At first I wasn't sure about this book, but it was enjoyable once I got farther along! A nice quick read about a young girl working in a department store and how she makes her way

I loved Mary Jane, and I loved Shopgirls. Zippy is such an unforgettable character, and I absolutely loved her story.

The best part of this book was book was the time. It was set in 1985. I had a lot of good moments reliving the era of the 80s.
Zippy was just trying to make it but struggled when hardship plagued her family.
Her coworkers were an interesting lot.
The book moved rather slow and at times my interest waned.

I fell in love with Beau’s last book Mary Jane so my expectations were high for Shopgirls. Set in the 1980’s, Zippy is the novel’s main character and she works in a clothing store in San Francisco. This is a book about self-discovery, but somehow it felt a little too simplistic and overall not quite the story I was hoping for. I’ll still be interested in future works by Jessica Blau, but this one was a miss for me.

Thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

I didn't think this book had a point to it. Was it meant to be a commentary? It moved along fine, but there was no real conflict.

After reading Mary Jane I was eagerly anticipating Blau's next novel. Hoping to the well developed characters and engaging story, I unfortunately was disappointed. Shopgirls seemed overly complicated with too many storylines and unclear characters.

i kept calling Shopgurls Zippy - but she really is the star. I loved this book and i knew i would because the author also wrote Mary Jane. Shopgirls is set in the 80s and brought back memories of goooood shopping. The book. says a lot about standing up for yourself, found family and friendship.

The narrator's voice was a bit young—I didn't really believe she was nineteen—and the stakes felt so low the whole time, it read more like a YA novel to me. Still, there were quite a few laugh-out-loud moments, and it was ultimately heartwarming. I loved "Mary Jane" so much, that maybe my expectations were a bit too high.

Jessica Anya Blau, how in the world are you going to come off of Mary Jane with this book?! What in the world?? I do not understand the thinking behind this book, the concept, Zippy. I love a book that is all vibes no plot, and this is it. This was so weird and I think very few people will connect with it. Will is still read anything she writes? Yes. Did this work for me? Not really. 3 stars but because of vibes.

Shopgirl is set in 1985 and follows 19-year-old Zippy as she navigates her job at a prestigious department store. While the premise and setting promised a nostalgic, coming-of-age read, the execution didn’t quite deliver for me.

Zippy’s character reads very young—perhaps too young. The dialogue between her and the other characters often felt immature, almost like eavesdropping on a group of teenagers trying a little too hard to sound edgy. While I appreciated the colorful cast of characters within the department store, they didn’t feel fully developed, and their interactions lacked depth.

Despite being a relatively short book, it took me longer than expected to finish. The pacing dragged, and I found myself disengaged more often than not. I did enjoy the 1980s nostalgia—the fashion, music, and workplace dynamics offered some fun throwbacks—but overall, the story didn’t hold up as a strong coming-of-age narrative. It leaned more YA than I expected and ultimately felt flat.

I really enjoyed this coming of age story! The characters were fun and interesting and the author really brought to life the era that the book is set in (1980s). I would definitely recommend this book to friends!

I adored Jessica Anya Blau's novel MARY JANE and was so excited to get my hands on this one. Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to my expectatons. The setting and time-period feels well-captured but I had a hard time connecting with the writing and the characters in this one. I'm still looking forward to picking up whatever this author writes in the future!

🛍️ Boy, does Jessica Anya Blau know how to write a coming-of-age as a period piece novel! I adored Mary Jane and really loved this new book set in a 1980’s department store. Thank you to @marinerbooks for the #gifted sneak peek. This is out now!

🛍️ Shopgirls is centered around Zippy— a 19-year-old girl who is working at a department store in 1980’s San Francisco. She’s learning about life on her own after an unconventional upbringing by her single mother.

🛍️ Her naïveté was so endearing and I loved being on her journey to adulthood. She’s so lucky to have some really great side characters helping her along the way including her roommate and all her fellow Shopgirls.

🛍️ Overall, this was a super sweet listen and I really enjoyed it!

I had seen some online buzz for this book and know that people adored Jessica Anya Blau's previous novel, so I was excited to receive an early copy.

I enjoyed this book and liked Zippy as a narrator - I feel for her as a 19 year old trying to figure out herself and her place in the world. I liked the parts of her connecting with her father and getting to know him, and figuring out how that information fits in to her identity.

I love San Francisco and loved reading about some spots I love, especially Blondie's pizza -- I remember as a kid my sister would tell me about Blondie's.

I will definitely check out more by Jessica Anya Blau in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

This was a fun read. It took me a few chapters to see that it was going to go somewhere I was interested in, but it got there. I enjoyed getting to know Zippy and watching her gain confidence and grow. I loved how quirky she was and could 100% see myself joining in the paper doll escapades. I was frustrated on her behalf at her parental figures. I even got pulled in to the world of I. Magnin and could imagine my teenage/young adult self wandering the store, searching for treasures. This one won me over!

It was fine. I would have liked a little more world building and fewer paper dolls. I liked the side characters and Zippy wasn’t terrible, just naive.

Since I grew up in the 80s, I was excited to read Shopgirls, set in San Francisco during that decade. The department store setting was super interesting to me, and I loved reading about Zippy and her coworkers and their days at I.Magnin. The 80s was such a fun time period and I really think it was reflected accurately. I'm definitely going to check out more books by Jessica Anya Blau because I really enjoyed her writing style and character development.

I really enjoyed reading Jessica Anya Blau's Shopgirls. The narrator and protagonist is a delightfully energetic young woman, whose determination and hard work makes it very easy to root for her. The novel does a great job of capturing a nostalgic moment in time when department stores reign supreme, and an enthusiastic shopgirl can be rewarded by her job.

So much fun - I couldn’t help but fall in love with Zippy and the amazing montage of characters littered throughout this novel.

Zippy is 19 and has come from a rather chaotic upbringing - but she has landed on her feet working at THE department store in 1980s San Francisco. However, it isn’t all roses - she worries about her mother, she doesn’t know who her father is, and she has no idea what it is like to date. Luckily, she has her roommate Raquel and her (mostly) pleasant coworkers to help her navigate near adulthood.

After living in San Francisco, albeit much later than Zippy, this was a fun, nostalgic read. At times my heart broke for Zippy but at others I found myself laughing out loud at her and Raquel’s antics. A great summer read - full of spontaneity, humor and friendship with a lovable protagonist.

4,5

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital ARC of this title!

Blau truly writes the most sweet, charming characters. In this story, we meet Zippy, a 19-year-old working in a high end department store in San Francisco in the 1980s as she navigates familial challenges, self-discovery and figuring out her romantic life. I’ll be honest, there isn’t a whole lot going on here plot-wise. Or I guess technically there is quite a bit that happens, but the plot wasn’t the part I found compelling. Rather, I just loved the main character and found her charming and relatable as she discovered herself and truths about the world as a naïve young woman. This book was sweet, but not saccharine, and I really enjoyed the time I spent with this main character, along with the vibrant cast of side characters.