Aviva Grossman was young and naive when she had an affair with the married Florida Congressman. She believed herself to be in love with him and she believed that the Congressman would leave his wife for her. Aviva kept their affair under the radar until the night an elderly lady hit them and crashed their affair into the spotlight. Aviva instantly became a pariah, fodder for late night hosts, and a huge disappointment to her family. What does a young woman in her situation do? She runs away to Maine, to a small town where her family once vacationed. Aviva reinvents herself as Jane Young. She becomes an event planner and raises her precocious young daughter. Now, Ruby is thirteen-year-old and she is independent, quirky, and devoted to her mother. But when she overhears something not meant for her ears she realizes that her whole life has been a lie. She takes off for Florida with the hope of finding her father, but instead, she finds that things aren't always what they seem.
Not only do I run this blog, but I also have a spoiler blog. Not to ruin books for other readers, but to remind myself exactly what the big "twist" was in the books that I read. This week I had a fellow reader contact me about creating a post for Young Jane Young. The irony is not lost on me that I had a book spoiled for me through my own spoiler blog, but what it did do was prompt me to finally read the book.
Young Jane Young was a funny and engaging read. The timeline jumps around a long, but we get a comprehensive look at Aviva and her mother, Rachel Grossman. I almost wished that the mother/daughter relationship between Rachel and Aviva was fleshed out a little more. You get the impression that Rachel was the stereotypical, overbearing Jewish mother. According to Rachel, they had a good relationship, but Aviva couldn't stand her mother and her constant criticisms. And when Jane is parenting Ruby she works really hard at being the complete opposite of her own mother. It was a little difficult to like Aviva, but it was very easy to like Jane. And Ruby was absolutely adorable. She forced her mother's hand in facing the past. But, I will say that I was surprised by a big revelation -- CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS
Bottom line - Young Jane Young was a quick and entertaining read about the mother/daughter relationships Fun, eclectic characters keep the reader engaged and eager to see how things work out for Jane Young, her mother, and her daughter.
Details:
- Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin
- On Facebook
- Pages: 320
- Publisher: Algonquin Books
- Publication Date: 8/22/2017
- Buy it Here!
Post a Comment