Aviva Grossman is ready to go out and conquer the world--she's young, smart, and pretty, and has recently been hired as an intern for a handsome, popular Congressman. When she and her boss begin an affair, she can't resist writing about it online (anonymously, of course). But it doesn't stay hidden for long. While the congressman is able to save his re-election campaign and his marriage, Aviva is vilified and despised. She decides her only option is to start a new life, so Jane moves to remote Maine and becomes a wedding planner. She lives a quiet life with her daughter Ruby, until she considers running for mayor. Can the secrets of Jane's past stay hidden or is it time for the truth to come out?

Like many readers, I adored Gabrielle Zevin's sweet and quirky The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. So I was excited to read her newest novel. But I must confess that I picked this book up and put it down a few times before finally sticking with it because Young Jane Young is very different in tone and plot from A.J. Fikry.

Zevin uses several different perspectives to tell this story, including Aviva's mother, Jane's precocious daughter Ruby, and even the wife of the congressman. Each character is fascinating and uniquely written. I especially loved the relationship between Jane and Ruby, although Ruby's narrative, which is told through emails with an international pen pal, is sometimes a bit much.

This book strikes a great balance. It's obviously about some current and difficult issues, like the way women are treated in the media and the way that men can seemingly escape scandal without consequence, while women are blacklisted in their fields. But it's not a heavy book; there is a lot of humor to be found on these pages and you can almost see it play out in your head like a zany comedy on a movie screen. Young Jane Young is a fun and often delightful read that will also leave you thinking about the cost of being a woman in public who makes mistakes and the double standard for men and women in our modern culture.


Young Jane Young
By Gabrielle Zevin
Algonquin Books August 2017
320 pages
Read via Netgalley

Young Jane Young has all the redemptive qualities a flawed coming of age story should encompass, but not in any predictable ways. I was hooked from the beginning, and am glad my intense dislike of the initial characters didn't keep me from getting to know the depth and heart of Zevin's bigger story. Definitely worth giving the story time to unfold and reveal the sweet spots.

3.9 - politically timely, yet still fun; pageturner

This is the story of a young political intern in Florida named Aviva Grossman, who has an affair with a politician, is pilloried for it, changes her name, and moves far away for another chance at life. The story presents multiple perspectives and injects some humor into the story while also providing some food for thought about how people's love for a juicy story can alter lives. The rough plot reminded me of the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal from the 1990s, and the author references that as well, but the story stands on its own as an examination of politics, youth, and desire. After loving The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, however, I just couldn't get quite as immersed in this novel; the characters seemed more distant and less lovable. Still a good read, however.

Quick and enjoyable read, but I almost gave up on it in the beginning--so glad I stuck with it! I kept thinking ugh this book isn’t my thing it is very cliche but then I got a few chapters in and am so glad I read on. It really is a great book, well written and if you just hang in there well worth the read

it was hard not to have high expectations after AJ Fikry. this book was fine, i was interested, i really liked the characters and the story, but i just wanted more. it was so incomplete. it was also different than what i expected based on the synopsis. it passed the time just fine. the ending was abrupt. it was just okay, i wanted more overall.

A cute, quirky, interestingly written with different POVs (but not overbearingly annoying) book about choices and moving on. It’s a mother/daughter/starting over story that felt both complete and incomplete at the same time. There were parts that left me wanting more and parts that left me wanting less but this is a good vacation-type read or a good palette cleanser if you tend to read heavier or nonfiction books

Shit, this was so good. I didn't expect to devour something in December, which is traditionally a bad reading month for me. (Normally I keep it super light or reread things.)

But damn, I think this might even hit my best of 2017 list, that's the kind of impression it made.

This was my surprise hit. After reading the description, I was hesistant to move forward with the novel. However, after hearing multiple good reviews, I went ahead with reading and ended up loving it. One of the strengths of this book is how the story is told from different character’s perspectives, but when it changes characters, how the story is told changes. It gave me a whole new way to look at the story and I think that made all the difference.

What happens to the young women caught up in political scandals when they grow up?

I didn't love or hate this book. It was the perfect travel novel, and I read it quickly.

I enjoyed Young Jane Young quite a bit. The political aspect to the story was unique to me since those aren't the types of stories that I usually read. I liked the characters and thought the storyline was well thought out.

At first glance, Young Jane Young is about scandal, which I happen to like. Quirky, offbeat and often hilarious, the many narrators of “Jane’s” tale are both original and highly entertaining. When you begin to peel back the layers of this complicated and (at times) emotionally eviscerating tale of Aviva Grossman and the people who orbit around her life, it becomes clear that at its heart, Young Jane Young is an exploration of the politics of relationships.

Marriage, She Wrote

Throughout this book, there were several moments where women of all ages were put in submissive positions, or were in some way forced to escape from uncomfortable situations. Aviva’s mother takes us through the trials and tribulations of dating as an older woman, Franny is constantly subdued by her husband and Aviva herself is thrown into the middle of a controversy when she has an affair with a married congressman.

What I found most interesting about this narrative thread was the constant return to the idea of marital fidelity and the role of the women involved. In several of the interconnected storylines, there are married men who are unfaithful, but each time, it is always the woman who is judged. This is made particularly evident with Aviva’s Grossman, who we learn from the beginning that she has changed her name just to escape the scandal. I think that Gabrielle Zevin creates a lot of strong moments within her narrative that will make readers think more deeply about relationship inequalities and in particular, slut shaming.

A Complicated Kindess

Along with the hardships such as slut shaming that many of the female characters face, Young Jane Young has a lot of funny, sweet moments that kept me reading late into the night. I loved Aviva’s relationship with her daughter, Ruby and their closeness. Although I felt that Ruby’s section of narrative felt disconnected from the other non-epistolary parts, her story was necessary (and completely devastating). What I loved the most about these female narratives was that the characters felt honest and their relationships, though flawed, were enjoyable to follow. I felt like nothing was simple and that made it all the more fascinating to read.

An Intelligent, Multi-layered Narrative

Read this book if you love quick-paced books with lots of narrative layers. Each time I picked up this book, I felt like I was discovering new elements to the story that only deepened my fascination with the characters and their ongoing plights. Zevin even makes references to The Scarlet Letter and Robert McNamera’s “mutually assured destruction,” which were clever details that added to the overarching ideas.

I’m glad that I was given an Advanced Reader Copy of Young Jane Young, because it is an intelligent and funny read that I feel is particularly relevant right now with all of the scandals that are going on in Hollywood right now. Barring that, it’s an exceptionally written story that was a lot of fun to read.

This book is an easy, lighthearted read and yet describes the serious effect of societal double-standards on women. I enjoyed how Zevin is able to use humor to demonstrate the ridiculousness of how the American culture vilifies women in extra-marital affairs. This is a book worth reading!

Young Jane Young
By
Gabrielle Zevin



What it's all about...

This book is about a young girl who fell in love with an older man who just happened to be a politician. This young girl had the idea that writing a blog about this relationship would help her. Although this young girl never named names she became famous for her posts. The fame, however, was not the kind of fame that anyone would want. This young girl eventually changed her name and moved far far away from Florida to the pine tree state...Maine. She had a daughter, reestablished her life and eventually ran for mayor of her small town. Her daughter was very clever and unique and eventually had issues with what her mother did. The question is...did they eventually live happily ever after? Hmmmm.

Why I wanted to read it...

I loved this author’s first book. It was beautiful.

What made me truly enjoy this book...

I loved this book because it is unique and very clever. The writing is just so good and the kind of writing I love in a book.

Why you should read it, too...

Readers who love cleverly written books with a beautiful storyline should enjoy and delight in this book. I loved it!

I received an advance reader’s copy from Algonquin Books through NetGalley and Amazon in exchange for an honest review.

Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin dives into the world of politics, especially the seemy underside that often times wreaks havoc with lives, particularly women's lives. It hits at serious issues of the gender divide that still exists in so many arenas but particularly in the world of politics. It is a quick, often light-hearted read that in its breezy manner leaves me with a lot to think about.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2017/11/young-jane-young.html

Reviewed for NetGalley

Zevin is brilliant when it comes to writing authentic characters & relationships. The writing was in turns humorous & empowering. I love the women in this book, esp. the main character. She owned her mistakes and stayed true to herself when she could have so easily given up. This is definitely one of my favorite books of 2017.

This book was so much fun. It was very different from Ms. Zevin's last book, which I loved, but this one was great in a different way. I live in Boca Raton, Fl. and could very much relate to the places mentioned in the book! I belong to a book group and I recommended this book for our next month's meeting!! So far I've been hearing that people are enjoying it. It will be interesting to discuss the many themes, particularly the themes of trust between mother and daughter, or lack thereof, and also being an empowered woman rather than getting power from a relationship with a man. I was around at the time of the Chandra Levy murder and this definitely paralleled that as we stopped hearing her story after 9/11, much as Aviva's scandal falls off the radar for the same reason. Definitely a fun read and a good diversion from other books with "heavier" subject matter.

Quick and enjoyable read, but I almost gave up on it in the beginning--so glad I stuck with it!

Young Jane Young is about Aviva Grossman, a young congressional intern who had a scandalous affair with a married congressman (think Monica Lewinsky). This one mistake defines Aviva’s life. The fallout from the affair results in her changing not only her name, but also the course of her life. Of course the congressman, who was 20+ plus years her senior, escapes blame and shame free.

The book is comprised of the POV’s of Rachel, Jane, Ruby (Jane’s daughter), Embeth (the congressman’s wife) and Aviva.

Young Jane Young begins with the POV of Aviva’s mother, Rachel Shapiro. Rachel is an overbearing Jewish mother living in Boca Raton. Her POV was a bit over the top for me, and was what almost made me stop reading. It was like reading every single stereotype about Jewish mothers crammed into one character, which just too much! However, I powered through to part two, and was happy to discover that the POV shifted into Jane’s story, which drew me in.

Sometimes I get frustrated with shifting POV's, but I really liked the unique role that each POV played in the telling of Aviva's story.

Young Jane Young explores themes of feminism, choice, mother-daughter relationships, and most importantly love. I am so glad I didn’t DNF. It’s a little gem of a book that made me smile.

“To take care of something is to love it”

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Monica Lewinsky. Nearly everyone in America (and many outside it) knows that name. You might demonize her, you might feel bad for her, you may think you don't know the whole story and shouldn't judge... but when you hear that name, you have a reaction. This story is a fictional account of a young lady named Aviva Grossman, who is Florida's answer to Monica Lewinsky. A woman who made the papers for who she slept with... because that someone happened to be very married and very much in the spotlight.

Three and a half stars. I really enjoyed the story, but some parts about how it was told detracted from the experience for me. I wasn't that into the parts from Ruby's perspective, but I know that was a favorite for a lot of readers. I also wasn't in love with the "choose your own adventure" part towards the end, but I really enjoyed the rest from Rachel and Aviva/Jane. I laughed, I cringed. I shook my head and remembered how naive I was when I was Aviva's age.

Aviva wrote an anonymous blog about her life as a congressional intern. One day, it blows up for all the wrong reasons. Her affair with a senator has come to light, and someone has connected the two. It's just the right amount of sex and scandal that sells papers. She's infamous practically overnight and the bright light that was her future seems to have been turned off, leaving her in the dark. She's labeled the seductress, which the Congressman gets off relatively easily. Figures.

This story consists of how the affair started, the aftermath, and the new life Aviva makes for herself after she cuts ties, changes her name, and moves. We learn not only how the mistake she made when she was barely an adult affected her, but how it affected her mother... and later, her daughter. When she's urged to run for public office, it's only a matter of time before her big secret is known by everyone in town. Google never forgets.

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley and Algonquin Books, thank you! My review is honest and unbiased.