Young Jane Young takes the refreshing approach of focusing on the women who are affected by a political scandal making it equal parts entertaining and enlightening. Told through multiple perspectives, starting with the mother of the titular "Jane" who is actually Aviva Grossman, a former intern who had an affair with the Florida congressman she worked for. Afterwards, we are filled in on what happened to Aviva now going by the name, "Jane's" before moving on to the perspective of Embeth, the congressman's wife. It's refreshing to have women be the central voice in this kind of political narrative, for once and Zevin does an excellent job of making each woman feel like a real person that the reader can empathize with. This makes Young Jane Young an engrossing, and a surprisingly empowering read at times.

An extraordinary look into the lives of three generations of women, Young Jane Young deftly captures the singular voices of Jane, her wealthy divorcee mother, Jane's precocious pre-teen daughter, and the wife of Jane's lover. Her brief affair with an up-and-coming politician devastates her life to the extent that she must reinvent herself with a new name in another state. And there she eventually thrives, as a respected businesswoman and caring mother. So respected, in fact, that Jane is encouraged to run for mayor of her small town. But her past begins to threaten her political aspirations and wreaks havoc on Jane's relationship with her daughter, Ruby.

Told through multiple perspectives using different literary forms (for example, Ruby's chapters are emails to her pen pal), Young Jane Young is a rich and revealing look at sex and politics and the unequal way the media treats women in the face of scandal, especially in this internet age. Parallels to Monica Lewinsky notwithstanding, readers will find themselves swept up in a story where no one is completely innocent or guilty, just painfully human. Lovingly crafted and written with humor and insight, Young Jane Young is a winner.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for my review. I have read many of the "best reads of the summer," from various lists, and this would be at the top spot for me! Gabrielle Zevin has written some of the most engaging characters of the summer. Aviva Grossman has fallen in love with a married Congressman from Florida. When their affair is revealed Aviva changes her name and goes into hiding to escape the public humiliation. She has a precocious daughter, Ruby (my favorite character in the novel) who is about to discover her mother's secrets. This novel brings up so many interesting topics for book clubs to discuss, without feeling like you are reading heavy material. It is thoughtful and sweet and funny, and really a must, must read!

I did not love this book, thought it was just OK. Not my usual genre and I should just stay away from contemporary women's books, since I have not been enjoying most of them lately.

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-.


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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.