Mary Jane is 14 years old and lives in Baltimore with her parents. The storyline takes place in the 1970's but the reader has the sensation that the events taking place will have long term effects on Mary Jane's life. Her parents are very conservative presbyterians and her mother seems to be the perfect mother, out of a housewives magazine, sorrownded by her avocado color appliances. Her father is not very communicative and, with his silence, seems to subscribe to every decision her perfect wife makes.
During the summer, Mary Jane starts to babysit for a young family. Izzy, a very clever and precocious 5 years old, develops a very strong bond with Mary Jane, and she stars to feel like part of the family. Although, a very different one from her own. They are perceived as a little bit neglectful with their only daughter, they don't seem to have a healthy routine and everything is chaotic.
They also have a secret: a heroin addict rockstar and his charming famous wife are spending the summer in the house. And Mary Jane's life will change for ever.
It's a cozy coming of age story that you won't be able to put down. The writing is so compelling that every page is like a breeze of fresh air.
This book is funny and deep. Narrated by Mary Jane, we step into a teenage girl's mind and her deepest thoughts and questions about sex, addiction, religion, career choices, infidelity and the, most often than not, incomprehensible world of adults.

I loved this book. It's a new favorite.
I'm giving it 5 stars
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

A Baltimore teenager emerges from the cocoon of her conservative family when she gets a summer job watching the young child of a free-spirited psychoanalyst and his wife. It's the 1970s and the teenager, Mary Jane, comes of age under the tutelage of her employers and their patients and houseguests, Cher and Gregg Allman (they're not called Cher and Greg Allman, but that is obviously who they are).

On one hand, while I may be a sixty-something guy rather than a teenage girl, I can relate to Mary Jane's story, which is is actually pretty darn close to my own coming of age in the 1970s, emerging from the cocoon of my conservative family -- although the closest I got to anyone resembling Cher and Greg Allman was over the radio (and even at that remove, music was instrumental in opening up my world).

On the other hand, even though I now (and for the past fifty years) am culturally aligned with the pop stars and free-spirited family rather than the conservative traditionalists I was raised by, I feel more than a little queasy that this book so totally aligns itself with them. Not that I sympathize at all with Mary Jane's close-minded authoritarian parents, but the family she works for and their famous guests are not exactly paragons of virtue.

Still, this was an enjoyable read. Not at first -- it took a while to find its footing, but once the Cher and Gregg Allman characters are introduced, the story quickly picks up momentum. The device seems too facile -- sure, spending a summer with superstar rockers and actors is going to have a big impact on you, especially when they take such an improbable liking for a shy teenage babysitter. But it does set this book apart from the many coming of age stories that are not catalyzed by the likes of Cher and Gregg Allman.

And parents, if you're wondering whether this book is appropriate for readers like the title protagonist -- it's not. This book is for adults. Not that I'm a shrinking violet, but the language is far too frank for 14 year old readers, drug use is a big part of the story in several ways, and there is at least one totally explicit sex scene and a lot of other sexual references that I would not have wanted my daughters to be reading when they were that age.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advance reading copy of Mary Jane in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great coming of age story about a young girl realizing that what she was raised experiencing and. believing isn't all there is out there. This book has a way of giving 70's nostalgia to those that weren't even alive then. It also reminds one of what it was like to be a teenager and learning about the world outside of our own tiny bubbles.

I will preface this with am not usually a fan of "rock star" stories. I usually think the focus on drugs and sex is disturbing and not enjoyable... But this story, this story was so much fun! I loved that the narrator was the 14 year old Mary Jane. I think that was smart to have the innocence balance all the craziness. I love how these stories have the main character grow, but this novel didn't just focus on Mary Janes growth. And it's funny... so many laugh out loud moments. The people that you are supposed to love you love and laugh with them and the ones that you are supposed to hate, you do and laugh at. I am so glad I decided to take a chance on this story. I highly recommend and don't think it will disappoint.

4.5 rounded up to 5 Stars

This gem of a book was like buried treasure. The synopsis had some seductive elements such as the setting of 1970, being a teenager...and music-of course! I grew up in the sixties and seventies, and my love of music really blossomed during the 70s when I was a teenager. My favorite music station to stream is iHeart70s radio. Also, the cover wth the vinyl LP on the turntable reminded me of a Led Zeppelin album, since I remember them being on Atlantic records. I must say, this story wildly exceeded my expectations and kept me tethered to my kindle.

The main character is 14 year old Mary Jane. She gets a summer job taking care of a little 5 year old neighborhood girl named Izzy. Her mother Mrs. Bonnie Cone is a stay at home Mom, but nothing like a traditional wife and mother. In fact, she is derelict in her duties. Mary Jane is like a fish out of water when she steps into the alternate universe of the Cone household to assume her role. Mrs. Cone doesn't wear bras, is careless about cleaning the house, cooking meals and even giving little Izzy a bath. There are piles of books and sundry other bric a brac all over the house in random places. Mr. Richard Cone is a psychiatrist who sees patients in his garage office. He has a very special client this summer who he'll be treating as his sole patient, and he'll be boarding at the Cone house along with his wife. The intriguing part is it's a celebrity couple. Now, when I was first introduced to them in this book the wife's description "screamed" to me Cher as to whom it was based on. This was confirmed by a movie role "Sheba" was offered towards the end of the book that made me say..."Aha!". She's married to a famous musician named Jimmy who's in a band named Running Water. He has a drug addiction for which Dr. Cone is treating him. Other than being a drug addicted musician, he bore no resemblance to Cher's ex-husband Greg Allman. When Mary Jane first goes into the kitchen and sees Sheba sitting at the table she's utterly starstruck. Mary Jane and her Mom always watched Sheba on her variety show.

Mary Jane can't tell anyone that Sheba and Jimmy are staying at the Cone's house. It's a rule, but even if it wasn't, she couldn't tell her parents. Mary Jane's parents run a tight ship at their household. Her Mom's life consists of meal planning, cleaning the house, gardening and church. Her father's a lawyer and they belong to a country club. Mary Jane is a stand out singer in the children's church choir.

Mary Jane's skills make her more and more crucial at the Cone house, and it gets to a point where she's practically living there during the week. She finds herself telling little lies in order to justify her increased hours over there. She uses her mother's wonderful meal plans to cook scrumptious dinners and desserts at the Cone house. I loved reading the details of how she made each delicacy, drawing from her tenure helping Mom in the kitchen. She also made homemade pancakes called "bird's nests" each morning where you cut out the hole in the center of the pancake and cook an egg. She made Izzy a part of everything she did, including shopping for the groceries and preparing the food. Mary Jane also gradually organized everything in the house like the books that were strewn all over the place, and made sure that Izzy had a nightly bath.

It was so much fun for Mary Jane being around Jimmy and Sheba. In the evening the adults would smoke joints, and sometimes there would be group therapy sessions. Nothing was kept secret. This was the summer Mary Jane really grew up. She heard about sex, drugs and rock and roll. I laughed out loud many times. Mary Jane was really able to see and understand the contrasts between different lifestyles and value systems between the Cone household and her family's. Her talent for singing was also discovered by Jimmy and Sheba, and they would often harmonize and sing together.

I underestimated how good this book was going to be. What a delightful journey it took me on!

Thank you to the publisher William Morrow and Custom House for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

Almost Famous meets Daisy Jones and The Six - sounds really good! I have to admit that I have not seen the movie or read Daisy Jones before but I have a general idea of what they are about. Since I enjoy bildungsroman novel (and I love the cover too), I've decided to step out of my usual genre and read this.

It centers around fourteen year-old Mary Jane in 1970s Baltimore and the one summer she spent with the Cones, when becomes the nanny for their five year-old daughter, Izzy.

This turned out to be quite a fun read for me. I liked the characters especially Mary Jane and the 70s setting was a fun one! But I do think you will appreciate this story better if music is your thing.

Overall, this was a quick lighthearted story and I am glad I've read it. The story was lovely, the writing was good but I think this genre may not be for me.


Pub. Date: May 11th, 2021

***Thank you William Morrow and Custom House, author Jessica Anya Blau and NetGalley for this gifted copy to read and review.***

Set in the 1970s in Baltimore, this novel follows Mary Jane Dillard, a fourteen year old living a sheltered life monitored closely by her mother. Over the summer, she becomes a babysitter for the Cones family in their neighborhood, who are the polar opposite of her life experience. Mary Jane babysits Izzy, the five year old daughter of the Cones family. These parents lack structure, openly discuss taboo topics, and overall the home seems chaotic but full of love. Dr. Cone welcomes a rockstar and movie star couple into their home for therapy, and Mary Jane learns even more about the world outside of her picture perfect household. She is able to bring elements of her upbringing to improve the Cone's household, but can she continue to hide what is really happening during this summer from her family? This coming of age story takes us on a journey of Mary Jane piecing together who she wants to be in her own life, as a result of her experiences over her summer with the Cones.

I went into this book without reading the full summary, which I am so glad I did. The characters were lovable, and I enjoyed seeing the duality of the worlds Mary Jane was going in between throughout the novel. I definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for a quick read or anyone who likes novels set in a retro/vintage setting.

TW: addiction, racism/antisemitism

Thank you so much to Custom House andNetGalley for an ARC to review!

Thought this one was kind of fun. Mary Jane, a teenager growing up in the 70s in a strict household, becomes the summer nanny for a non-conventional family. The dad is a psychiatrist treating a famous rockstar for drug addiction. The rockstar and his movie star wife come to live with them for the summer. Mary Jane's eyes are opened to the outside world of music, sex, and a family where pretty much anything goes. I found it entertaining and enjoyable. I found I wanted a bit more out of the ending but liked it nevertheless.

"Where people were just doing what they wanted, without concern as to how it was seen. Maybe a person's standing in the community was an illusion. Like the witch in the Cone house. An imagined evil that created unnecessary rules."

------------------------------------

Wow, well, what to say about Mary Jane... I get Mary Jane. Mary Jane is a fourteen year old girl who is being raised by very conservative WASP-y parents in the 1970's. She takes a babysitting job for the summer with a new family in the neighborhood who is anything but conservative. At first, she is very uncomfortable by how openly loving the family is, how disordered their life is and how little oversight they give their daughter. She begins to give them structure, cooking and cleaning and teaching their daughter. As they begin to turn their love on her she realizes that keeping a perfect household may not be the end all be all for her life. When the family is joined by a rehabbing rock star and his movie star life, her world opens up even more.

I loved Mary Jane's journey through the novel, she starts off with nothing but her rigid parents' viewpoint and slowly begins to blossom into her own person. Now don't get me wrong, the family she is nannying for are anything but admirable - they curse, do drugs and speak openly about sex around these children. I do not think any of the adults in this story made a great role model for Mary Jane but what I loved is that she used her own logic and discerning to figure out which pieces of each adult held value for her in her growing maturity. Blau perfectly captured the innocence and uncertainty of being a pre-teen and Mary Jane is navigating it all in such an open, honest way. This is a beautiful coming of age story that really shows the power of love and acceptance.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this novel. All opinions above are my own.

Mary Jane was a well written, incredibly sweet walk down memory lane that I thoroughly enjoyed. The main character was hugely relatable, and her coming of age was a poignant reminder of my own childhood during the 70's, growing up in a conservative community where it was whispered that the next door neighbors were secret hippies, and the Vietnam veteran down the block was not to be trusted. Mary Jane is a very good girl - something that everyone seems to know except her and her parents. I felt for her as she came to realize for the first time that her parents could in fact be wrong and that she could begin to chart her own path.

This book touches on a lot of important issues of the time and deals with drug use and sexuality with both a frankness and a naivete that was spot on perfect for a young girl just beginning to figure things out. Racism was also addressed. Not many of these hot spots were given much depth, but it all seemed to fit with Mary Jane's growing awareness. This is a fast paced, fun read that I had a hard time putting down. If things got to be a bit cliche-ridden, it was easy to forgive this charming story that had me smiling and cheering for Mary Jane all the way through to the last page.

5 stars

Mary Jane is the coming-of-age book I needed as a teenager. As someone who grew up in Baltimore with religious parents, I saw so much of my younger self in Mary Jane and her journey of self-discovery. It was at times uplifting, at times uncomfortable, but always a joy to read.

Blau does a wonderful job of portraying the teenage voice and I have to commend her on the ability to slowly color in the characters that surround Mary Jane as she begins to become more aware of herself and those around her. The detail to which she describes Baltimore really catapults you into the neighborhood of Roland Park in the 70s and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Custom House for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Fourteen year old Mary Jane Dillard takes a job as a summer nanny to her neighbor’s young daughter (Izzy) in 1970’s Baltimore. She quickly learns that the liberal Cone family is nothing like her own and is secretly hiding two famous stars in their home for the summer. While Mary Jane starts off shy and sheltered, the Cone family and their houseguests slowly help her break out of her shell and share her more outgoing and talented side.

This was such a wonderful and charming novel. I loved how Mary Jane, the adults and Izzy taught each other so many important life lessons and how to be truly happy. I highly recommend checking this book out when it releases on May 11, 2021. Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for a digital arc.

Set in the 1970's fourteen year old Mary Jane has a typical wholesome conservative family. When she is hired as a nanny over the summer, she is exposed to an entirely different lifestyle. A psychiatrist, Dr. Cone is hosting two celebrities, who are trying to maintain a low profile. Rock n' roll, free expression, sex and drugs open Mary Jane's eyes and makes her reexamine who she is and what she wants.

This was a fun quick read. The characters were extremely dynamic and kept the story moving. The book really needed an epilogue, or at least some sense of closure. Overall, 4 out of 5 stars.

The 1970's is the perfect setting for this debut novel from Jessica Anya Blau. Mary Jane Dillard is fourteen. It is the summer of 1975 in Baltimore and she has a babysitting job for the doctor's family just down the street. What she discovers there is a totally different world from her own home. There is yelling, chaos, and the most adorable five-year-old, Izzy Cone. The sweet, tender relationship that develops between Mary Jane and Izzy was my favorite part of this book. Parenting styles differ widely between the Cone and Dillard households. Without realizing it, Mary Jane incorporates the best things she has learned from her parents and freely shares them with the Cones. There is much more to this book and I think it is best to let you discover it for yourself. This would make a fantastic book group read as there is much to discuss re parenting styles, racism in the 70's (against Black Americans and Jews), sexual mores, and addiction. The music component is phenomenal including religious, rock, showtunes, camp songs, and more. . . You will absolutely adore the ending.

Thank you to Custom House andNetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of the best coming of age books that I have ever read. Period.

Summary
Taking places in the 1970s, Mary Jane comes from a sheltered and very structured Christian family in a "good" neighborhood in Baltimore. Mary Jane's mother is an extreme housewife; a creature of routine and keeps her house in a very orderly way. Mary Jane and her mother bond over food preparation, housekeeping, and gardening.

At 14, Mary Jane accepts a summer job to babysit 5-year-old Izzy Cone during the day. Mary Jane becomes entangled in the Cone household. Their house is a wreck and there's never any food, so Mary Jane takes it upon herself to organize and improve their household. Dr. Cone is a psychologist who takes on a very special case to detox a well-known rock star. The rock star's actress wife comes along, and the two of them live in the house with the Cones.

The lives of these 6 people in the Cone house over one summer ebbs and flows and allows Mary Jane an opportunity to learn who she is without her overbearing mother. It's truly a beautiful and well-written coming-of-age novel.

Opinions
Maybe it's because I read a lot of thrillers or very serious novels, but I kept expecting something really bad to happen to Mary Jane caused by an adult in her life, but that never happens! It was such a relief to read a novel that doesn't try to be anymore than what it is - a really solid historical fiction coming-of-age book.

The characters were SO well developed that you get to know them almost intimately, and overall they are really great people. They are so good to Mary Jane that it almost made me tear up. The adult themes that take place in it are between consenting adults - not with Mary Jane, although she witnesses several adult situations.

Izzy the little girl is INCREDIBLE. Read this one just for her!

The ending is beautiful. This book is beautiful! I loved it so much. I will definitely be recommending this one and reading it again.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this coming-of-age story about sweet sheltered Mary Jane’s encounter with a rock star couple. It hit a lot of 70’s nostalgia notes for me.
Mary Jane took a summer babysitting job for what was labeled by her parents as a respectable family in the neighborhood. She walked through the from door to be greeted by very different lax and liberal world the very opposite of her conservative family. Mary Jane was endearing as she took care of this family and their famous rock star guests and they opened her eyes to expressing herself through music, words, and dress.
I loved this simplified story of the 70’s through the eyes of a naive 14 year old that blossomed and grew throughout the course of the story.

Mary Jane is billed as a coming of age story about a 14 year old who spends her summer with a family very different than her own.

I think more than a coming of age, it’s a journey into those epic moments in all our lives when we first encounter the fact that maybe everything our parents told us isn’t true. That different doesn’t equal bad or wrong. That we possess the ability and the right to choose our own beliefs. That even the best parents aren’t perfect or always right.

I wish it had explored more of Mary Jane’s family being confronted with their bigotry and biases, but I do believe the author was attempting to give us a touch of comeuppance with the ending.

It was difficult for me to read the glaring bigotry in this story. It is important, though, as it reminds us that these feelings were often the norm at that time…and that in too many instances, not much has changed.

3.5/5 ✨

A dynamite book! Ostensibly a summertime tale of coming-of-age, but that doesn’t really do this slice of historical fiction justice.

It lives and breathes being a teenager in the 1970s and toggles between two competing slices of society at the time: the “straightlaced” and the “hippies.”

Capturing the voice of a sheltered 14-year-old who is caught in the wonder of a much larger world and experiences than she knew, while making it feel time-specific, is hit spot on by the author. The character is consistent, believable, and invokes a bit of full-on nostalgia for this child of the Seventies herself.

Highly recommended! Fun, engaging, and hard to put down.

I knew I wanted to read this book when I saw it was set here in Baltimore. What I didn't expect was to love it so much. It almost reads like there is nothing going on, but there is so much happening in what seems to be normal interactions. Following Mary Jane on the journey through the best summer of her life was a delight. As parents, we really want what is best for our kids but sometimes we can go too far. I loved the characters. I loved the setting, and love everything about this quick read.

This is not my usual genre, but the cover was so great that I had to check it out. I loved it! I read it in one sitting and felt totally immersed in Mary Jane's summer world. The characters were so well-rounded, and I loved seeing MJ evolve over the course of the story. Overall, it was just a delightful read. HIGHLY recommend!