Janey’s Choice continues the story of the Phair family begun in Amy’s Promise, which recently won the B.C. library association’s Red Cedar Award. In this new book, the point of view shifts to Janey Phair, the youngest child, who was raised by an aunt and uncle in Winnipeg after her mother’s death, and whose return to her birth family was an important part of Amy’s Promise. Janey is a lively child who wants to be a writer and is undaunted by the many tensions in her family, including her father’s drinking, her grandmother’s steady decline, and her sister Amy’s transformation from bright student to household drudge. Janey and her brother Harry travel to Winnipeg to visit Wallace Hogan, the now-widowed uncle who raised her. There, Harry unexpectedly finds a place for himself, in Hogan’s woodworking shop and in his heart as well. Janey returns to Toronto when her grandmother dies, only to find her sister Amy sinking deeper into depression and bitterness at her lost opportunities. When their father unexpectedly remarries, Amy is even more distressed. But Janey loves her stepmother, and together, they work to ensure that Amy’s life is restored to her.

Janey is engaging, but most of the action in this novel centres on other characters. Harry finds a home, their father finds a new wife, Amy finds a way to continue her education, but very little happens directly to Janey. She is not the main character as much as the fifth business, the character who facilitates the action. However, this detail is unlikely to bother those eager for more about the Phair family. Readers who love Bernice Thurman Hunter’s work will not be disappointed by this book.