Didn't finish it...bored me to tears. I thought it sounded like a good read, but, ultimately, it was not something I felt I could spend the time on...especially with the pile of TBR books I am looking at this summer!

It wasn't that long ago when the name Monica Lewinsky made front page news and almost led to the downfall of a president. Aviva Grossman has a similar story, though more on the scale of Anthony Weiner than Bill Clinton. As a twenty year old intern to a Senator and family friend, Aviva falls in love and with the stupidity of youth, believes that her paramour will leave his wife for her. When he doesn't and the story becomes the fodder of tabloids around the country, Aviva finds that her life is ruined. No graduate school will take her. No reputable employer will hire her. With little to look forward to, Aviva decides to leave her whole life behind her and reinvents herself as Jane Young, a party planner in a small Maine resort town. As Jane, she confides in only one socially prominent woman and raises her daughter, Ruby, a product of her affair (or is she?) in obscurity. Then politics calls and Jane decides to run for mayor of her tiny town. Her scandal is only a google search away, but so is the history of her opponent's wife who shares a secret with Laura Bush,. Definitely a Roman a clef, but also definitely fun to read and guess at whether Jane will have her happy ending. The answer is of course she will. Highly recommended.

I think this book will appeal to fans of the Gilmore Girls and the current tv show, Younger. Sometimes we don't make the right choices when we're young and how long do we have to pay for these choices? Especially in this age of social media?

I really enjoyed this book (with the exception of that bird, I just didn't get that), the characters, and the way the story was presented. I really like the way Ruby told her story. I have seen that technique used before, but I thought it was exceptionally fitting in this story.

It was a quick read, yet very fulfilling.

I loved Elsewhere and The Storied Life of AJ Fikry, and this title didn't disappoint. I went into the story knowing nothing about it but the author. Ms. Zevin deftly weaves the stories of 4 women (3 generations) surrounding one pivotal event and how that one event forever shaped and/or shadowed their lives. I truly enjoyed this book.

liked this more than The Storied Life of A.J. Fickery.

Young Jane Young takes a humorous look at the lives affected by Aviva Grossman's scandalous affair as a political intern in Southern Florida.

Excellent summer read. Thoroughly enjoyed the various voices telling the story.

I think I have read and enjoyed everything Zevin has written, but I am really especially enjoying the stuff she has been putting out recently (I am hoping this one will be as much of a sleeper hit as The Storied Life of AJ Fikry). I went into this knowing absolutely nothing about this, and I think that made it even more compelling--told in varying POVs, it is the story of the aftermath of a young intern's affair with a congressman in the late 90s in Florida. But each woman's POV is so interesting and bursting with personality--as much as I liked each one, I was always sorry when the one before ended. OK, this is not a literary tour de force or whatever, but it IS a really readable and likable novel, which made me want to pump my fist more than once, and there are too few of those in this world. Highly recommended. A/A-.


__
A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in August.

Being in a book club offers lots of positive experiences…for me, it frequently means I will read something I NEVER would have selected on my own! That was the case with Gabrielle Zevin’s The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry. Why wouldn’t I have picked it? For starters, there is that weird title. Then the blurb, letting me know it was about a loner who owns a struggling bookstore…well, those weren’t exactly grabbers for me. But I loved the book, and after pondering why, it came down to the fact that it was just FUN to read. It entertained me and it made me THINK. So I was happy to receive a copy of Zevin’s new book Young Jane Young, from Algonquin Books and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Young Jane Young is the story of Aviva Grossman, a Congressional intern in Florida who has an affair with her boss and telling the story in her (supposed to be) anonymous blog. As is often the case, the guy is temporarily damaged by the scandal, but Aviva becomes notorious. Like Lewinsky, she is slut-shamed and her name becomes synonymous with the ick factor in politics in general.

Aviva changes her name to the generic Jane Young, moves to Maine, and starts over, with her daughter in tow. She becomes a successful small-town business owner, raising her daughter to be a strong, confident young woman. Everything goes well until Jane runs for public office and finds that Google provides an indelible scarlet A. It seems that in social media, the past is never gone. Ruby finds out her mother isn’t the person she had always thought she was, and as she confronts the reality of the world, she needs to decide how much this matters.
The novel follows three generations (Aviva’s mother, Aviva and Ruby) and uses rotating points of view to tell their stories, along with that of the Congressman’s wife. The characters are terrific: Aviva’s mother Rachel is the first one we meet, and she tells us (as she is talking about how her best friend Roz and her new husband spend time together) “I don’t particularly want a husband. They’re a lot of work, but I don’t want to spend the rest of my life alone either, and it would be nice to have someone to go to classes with is what I’m saying.” Jane works hard on raising Ruby mindful of the lessons she absorbed from her own childhood: “I believed a mother must act like the woman she wanted here daughter to become.” And Ruby is just…amazing.

I loved how it entertained me with tons of humor, and made me think about how the world still wants to define women’s roles and possibilities. I’m kind of a political junkie, so that aspect of it appealed to me as well.

Sadly, double standards are still with us, and misogyny is rampant in politics and business. This is a fairly quick read, but anyone who cares about the issues will find the characters and their experiences rolling around in their brain long after the final chapter. Five stars. Hugely enjoyable, as was Fikry.

I can not wait to discuss this novel with others. A great book club selection!

I liked so much about this book, but was ultimately so disappointed by it. Young Jane Young is about a young woman who has an affair (and blogs about it) with a married politician just as the internet & blogging is starting. The story is told from various points of view including the main character's mother, her daughter and the wife of the disgraced politician. There are so many good things about this book--female friendship, moving on after public humiliation and some very interesting characters, but the book feels so unfinished. Since I received a copy as an ARC, I actually looked at various sources online to see if maybe the copy I received wasn't a full copy (sadly, not the case). There are just too many unresolved issues that remain by the end of the book(how do Roz and Rachel become friends again, why is the politician late to his own anniversary issue, why doesn't Jane respond to her mother's phone call about her sick grandmother, when does Jane's stance on feminism change--does it?, etc.). I really wanted to rate this book higher because I liked so much of it--the strong female characters, the plot points, the humor of it, but ultimately I felt let down by how little gets solved/addressed by the end of the novel.

Those who read The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry will find Young Jane Young sharing the same writing style where Zevin allows the readers to see pieces of the characters’ lives; how they were impacted by someone’s actions and how those actions have had an effect even after years of taking place. I loved some of the characters from the beginning like Rachel; she is so strong and funny; the line “this blog was like a zombie. It would not be killed” makes me smile every time I think of it. Some characters I did not like very much (Aviva) though at least I came to understand her a little more by the end of the book. These are humans with real feelings and flaws experiencing life’s tricks and joys. I am not sure I like the title because the story was not just about Jane Young (Aviva) but also about all those people that were part of her life and whose lives were affected by Jane’s actions. Young Jane Young did not touch me as deep as The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry (that book made me cry pages before reaching the end of it); nevertheless, it is a thoughtful book about life. Book clubs should add it to their lists for future discussion.

I found the story compelling. Seeing that type of scandal from the viewpoint of the family and the young "femme fatale" was illuminating. I enjoyed the characters, the plotline and the first person writing devices used by the author. An enjoyable and thought provoking read.

Enjoyable story. I like that it was told from three different perspectives.

I loved this book! So many fascinating women just trying to figure it all out. Zevin did an excellent job highlighting how women are treated so unfairly in these public sex "scandals" without beating you over the head with it. I couldn't wait to see what would happen to everyone involved and I really enjoyed the ending. I will be recommending this to everyone that's looking for a smart, funny, and heartwarming read!

Aviva Grossman made a mistake when she was a young intern in Congressmen Levin's office. She slept with the Congressman...and she blogged about it! She kept it all anonymous, but it wasn't hard to figure out and she was ruined. What could she do? She changed her name and left town. In today's 'connected' world, will this work? Gabrielle Zevin asks this question and the answer is this very entertaining novel. Aviva's daughter Ruby steals the show and even the child isn't really who you might think she is! The whole scenario could be snatched from today's headlines.

I was a great fan of Zevin's popular The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, so I unhesitantly requested this book from NetGalley. Friends, I'm here to report that this latest story of politics, social media and human relations does not disappoint. The first section, told by the mother of our hapless government intern, is as sharp as any stand-up comic or late night talk show host, and I found laughs on every page. The story settles down when Aviva flees to Maine and changes her name to escape her internet scandal, but the story continues to be a rich, witty commentary on modern society. Pick this one up for an entertaining read.

I really enjoyed this book! Its a really great premise - essentially what happens to the poor folks caught up in national scandals, and can you outlive your notoriety? Zevin's writing is very funny. She's very sympathetic to her characters while still showing us the bad choices and ridiculous situations they manage to get themselves into. I enjoyed the various points of view throughout the novel, with the Main Character's story being told by other character's thoughts and actions towards her. We don't get the MC's own interiority until well into the book, and this makes for an interesting perspective. Great plot, fun and realistic characters, and great writing!

Surviving scandal is not an easy thing, especially when you are the young female intern and it's a political scandal. Aviva Grossman transforms her life after these events, and that is what the novel is about. WIth multiple perspectives and format, the story moves quickly through the pages. This is definitely a "novel for women" but I enjoyed it, the perfect thing to read in an airport and on a long plane ride to Portland. It would be a good beach read but doesn't come out until August, so save some summer reading for it!

This book grabbed me & wouldn’t let me go! I was only going to read a chapter & ended up reading the whole book in an afternoon!! It was like catching up with an old friend, I wanted to know what was going on in their life and had to drop everything until my questions were answered!! A story of choices and scandal and strength. Aviva wants to get into politics and becomes an intern for a South Florida congressman. But when she makes questionable choices and ends up dubbed the Florida Monica Lewinsky she finds she needs to make a major change if she wants a life.

Told from the perspectives of three generations of women, we get the story of Aviva Grossman aka Jane Young, who as a young intern engaged in an affair with a married politician and compounded the mistake by blogging about it. My favorite part of the book was definitely Aviva's mother's version of events. She was hilarious! But the whole book was really well done--great characters, interesting perspective and satisfying and believable series of events.