped the tears. I never cried when he came into my room. I wanted to lay as still as possible so that I wouldn’t aggravate him. On top of him touching me, I couldn’t take a fight too. I was so nauseated when he touched me. I could feel the air on my buttocks as he first removed the blankets and then raised my gown. I purposely laid on my stomach so that my most private and personal parts would be hard to reach…
… I’m numb. That’s a good way to describe it. I can’t imagine what possessed him to start doing this to me. He has more love in his touch now than he ever has. I can’t remember the last time he touched me softly or with tenderness before all of this started. When he is in my bedroom at night, he actually takes his time and never hurts me. I would think that he would eventually realize that I am his daughter; the same daughter that he gives black eyes, and the same daughter that he hasn’t told “I love you” in years. But it seems as if he’s enjoying this more than being a father to me. His breath eventually gets faster and heavier as the minutes go on. He goes from brushing over my body parts, to touching them, and then to groping them. I wonder sometimes how far he’s going to go or how long I’ll stay here to find out. I wonder if my mother watches over me while he’s in here, or if she leaves when she knows he’s coming because she doesn’t want to watch.
Victoria
This part really made me cry. I was so sad for Vic
All in all this was a VERY good story. If I’m not mistaken this author wrote this book in her freshman year of high school. It’s so good and it really hits home for a lot of teenage girls out there...On to part 2: Thou Shall Not Keep Me Wondering which if I’m not mistaken picks up about 4 years later in 2000.
Total Book Experience 10/10
Plot/Storyline (structure)10/10
Writing (Errors) 10/10
Characters 10/10
Again-able 10/10
Emotion 10/10
Book Cover 10/10
Visual/ Illustratable 10/10
Addictiveness 10/10
Threshold quality 10/10
Unique 10/10
The saddest part for me besides that last night was:
VICTORIA
To Whom It May Concern: Honestly, there is nothing that I can say. I feel so…Well, actually, I can’t feel anything right now. I’m numb…
When I heard Jesse’s footsteps coming up the stairs, I immediately stopped writing and a cold chill went through me. It was fear. The same fear you feel when you know that death is near. The same fear that I felt when my mother’s eyes were telling me that she wasn’t going to live through the week. The same fear that I felt when they told me that I would never see Charles again. I blew my candles out, tucked my diary and pen beneath the pillow, and closed my eyes tight. I tried my best to appear as sound asleep as possible and hoped that the footsteps would continue pass my bedroom. I peeked out of the corner of my eye and saw two feet standing in the light that shone between the carpet and the door. My heart began to race. I swallowed the lump in my throat and stopped the tears. I never cried when he came into my room. I wanted to lay as still as possible so that I wouldn’t aggravate him. On top of him touching me, I couldn’t take a fight too. I was so nauseated when he touched me. I could feel the air on my buttocks as he first removed the blankets and then raised my gown. I purposely laid on my stomach so that my most private and personal parts would be hard to reach…
… I’m numb. That’s a good way to describe it. I can’t imagine what possessed him to start doing this to me. He has more love in his touch now than he ever has. I can’t remember the last time he touched me softly or with tenderness before all of this started. When he is in my bedroom at night, he actually takes his time and never hurts me. I would think that he would eventually realize that I am his daughter; the same daughter that he gives black eyes, and the same daughter that he hasn’t told “I love you” in years. But it seems as if he’s enjoying this more than being a father to me. His breath eventually gets faster and heavier as the minutes go on. He goes from brushing over my body parts, to touching them, and then to groping them. I wonder sometimes how far he’s going to go or how long I’ll stay here to find out. I wonder if my mother watches over me while he’s in here, or if she leaves when she knows he’s coming because she doesn’t want to watch.
Victoria
This part really made me cry. I was so sad for Vic
All in all this was a VERY good story. If I’m not mistaken this author wrote this book in her freshman year of high school. It’s so good and it really hits home for a lot of teenage girls out there...On to part 2: Thou Shall Not Keep Me Wondering which if I’m not mistaken picks up about 4 years later in 2000.
Total Book Experience 10/10
Plot/Storyline (structure)10/10
Writing (Errors) 10/10
Characters 10/10
Again-able 10/10
Emotion 10/10
Book Cover 10/10
Visual/ Illustratable 10/10
Addictiveness 10/10
Threshold quality 10/10
Unique 10/10
November 16, 2017
Teenage Girls
This book explained the story of young teen girls and their growing pains with sex and being pressured into having sex, promiscuity, and rape. It was so real.
This book explained the story of young teen girls and their growing pains with sex and being pressured into having sex, promiscuity, and rape. It was so real.
March 13, 2019
Read this book first !!!
Wish I would have read this book 1st to make all the other books make better sense !!! Great book with a happy but Thot ending lol
Wish I would have read this book 1st to make all the other books make better sense !!! Great book with a happy but Thot ending lol
August 28, 2022
Great read.
June 18, 2012
The story Jane Doe is set in Chicago and takes you through the everyday lives of three teenage girls Lyric Caldwell, Latrice “Tricey” Anderson, and Victoria “Vic” Brown as they deal with boyfriends, sex, peer pressure, abuse and teen pregnancy. The three girls are best friends and they and spend every day consoling each other on each of their different issues. Lyric is dealing with peer pressure from her boyfriend Russell to have sex, although she does not want to. Victoria is living with her estranged father who often abuses her and does nothing more than provide a roof over head. Victoria is forced to work and pay bills if she wants to continue to have a place to stay. Latrice suffers with teen pregnancy and how to tell her over protective, controlling mother. Many of the situations the girls dealt with often reminded me of my teenage years. I liked the fact that the story was written from the point of view of the girls which made it was easy to sympathize with some of their situations. Other than the situations I previously mentioned there is not much more to the plot. One problem I had was that these girls did not always seem like they were fourteen, the conversation and mindset often seemed like that of an adult, which was contradictory due to some of the situations they got themselves into.
Overall, I liked the way the book flowed and it did keep my attention but I was disappointed in the ending. The three girls in this book were dealing with the same issues from the beginning to the end and it ended without any closure. I am assuming that there will be a sequel which readers will have to purchase to finish the story of Lyric, Latrice, and Victoria.
What did you like about the book?
I liked the way the author wrote, the language that she used made it easy to follow.
What did you dislike about the book?
I did not like the ending of the book. I understand an author likes to leave the readers wanting more but I felt that the readers deserved a little more closure, some answers. The ending didn’t explain anything that happened with the situations the girls were dealing with the entire book. I also was a little confused by the cover of the book. I think it could have related more to the plot.
What could the author do to improve the book?
Overall, I liked the plot of the book but I think the ending could be improved.
Overall, I liked the way the book flowed and it did keep my attention but I was disappointed in the ending. The three girls in this book were dealing with the same issues from the beginning to the end and it ended without any closure. I am assuming that there will be a sequel which readers will have to purchase to finish the story of Lyric, Latrice, and Victoria.
What did you like about the book?
I liked the way the author wrote, the language that she used made it easy to follow.
What did you dislike about the book?
I did not like the ending of the book. I understand an author likes to leave the readers wanting more but I felt that the readers deserved a little more closure, some answers. The ending didn’t explain anything that happened with the situations the girls were dealing with the entire book. I also was a little confused by the cover of the book. I think it could have related more to the plot.
What could the author do to improve the book?
Overall, I liked the plot of the book but I think the ending could be improved.
May 17, 2014
Grade: B+
it was pretty good...I felt like it took while to start getting really good...and there were times where I was reading and hoping the book would be almost over because it was taking so long to make a point or tell the story but bore you in between getting to the point.
I will say however after finishing the book, I am dying to know what happens next. it was a very good book, the stories of each of the girls were very interesting and relAtAble for women today who have been through similar encounters or are dealing with some of the same things now. This book shares a common bond with its readers, young relationships are hard as hell, and it's not just you.
it was pretty good...I felt like it took while to start getting really good...and there were times where I was reading and hoping the book would be almost over because it was taking so long to make a point or tell the story but bore you in between getting to the point.
I will say however after finishing the book, I am dying to know what happens next. it was a very good book, the stories of each of the girls were very interesting and relAtAble for women today who have been through similar encounters or are dealing with some of the same things now. This book shares a common bond with its readers, young relationships are hard as hell, and it's not just you.
November 11, 2013
I really enjoyed the fact that Jessica exposed the inner thoughts, feelings, & decisions often made by adolescents. It was a change of pace from my normal reads & I'm sure the rest of her writing has grown as she has grown as an author. Nicely done Jessica.
July 5, 2017
Jane Doe (Epitome of Femistry)
This book was a short read. But a very good intro to the characters and their home lives. One can quickly see how the bonds developed between Victoria, Latrice and Lyric.
This book was a short read. But a very good intro to the characters and their home lives. One can quickly see how the bonds developed between Victoria, Latrice and Lyric.
April 21, 2015
Good read that focused around 3 teenage friends--Tricey, Vic & Lyric & the obstacles they faced dealing with their family & friends. I thought their diary entries was a great addition to the story allowing them to express their feelings. On to part 2.
August 13, 2012
The book was pretty good. Character are easy to relate to. I like that the setting was in Chicago in the neighborhood where I grew up. Quick and easy read. I plan to read the entire series.
November 14, 2012
I loved every book in this series. I could not put them down. They are great. You really relate to the characters. Excellent reed
March 6, 2014
Excellent Book
Excellent Book
This was a very good book. Could hardly put it down!!!! Can't wait for the next one to come out
Excellent Book
This was a very good book. Could hardly put it down!!!! Can't wait for the next one to come out
August 14, 2014
Read the whole series. Good Read
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews