The History of Jane Doe by Michael Belanger

Ray lives in a weird little Connecticut town, Williamsburg (aka Burgerville). Being the history buff that he is, he knows all about the strange happenings his town's past including the green cows. Were the cows real? Does it even matter when everyone still talks about them?

One day, a young woman comes to town who Ray (the narrator) only calls Jane Doe for this story. She chooses to hang out with Ray and his friend Simon when she could obviously be part of the popular crowd. Jane is unlike anyone.

Jane loves folk music thanks to her Grandma Irene (a somewhat famous singer in her day) who has a connection to Burgerville. The story of the one time folk festival that Irene organized is one of the stories shared between Ray and Jane. Ray takes Jane to all the sites of famous Burgerville historical moments.

I'm finding its difficult to describe this book. Really, it is two young people discovering themselves (ya, I know what teen book isn't). Ray gets to do a rare thing: share his interests with someone who is interested (or at least interested in him enough to listen). Jane...there is more going on with her than Ray knows and for a short time he gets to see her for who she is.

The story is quirky, funny and serious, too. I look forward to another book by this author.

For more info, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog.