Oh sweet Mary Jane. You have my heart. I devoured this book in two sittings. And when I finished? I literally hugged the book. Yep. It’s one of those reads.
Title: Mary Jane
Author: Jessica Anya Blau
Publisher: Custom House
Genre: Literary Coming of Age Fiction
It’s the 1970s in Baltimore and shy sweet fourteen year old Mary Jane loves cooking with her mom, singing in the church choir, and Broadway Show Tunes. This is her world.
One summer she starts a nanny job for Cone Family. They may only live a street over, but over there it’s a whole different world! Dr. Cone is a psychiatrist and has cleared his schedule for one important job . . . helping a famous rock star get clean.
Over the course of the summer, Mary Jane introduces the Cone household to a clean and orderly house, ironed clothes and home cooked meals. In return, she has a front row seat to a liberal world of sex, drugs and rock & roll. Mary Jane finds herself caught between the lifestyle she’s always known and a future she’s only realized is possible.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is a brilliant coming of age story about finding yourself. It’s funny. It’s sweet. I absolutely loved all of the characters. Ugh, it felt like summer in a bottle and was full of nostalgic magic. Bonus for me was the setting in Baltimore had references that I was familiar with since that’s where I’m originally from, hon.
This one comes out tomorrow May 11th and I highly, highly recommend it! Add it to your summer list. It’s going on my favorites shelf!
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