Rating: 
Summary: Familiar in Good and Bad Ways
Review: I love Sharon Shinn, and I loved JANE EYRE when I read it in high school, so I was certain that I would love this book! And, for the most part, I did enjoy it, but I have to agree with some of the other reviewers here that it isn't Shinn's best work. In fact, I honestly find myself wondering what possessed her to write JENNA STARBORN at all.The novel starts out very intruigingly, with Jenna as a "manufactured" human mistreated by the human family she lives with. In this part of the novel, there are some pretty strong resemblances to the Bronte novel, but also a nice twist to make the story fresh and original. Once Jenna goes to Fieldstar, however, all attempts at any stretch of originality, creativity, or imagination are almost entirely demolished. As I said before, I loved JANE EYRE; but if I want to read JANE EYRE, I'll read Bronte. I was expecting and anticipating Shinn to put her own twist on the basic premise of the Bronte classic--young woman falls in love with brooding employer, who turns out to be hiding a terrible secret--but I was disappointed in the way she followed J.E. so incredibly closely--she hardly even bothered to change the characters' names! Plus, Shinn is a good writer, but not as good as Charlotte Bronte was, especially at this type of fiction. Mr. Rochester/Ravenbeck talks as if his life is the climatic scene of a really bad late Victorian melodrama, and I couldn't possibly take him seriously. On the whole, in face, the characterizations were not very good, even for Jenna's character. I felt as if the book just skimmed the surface of her life and I still didn't really know her by the end, or even if I would care to know her. She seems more of a passive observer of her life than even Jane Eyre was. Basically, JENNA STARBORN was more like reading a scene-by-scene copy of JANE EYRE, rather than a "twist" on the original story, which makes me wonder why Shinn even bothered writing it. If you like JANE EYRE, you will like this book, no doubt about it; but as a work standing on its own it was disappointing.
Rating: 
Summary: A weak retelling
Review: I was intrigued when I first saw this book, but after reading it, I am only disappointed. The book was shallow and unengaging throughout. Shinn focuses on trite details, such as ensuring that all parallel characters have similar names, without bringing anything new or meaningful to the storyline. Oddly enough, she brings in "Janet Ayerson" as a foil for her heroine, Jenna Starborn. Janet Ayerson is kind, but weak and uninteresting. I can only interpret this as a criticism of the original Jane Eyre. What would cause Shinn to cast Charlotte Bronte's heroine in this light? Charlotte Bronte was a feminist before her time, and Bronte's heroine displays more strength and integrity than her hero. If you want to read Shinn, I would recommend "Heart of Gold" or "Summers at Castle Auburn." Or better yet, read the original "Jane Eyre."
Rating:
Summary: A pleasant surprise
Review: I was prepared not to like this book. I have often wanted to rewrite someone else's book and add a few things that appealed to me. That is what I expected to get in Jenna Starborn, a retelling of an old classic in the future. Actually, that is what I got, but the retelling was delightful. I actually enjoyed it. However, the book is not without flaws. This is much more a romance novel than science-fiction. We are given little information about Jenna's universe. Time seems inconsistent, as well as travel, banking, and communication. As a sci-fi fan, I had to put aside my questions and concentrate on the story of Jenna herself. It was a good solid read, a love story with no racy, titilating moments. Jenna and Everett have a deep, somewhat religious, respect for one another. That, in itself, is refreshing.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing release, weak science
Review: I was thrilled when my hold at the library came in--but was quickly disillusioned. I have read and enjoyed tremendously Shinn's previous books, but this one is nowhere near as good. The first-person narrative is awkward. One is supposed to believe the text is an account narrated by Jenna into her voice recorder/diary gadget, the "Reeder recorder", hence the irritating phrase "Dear Reeder". This nuclear technician fears to search the computer nets for news of her former employer, lest Ravenbeck might trace the contact and discover her current whereabouts. He owns numerous properties across the galaxie, is a very wealthy class-one citizen, but only employs one nuclear technician to maintain and monitor the (mission-critical) shielding and generating system for this large but remote planetary estate. He is injured severely, yet sits brooding in the guest room of his mine manager, instead of getting his damaged tissues regenerated. How come his vast financial empire ignores his situation? The attempt to graft science futurism onto Victorian society just doesn't work. I'm glad I didn't buy this, and hope Ms. Shinn goes back to original stories featuring strong female leads in fantastical settings. Forget the literary games!
Rating:
Summary: Interesting But Not Fundamentally Engaging
Review: If you have not read "Jane Eyre" in a while, you may enjoy this book as a reminder of that experience. I did. I loved "Jane Eyre" and my reading interests include science fiction, fantasy and romance, so I am likely an ideal reader for "Jenna Starborn." I was interested but never profoundly moved. I finished "Jenna Starborn" and would not rate it as a waste of time, but found it more engaging as an academic exercise than as a novel-reading experience. Sharon Shinn must truly love "Jane Eyre" to have recreated it this way, but this version never quite comes to life. I think some of the most interesting elements have to do with the very stratified society she envisions. "Jane Eyre" was set in such a world, and there could indeed be a version again. I'd have liked to see a book or story that pursued that idea further, even at the expense of dropping the original premise of recreating the Jane Eyre plot in the future. If you have never read "Jane Eyre," this book will likely frustrate you, as many elements are included in order to create the parallel rather than because this world and these characters demand them. Fans of hard core science fiction fans should not look to "Jenna Starborn" for science-based speculation. The science is minimal and the book has little enthusiasm for it. This was my first outing with this author, and I suspect she has done better. Flawed though this book was, I enjoyed myself enough that I will certainly try her again!
Rating:
Summary: Not Her Best Work
Review: In a nutshell, this is not Sharon Shinn's best work. I found Jenna Starborn to be shallow, formulaic and predictable. It is never advisable to follow the style of another author, unless you can do it better than they can. By all means, range out into space and explore new worlds. Leave Jane Eyre on Earth where she belongs.
Rating: 
Summary: Strong Science Fiction romance
Review: In the far distant future, Earth has advanced so far technologically that she has colonized many planets in quite a few galaxies. On the planet of Baldos, a woman who thought she was barren contracted to have a child that was gestated in a gene tank. When Jenna Starborn was born, the woman now pregnant with her son, treated Jenna cruelly, refusing to adopt her.
Eventually, the authorities took her out of the home and ensconced her on Lora where she went to school at Lora Tech and learned to be a nuclear technician. After she graduates, she applies and obtains a job as a generator tech on the planet Fieldstar. Her employer Everett Ravenback of the domed estate of Thornafone Park falls in love with Jenna and asks her to marry him, but on her wedding day she learns a truth about him that causes her to flee across the galaxies in fear.
Sharon Shinn, like Anne McCaffrey and Catherine Asaro redefines the boundaries of the science fiction romance genre and in doing so creates a memorable, beautiful work. The heroine, a woman looked down by the elite of the galaxy, is a strong-minded and moral person who will not break her own ethical code even if it means giving up the man she loves. Jenna Starborn, in the decades to come, will be a cult classic. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: not her best work
Review: Its an interesting concept, projecting a Bronte novel into the future, however her character development was better in her prior novels. Perhaps being constrained to the antiquated Bronte novel formula constricted her tendencies to make her characters the usual heartbreakingly real. If you are just starting to read Sharon Shinn, I highly recommend starting with the Archangel trilogy and the "Shape Shifter's Wife". Wish I bought this one at a used bookstore or borrowed it from the library.
Rating:
Summary: Bront?s in space
Review: Jenna Starborn is heavily influenced by the sisters Bront?. As I have enjoyed their books, I loved the way this book stiched together the plot points of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights and yet created a fully realized futuristic world.
Rating:
Summary: Brontës in space
Review: Jenna Starborn is heavily influenced by the sisters Brontë. As I have enjoyed their books, I loved the way this book stiched together the plot points of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights and yet created a fully realized futuristic world.
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