Mary Jane: A Novel

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"The best book of the summer." -- InStyle

"I LOVED this novel....If you have ever sung along to a hit on the radio, in any decade, then you will devour Mary Jane at 45 rpm."Nick Hornby

Almost Famous meets Daisy Jones & The Six in this "delightful" (New York Times Book Review) novel about a fourteen-year-old girls coming of age in 1970s Baltimore, caught between her straight-laced family and the progressive family she nannies forwho happen to be secretly hiding a famous rock star and his movie star wife for the summer.

In 1970s Baltimore, fourteen-year-old Mary Jane loves cooking with her mother, singing in her church choir, and enjoying her familys subscription to the Broadway Showtunes of the Month record club. Shy, quiet, and bookish, shes glad when she lands a summer job as a nanny for the daughter of a local doctor. A respectable job, Mary Janes mother says. In a respectable house.

The house may look respectable on the outside, but inside its a literal and figurative mess: clutter on every surface, Impeachment: Now More Than Ever bumper stickers on the doors, cereal and takeout for dinner. And even more troublesome (were Mary Janes mother to know, which she does not): the doctor is a psychiatrist who has cleared his summer for one important jobhelping a famous rock star dry out. A week after Mary Jane starts, the rock star and his movie star wife move in.

Over the course of the summer, Mary Jane introduces her new household to crisply ironed clothes and a family dinner schedule, and has a front-row seat to a liberal world of sex, drugs, and rock and roll (not to mention group therapy). Caught between the lifestyle shes always known and the future shes only just realized is possible, Mary Jane will arrive at September with a new idea about what she wants out of life, and what kind of person shes going to be.

Reviews

"Delightful...Blau is a deft hand with comic juxtaposition and domestic fantasy. She keeps it light, she keeps it moving and shes got terrific visuals...You can watch the movie in your mind. Lady Gaga as Sheba Im already casting it." New York Times Book Review "I LOVED Jessica Anya Blaus novel. Mary Jane is about an oppressed teenager being given a jolt of life and joy by an eccentric found family of therapists, a child, a rock star and a movie star in the 1970s....If you have ever sung along to a hit on the radio, in any decade, then you will devour Mary Jane at 45rpm." Nick Hornby "I dare you to find a more winning novel than Jessica Anya Blaus Mary Jane. Filled with humor and sharpness and so much light, this book introduces an amazing cast of characters, all so unique and finely observed, held together by the clarity of Mary Janes voice. It evokes those rare moments when your world is on the precipice of change, almost a dream, and how thrilling it is to push your way toward something new." Kevin Wilson "Blaus intelligent, witty novelcaptures the essence of the 70s with humor and immensely appealing characters. Highly recommended." Library Journal(starred review) "Blaus coming-of-age charmer will hit all of the nostalgia notes." Parade "MARY JANE is that rare thing: An utterly charming, absurdly delightful novel that also makes you think deeply about the world around you. Jessica Anya Blau'sclear-eyedwit reminded me of Curtis Sittenfeld and Laurie Colwin, and, of course, Jane Austen." Joanna Rakoff, author of My Salinger Year The experience of reading Jessica Anya Blaus Mary Jane is a lot like eating quality candy: super enjoyable, crazy good. I am sad to have finished it. Marcy Dermansky "A serious book packed with funny moments and a lot of heart." Boston Globe "A charming and poignant tale of desire, image, Americana, and chosen family." Booklist "This novel is a week at the beach with rock stars, its a three-part harmony at a kitchen table, its finding a family where you fit in.Jessica Anya Blau is a smart, generous, sensitive storyteller, andMary Janeis a loving, sexy, funny, and beautiful book." Gabriel Brownstein, author ofThe Open Heart Club Jessica Anya Blau is one of the funniest writers--EVER. No one captures the oddities, joys --and yes--the pain--of modern life with such frankness, humor and sly-witted style. ZZ Packer, author of Drinking Coffee Elsewhere "Both poignant and tremendously funny...unendingly charming and fun." Shelf Awareness "Wonderful...A tale of clashing cultures and a slow awakening of ideas, hope and beliefs, this is one of those novels youll be so glad to lose yourself to. Its also perfect for fans of Curtis Sittenfeld's books and we can give it no higher praise" Stylist (UK)

Author Bio

Jessica Anya Blau is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and Johns Hopkins University, where she received her masters in fiction and where she currently lectures and teaches Creative Writing. In 2005, she was chosen the Tennessee Williams Scholar at Sewanee Writers Conference. Her stories have appeared in The Sun Magazine, The First Line, Washington Square Magazine, Santa Barbara Independent and many more notable publications. She is the author of one previous novel, 'The Summer of Naked Swim Parties'.