I enjoyed this book! I have read another of Zevin's books and loved it, so my hopes may have been a bit too high for this, as it is an ENTIRELY different feel. However, it was good! The daughter at times wasn't super believable for me, but it was a nice easy read with an entertaining plot.

Great read! "Florida's answer to Monica Lewinsky". I thought this book extremely compelling and a powerful feminist story. I would absolutely recommend.

I enjoyed reading this story, I especially liked how it was told from different perspectives but on an always continuing time line. I thought it was quite well done for an idea that could get confusing.

The book was a fun read and had an interesting style alternating between the first person being the mother, daughter, granddaughter, the wife, etc. It was interesting to see different characters' perspectives.

I thoroughly enjoyed the addition of multiple POVs in this novel and really though it added a certain diversity related to many other novels that I read. The feminist aspect of this novel really allowed me to feel an extra kick of girl power.

Loved this book! The telling of the story from different perspectives was so effective. Each person story got better. I don’t know how the author was able to be so likeable in each of the narratives. Awesome, just awesome!

I received a free digital copy of this book from PenguinRandomHouse Canada via Netgalley for an honest review. I went into this book not really knowing anything about it. It had some elements that I always love to read about, such as, family issues, women’s issues and politics. The story is told by more than one character and each of them are interesting and strong. This is a fun book with a lot of serious undertones. Aviva as a young college student interns for a married congressman. When the affair comes to light her reputation is ruined whereas the congressman continues on with his life quite unscathed. Aviva has to reinvent herself as she realizes that she will never escape the scandal thanks to the internet. Many topics are dealt with in the book. Women’s issues in regards to shame, forgiveness, body image, self worth are some of them. Overall an easy fun book but it also has depth. I found all the characters interesting and well written. I would have liked a little more for the ending as it left me with some questions. Definitely would recommend this book. Looking forward to reading the author’s previous books.

The narrative of Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin flows from female character to character. This provides the reader with various points of view. Loosely based on the Monica Lewinsky scandal (sadly, in this review and all other reviews her name will forever be tagged with the "scandal" .... sigh). Aviva unlike Monica changes her name and disappears in order to reinvent her life. We follow her story through her mother, daughter, the congressman's wife and Aviva/Jane herself. We empathize with all the women in this story. Mother/daughter relationships are examined. What mother's do to help, protect and sometimes inevitably hurt their daughters along this journey. Young Jane Young is a light read with a sharp tongue.

Very well written - a skillful blending of various intergenerational perspectives through a life story that provides a gently feminist nudge with humour and vitality

Aviva Grossman, an ambitious congressional intern in Florida, makes the mistake of having an affair with her boss--and blogging about it. When the affair comes to light, the beloved congressman doesn’t take the fall. But Aviva does, and her life is over before it hardly begins: slut-shamed, she becomes a late-night talk show punch line, anathema to politics.

She sees no way out but to change her name and move to a remote town in Maine. This time, she tries to be smarter about her life and strives to raise her daughter, Ruby, to be strong and confident. But when, at the urging of others, Aviva decides to run for public office herself, that long-ago mistake trails her via the Internet and catches up--an inescapable scarlet A. In the digital age, the past is never, ever, truly past. And it’s only a matter of time until Ruby finds out who her mother was and is forced to reconcile that person with the one she knows.
This was a fun, humorous book on the surface. But in thinking about it, there are so many relevant and important issues beneath the service. The double standard between genders, how society treats the victim vs. those in the wrong are just a few of those deeper issues. Told through 4 different narrators in 4 different styles, the novel quickly moves along going forward in time while looking back. Each narrator is well developed and unique, just like their narrative style. I enjoyed this book, the unique way the story was told, and the impression it left with me.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Heavily influenced by the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Zevin tackles slut-shaming in her newest book Young Jane Young and it is glorious! She examines the double standards, sex scandals, and misogyny that resides not only in politics, but in life. Women everywhere face these issues and are often silenced from the shame, and the threat of losing everything they have worked so hard for.

Before becoming Jane Young the wedding planner, Aviva Grossman was an ambitious, bright intern with the congressman's office. Aviva has an affair with her boss, the congressman himself, and blogs about it. True to life, when the affair is made public, it is Grossman that goes down while the beloved congressman carries on. Aviva becomes the punchline and butt of many jokes—she is labelled as fat, ugly, and a slut. She is not employable or dateable and sees no other way out that to change her identity and move away to a remote town in Maine.

On top of running her own event planning business, Jane is also navigating being a single mother to Ruby. Even though she has started her life over, politics doesn't seem to be out of her system and she decides to run for office. Unfortunately for Jane, the past catches up with her (the internet is forever) and it is only a matter of time before Ruby discovers who her mother really is/was. Ruby is the vehicle through which Jane must face not only her past, but Aviva herself.

Told through the voices of Aviva/Jane, Aviva's mother Rachel, Ruby, and Embeth Levin (the congressman's wife), we hear all sides of the story. Zevin's characters are not without flaws. In fact, it is these flaws that drive the story forward and this type of narrative is the perfect vehicle to accomplish this. She effortlessly moves from past to present without confusion. Her writing is witty, fresh, and thought provoking.

This was a really interesting novel in terms of its premise. However, I'm still on the fence about whether it achieved its goals or not. This story is narrated from quite a few perspectives (all female), which I wasn't expecting. Since this was Aviva's story and the premise only mentions Aviva, I thought that this story would be from her perspective alone. While this made it interesting, it also made it a bit confusing. The novel begins with Aviva's mother's perspective, and while I loved her character, it took me a while to figure out where exactly the story was going. Then there was another switch in perspective, and again, I felt as if I had been uprooted from one story and put into another. This feeling was persistent for a large portion of the novel. However, I will say that I enjoyed reading from each perspective. All of the characters were wonderful and just so funny to read about. I also think that the author really makes a fine point of how unfair it is that a publicly drawn-out affair only affects the woman involved and not the man. However, I wish the author had elaborated on this aspect; while it is the main reason why Aviva takes such drastic decisions, it also never felt like it was fully addressed and resolved. This novel was a really enjoyable and funny read with great characters. However, it didn't really address the elephant in the room and left me a bit disappointed. For that reason, I'm giving this novel a 3/5 stars.

I would have to describe this book as a light read with serious undertones. From the book blurb, we know that the book is about Aviva Grossman, who as an intern had an affair with her boss, the congressman. The book shows the woman's side post such a scandal. Historically, prominent men seem to get off very easily (case in point, Bill Clinton). Not only do we get Aviva's (AKA Jane Young) viewpoint, but her mother's, her daughter's, and the congressman's wife.. This certainly made it a more rounded book. The author made some valid points-Why is the woman who bears the brunt of the blame and the shame. With the advent of the internet and google, there is no such thing as a secret anymore. Anything can be found and the public is quick to judge. I did have a few quibbles with the book. The one I will mention is the title. If I were to choose a book by the title, I would never choose this one. I did not think the title added at all. All in all, a quick read that kept my interest.

This review is going to be short and sweet because I didn't care for this book very much. It felt unfinished and rushed.
I think this was supposed to be a feminist story, but to me it felt like all the choices, decisions and remarks that were supposed to be pro-feminism, were just forced and barely even elaborated on.
What I did enjoy was the different POVs from all the different characters. But, I hoped for much more.

An entertaining novel! Gabrielle Zevin draws the reader in with humour and insight from her well developed characters. These strong women illustrate epic resilience amid adversity!

A young intern, Aviva Grossman, makes the mistake of having an affair with her boss (who is also a successful and married politician) and blogging about it. After the affair comes to light, Aviva is thrust into the spotlight and ends up taking the brunt of the backlash. Years later, after changing her name to Jane, moving to a new town and starting over in a new career with her daughter, she decides to run for office herself. Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin is a contemporary chick lit novel that will have you thinking.

I went into this book completely blind, I knew nothing about the synopsis and I knew nothing about the author, Gabrielle Zevin. All I knew for sure what the cover was incredible and that was enough for me!

Upon beginning the book, the first thing that struck me was how relevant the plot was, especially in today’s time where political scandals seem to pop up monthly. I am fascinated by how the women are treated in these types of cases and how the politician (generally) flies under the radar unscathed. I also was instantly drawn into the characterization; I loved Aviva/Jane’s mother, Rachel, throughout the first section of the story; she was absolutely hilarious. I also loved the little cultural bits that Zevin places into the text to discuss Jewish heritage and culture. I found them to be really refreshing and they gave me quite the chuckle.

However, from here on, I found the narrative style a bit confusing; not sure if it was just my copy of the novel or what, but I did feel like it was jumping throughout time quite a bit without warning. I would find myself thrown off for a few pages completely disoriented and then would be able to find my way back into the text. I also was thrown off when the narrative switched voices from Rachel (Jane’s mom) to Jane/Aviva. It felt like a completely different book. And then, later, it switches again to completely different narrators in different time periods. By this point, I was just about done with all the switches.

Overall, the novel was entertaining and I absolutely loved the prose of Zevin but I really struggled with the execution of this book. That being said, I do feel like for someone who enjoys something a little bit different and out of a typical narrative style may really enjoy the unconventional set up of this book!

I have been a fan of Gabrielle Zevin ever since "Diary of a Teenage Amnesiac", and "Young Jane Young" did not disappoint! Particular enjoyed how the story was told by different narrators. Each narrator had an individual voice and writing style. Will definitely recommend.

First off, I couldn't put this book down, I read it in 3 days. I loved it!

This book is divided in sections, each told by one of the different women involved in the Aviva's (Jane) affair with the Congressman. It was amusing and refreshing!

Thank you Net Galley and Penguin Random House Canada for providing me with this ARC.

Gabrielle Zevin continues to write beautifully about such varied topics that are both timely and relevant. This book is written from the perspective of several different women all tied to a 'scandal' that occurred between a married politician and young intern. The voices of the different characters all felt real and were all different and well developed. The book touches issues around feminism and how unfairly society historically treats the women/young girls involved in scandals vs. how the men are judged. There is also a great underlying theme about motherhood that I loved.

'They didn't put a scarlet letter on her chest, but they didn't need to. That's what the internet is for.'

'The discovery of your shame is one click away.'

'When you think of your mother, the word that occurs to you is too. She hugs you too hard, kisses you too long, asks you too many questions, worries too much about your weight/your love life/your friendships/your future/your water consumption. She loves you with almost religious fever. She loves you too much. The love makes you feel embarrassed for her and almost guilty - other than be born, what have you done to deserve such love?'

'Later, you yell at your mother, but you know it isn't her fault. You yell at her because she's there and because she's your mother and she'll take it.'

'You can forgive your mother, and because you have your own child, you know that she must have forgiven you.'

'You love being Ruby's mother, but loving Ruby does not stop you from wanting things for yourself.'

'When your mother is worrying about something you don't have to.'

"Jane Young" is a strong woman, doing her best to make a life for herself and child after an affair and scandal.

This is a story about making choices, living with the consequences of the choices made and trying to move forward. It is a story about relationships between mothers and daughters. It is a story about owning your past and claiming your future.

I was hooked and read this quickly. The characters were believable and relatable. I was rooting for Jane.

I received a free copy via Netgallery.com in order to review it. This is an honest review of the book.