Just finished Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau.

This is one of my favorites of 2021. This story grabbed me from the very beginning and I didn’t want to put it down. The character of Mary Jane is well developed and you connect with her right from the start.

Mary Jane is the coming age story of a 14 year old girl in 1970s Baltimore. During a summer of being a nanny for a local family, Mary Jane finds herself and what kind of life she wants to lead.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Publish date 5/11

#NetGalley #MaryJane

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a opportunity to review this book. Simply a great book. 5 stars and highly recommended!!! Jessica Anya Blau Created very likable characters who you care about even when they are doing things that hurt themselves and others. A perfect blend of innocence and sex, drugs, and rock n roll.

This was a highly absorbing read with a great female character. I recommend this to so many friends right now. Those that say I'm not enjoying anything I read right now, this is the book for them I've seen it said that if you grew up reading Judy Blume this book is for you. That is it exactly, it felt nostalgic to me. I wonder if there is a playlist that accompanies the book , if not please make one for a book club kit.

I was excited to read this book because the premise sounds so fun:
Fourteen-year-old Mary Jane gets a summer nanny job for the Cone’s—a progressive family who live in her neighborhood, but might as well be a world apart from her own straight-laced family. Oh! And her new employers happen to be secretly hiding a famous rock star and his movie star wife for the summer.
Described as “Almost Famous” meets Daisy Jones and The Six, this book perfectly captures the vibe of the 1970s. But, while it does have elements of rock and roll in the story, I wouldn’t go into this expecting that to be the emphasis.
This book was more about Mary Jane’s coming of age while navigating two households with entirely different value systems. It explores judgements of gender, religion, race, employment, etc., and Mary Jane’s growing awareness of it all.
I liked this book well enough—especially Mary Jane’s relationship with Izzy, who she nannies for. It’s a sweet and warm bond they form and, for me, was the highlight of this book.
Ultimately, though, the pace is really slow and I had a hard time wanting to finish it.
It wasn’t my jam, and that’s ok. I do think this book is one that many other readers will love.
Thank you to William Morrow and Custom House and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

My endless thanks go out to William Morrow and Custom House Books for sending me this copy of Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau. This book will be published on May 11!

I LOVED THIS STORY SO MUCH! This was such a heartwarming book full of extremely likable, heck even lovable characters. This is a coming of age story that’s set in the 70s. It features Mary Jane, a shy young girl who was hired to be a summer nanny for the adorable Izzy. While she’s nannying she meets many people as her eyes are opened to the world that her parents try very desperately to shield her from. She gets a chance to show some of her own tricks to her new friends and also have some space to form her own opinions.

This book has Daisy Jones and the Six vibes, also some Almost Famous sprinkled in but wrapped up in the sweet bitterness of innocence. I HIGHLY recommend this one. Get your preorders ready now, because this one is going to be a massive hit.

I was given an ARC of Mary Jane from NetGalley, and the book is scheduled to be released on 5/11/2021.. I had read Jessica Anya Blau's previous books, so I was very excited to read this one! I read this book in a day while on a road trip last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. Mary Jane is a 14 year old girl who has grown up in a very traditional home during the 1970's. She takes a job working for a psychologist's family, caring for their 5 year old daughter. One of the psychologist's patients, a rock star, is living with the family as he works through his addiction problems. Mary Jane is thrust into a very eccentric family, and she ends up taking care of all of them during the summer. She is thrilled to be in the middle of a family that is anything but traditional, and she learns much about the real world and herself. I laughed out loud so much during this book, and I ended up reading many parts aloud to my traveling partner. I was sad to see the book end because it was such a fun read! I highly recommend it!

Mary Jane lives a conservative life until her 14th summer when she takes a job as a nanny for Dr. Cone and his wife and their daughter Izzy. Dr. Cone is treating a famous rocker, Jimmy for the summer and he and his wife come to live with them. I really liked how Mary Jane was opened up to new experiences and was able to be more open with them about her feelings and got to see what family life could be like. I think that really helped her communicate with her parents later what she needs and wants from them. A good read for fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid!

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

4.5 ⭐️

When I saw this described as Almost Famous meets Daisy Jones, I knew I had to read it. Although it does give off those vibes, it is a completely different story that doesn’t compare to anything I’ve read before.

This is a coming of age story of a young girl named Mary Jane who is a sweet, sheltered 14 year old who is hired to nanny for the Cones. Little does she know, her summer isn’t going to be what she expected when a famous actress and her rock star addict husband move in to the Cones house so Dr Jones can give Jimmy intensive therapy.

I loved Mary Janes relationship with the daughter Izzy and Sheba and Jimmy. I also loved the complicated relationships between the adults in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

OMG I loved this book! The description sounds good but this book was amazing. Mary Jane is a coming of age book set in the 70s that will have you laughing out loud. I was literally crying from laughing so hard! The story was amazing and a lot fun. I really loved every aspect of Mary Jane!!

This is such a lovely song of a book, the sweet (and occasionally salty!) story of a young girl stepping out of a black-and-white, highly regimented life into a riotous rainbow of music, friendship and gentle chaos. Kind and open, but never saccharine, it was a joy to read.

Mary Jane is a coming of age story set in the 1970’s. Mary Jane is a 14 year old girl from a normal but strict family. She gets a summer job as a babysitter for a doctor and his wife’s young daughter. Dr Cone is a psychiatrist and one of his famous patients who happens to be rock and roll star and his actress wife are spending the summer with the doctor and his family. Mary Jane at first didn’t know what to think about the chaotic lifestyle of the doctor and his famous guests, but soon she can’t wait to get there every day to spend time with them. This book was very well written and I loved all the characters and how they interact with each other. Thanks Netgalley for this ARC.

This was a 4.5 star rounded up to 5 for me. Mary Jane is a fast fun read that gives all the 70’s nostalgia vibes and makes your heart feel full. We see the world of the book through the eyes of fourteen year old Mary Jane, who comes from a straight laced, no nonsense family as she takes a summer nannying job with an eccentric, free loving family that quickly makes her question the stringent belief system instilled in her since birth. This is such a fantastic coming of age story that definitely gives off a lot of Almost Famous vibes. I highly recommend this book, especially for fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid!

I don’t even care to hurry to finish this book, because it is THAT GREAT. I am so in love with the free-love, 70s rock and roll, record store reeling vibe of this story. It is my perfect read. The characters are so cool and so perfectly written. It is humorous and honest and so perfectly-synced with that period of time. I’ll post more, but just wanted to say to the author, YES 🙌! #maryjane

Fourteen-year-old Mary Jane has been raised in an ultra-conservative home, Her father goes to work each day and has little interaction with his wife and daughter, and her mother is the picture-perfect housewife. As the 1970s veer into extreme liberalism and the Age of Aquarius dawns, Mary Jane gets a job with a neighborhood doctor and his wife as a nanny to their young daughter. This job is definitely approved by her parents since it is for a doctor, therefore ultimately respectable. What Mary Jane's parents don't know, is the doctor is a psychiatrist and he and his wife embrace a liberal lifestyle that does not resemble Mary Jane's life at all. Her parents are a little horrified that Dr. Cone is Jewish, but choose to overlook that. They would not, however, be able to overlook the fact that Dr. Cone is focusing on one patient during the summer of Mary Jane's employment: rock star Jimmy and his move star wife, Sheba. Jimmy is an addict who is trying to recover and he and his wife move in with the Cones for the summer. Mary Jane begins lying to her parents as she experiences "real" people, not the magazine-like cutouts her parents emulate.

Mary Jane, in turn, is a stabilizing for the Cones and their guests. She immediately connects with her young charge, five-year-old Izzy, and begins to bring order to the chaotic household. They become a secondary family for Mary Jane, a family that talks to each other about their feelings and emotions and shows affection to each other. When her lies are exposed, she is able to find a voice in her immediate family and confront her parents about who she really is instead of being the quiet shadow her parents think she should be.

I loved this story and was sad to see it end. I loved the imperfections of both families and how between the two completely different worlds, they created the perfect family. Mary Jane needed a little of both to discover her true self. The ending was imperfect, but it was right and realistic. This book made me think a lot about the effects of a parent's expectations for their children, and how creating a picture perfect world is not beneficial, but also what can happen when adults are still trying to grow up themselves. I think that imperfection is sometimes what makes life perfect.

While the writing style wasn’t my favorite, I did relatively enjoy this “Almost Famous meets Daisy Jones” story. The characters were endearing however this story overall was not very original. I supposed it would be a good summer read.

I enjoyed the coming-of-age theme of this story and related to it. It was a quick read as I was transported back in time!

Wow! What an unexpected delight this book turned out to be.! I absolutely loved the story of Mary Jane's coming of age one summer during the 1970s. By chapter two, I was laughing so hard, tears were coming out of my eyes. Great story. Memorable characters. Highly recommended. Your book club will love it!

Mary Jane is a normal teenager in the 70's. When she takes a job as a nanny for the summer, her perspective of "normal" changes! The doctor she works for is a psychiatrist and he is taking in a rock star and his wife so he can help him dry out. Life as Mary Jane knows it is completely changed! I loved the relationship between Mary Jane and Izzie. This one summer lets Mary Jane know what she wants out of life and grows her up in many ways. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. Mary Jane is a 14 year old growing up in the 70's. Her parents are very conservative and religious, the parents are very concerned with outward appearances and don't display emotions. She gets a chance to be a nanny for a family in the neighborhood. The Cone family she is working for is very different from her own home. The father is a psychiatrist who is treating a rock star for his addiction to drugs, the rock star's wife is a famous movie star and they are living at the house for the summer. Mary Jane loves her charge, and because the house where she works is a mess, she starts cleaning and cooking meals for the Cones. I really liked all the characters. This was an eARC from net galley.

Wow I ADORED this book. This is a sweet coming of age story about a young girl from a sheltered home growing up in Baltimore in 1975. Mary Jane takes a summer job as a nanny for 5 year old Izzy Cone. Izzy's family could not be more different than Mary Jane's family. Izzy's family are counter-culture "hippie" types but also very loving and supportive as opposed to Mary Jane's family who are very "proper" country club type of people who do not express love to their daughter. I loved the contrast between the families and the music from the 70s that was discussed and sung in the book.