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stepnic's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Infidelity
Moderate: Drug use, Racism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Cursing, Drug abuse, and Mental illness
Minor: Classism, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Cancer, and Alcoholism
bookbelle5_17's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Review of Mary Jane
By: Jessica Anya Blau
I have some knowledge of the 70s through my parents having grown up then, like Mary Jane, and through the history from movies and shows. Reading this novel, I did recognize some of the music and knew a little history about this time period. Mary Jane is a 14-year-old in the 70s living in Baltimore Maryland with conservative parents. She’s in choir at church and loves cooking with her mom, but her life is changed forever when she gets her first summer job as a nanny for a 5-year-old girl named Izzy Cone. Izzy’s parents couldn’t be more opposite of Mary Jane’s. Dr. Cone is psychiatrist treating a famous of his drug addiction and he and his wife famous actress Sheba are living with Cones. Mrs. Cone is a mother, who isn’t great at being housewife or mother, but loves her daughter more than anything. They introduce Mary Jane to whole new world of great music and fun lifestyle.
This is coming of age story as Mary Jane is introduced to a world that is very different from her own with its good and bad sides. She has been sheltered so long by her conservation and religious parents that she is surprised by the contrasting lifestyles from her own. She realizes her parents are not always right, a realization I think a lot of kids go through. Despite being away from her mom, Mary Jane still maintains the skills her mom taught her and most of her value system, though not all. She realizes how racist and judgmental her parents are, but it’s also proven she could never fully lose her mom’s influence. She’s able to cook for the Cones and keep the house organize while teaching Izzy important life lessons. Mostly the atmosphere of the Cone’s house was fun and I wanted to be there joining in on the fun without the drugs. All the characters came off as complex, especially Jimmy and Sheba, making me enjoy getting to know them, flaws and all. With Jimmy I kept picturing either Alice Cooper or David Tenant in the Fright Night remake. Sheba made me think of Cher. As far as the writing, the only thing that bothered me was how sometimes Blau would give a play by play of the steps characters took to do something like getting in the car. There is drug addiction and a scene of graphic sexual content. There also a lot of dropping of the F word. I can’t help but wonder what Mary Jane would be like as an adult after this experience. What I love about historical fiction is I get to escape to a time in history I will never get to experience, but only hear about. I got experience a decade of great music, fun fashion, and free love (and the sexual revolution).
By: Jessica Anya Blau
I have some knowledge of the 70s through my parents having grown up then, like Mary Jane, and through the history from movies and shows. Reading this novel, I did recognize some of the music and knew a little history about this time period. Mary Jane is a 14-year-old in the 70s living in Baltimore Maryland with conservative parents. She’s in choir at church and loves cooking with her mom, but her life is changed forever when she gets her first summer job as a nanny for a 5-year-old girl named Izzy Cone. Izzy’s parents couldn’t be more opposite of Mary Jane’s. Dr. Cone is psychiatrist treating a famous of his drug addiction and he and his wife famous actress Sheba are living with Cones. Mrs. Cone is a mother, who isn’t great at being housewife or mother, but loves her daughter more than anything. They introduce Mary Jane to whole new world of great music and fun lifestyle.
This is coming of age story as Mary Jane is introduced to a world that is very different from her own with its good and bad sides. She has been sheltered so long by her conservation and religious parents that she is surprised by the contrasting lifestyles from her own. She realizes her parents are not always right, a realization I think a lot of kids go through. Despite being away from her mom, Mary Jane still maintains the skills her mom taught her and most of her value system, though not all. She realizes how racist and judgmental her parents are, but it’s also proven she could never fully lose her mom’s influence. She’s able to cook for the Cones and keep the house organize while teaching Izzy important life lessons. Mostly the atmosphere of the Cone’s house was fun and I wanted to be there joining in on the fun without the drugs. All the characters came off as complex, especially Jimmy and Sheba, making me enjoy getting to know them, flaws and all. With Jimmy I kept picturing either Alice Cooper or David Tenant in the Fright Night remake. Sheba made me think of Cher. As far as the writing, the only thing that bothered me was how sometimes Blau would give a play by play of the steps characters took to do something like getting in the car. There is drug addiction and a scene of graphic sexual content. There also a lot of dropping of the F word. I can’t help but wonder what Mary Jane would be like as an adult after this experience. What I love about historical fiction is I get to escape to a time in history I will never get to experience, but only hear about. I got experience a decade of great music, fun fashion, and free love (and the sexual revolution).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Cursing, Alcohol, and Sexual content
zoecht's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
uh i loved it? yeah there is no plot but it’s so good! pure sweetness, i love the characters so much that i was proud of them (mary jane construction >) and even if it’s so sweet there is still a lot of important topics (addiction, drug, racism, family…) anyway i don’t even know why but it was so cool
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Infidelity, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Alcohol, and Drug use
Minor: Cancer
savannah_s_v's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Alcohol, Drug use, and Infidelity
Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, and Sexual content
mstlove90's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really liked this book! Even though it was first person perspective of a 14 year old girl, it didn’t seem too young which was one of the things I was afraid of.
This book explored a lot of what it meant to be a family and how to be loved you don’t have to be perfect. The main character Mary Jane only knows a world where she has to do certain things certain ways but didn’t know she could ever do anything different!
The only thing that brought it down from a 5 star for me was that I felt it ended too abruptly but I would definitely recommend this book for an easy summertime read!
One of my favourite quotes in the book - “Until I met Jimmy, I hadn't understood that people you loved could do things you didn't love. And, still, you could keep loving them”
This book explored a lot of what it meant to be a family and how to be loved you don’t have to be perfect. The main character Mary Jane only knows a world where she has to do certain things certain ways but didn’t know she could ever do anything different!
The only thing that brought it down from a 5 star for me was that I felt it ended too abruptly but I would definitely recommend this book for an easy summertime read!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol
kerrygetsliterary's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Sexual content
Minor: Vomit
mommarex1221's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Antisemitism, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Alcohol, Cancer, Classism, Cursing, and Drug abuse
kaitlinlovesbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I can see how some readers of this book will not enjoy, or approve of, the kinds of situations the young characters (one 14, the other 5) are exposed to in this book. However, given the context of both the time period and the characters, I believe these scenes make sense and that the young narrator handles them well. Also, this is a work of fiction, so I think the author is allowed to include some shocking material, as one of her main characters is a 1970's-era rockstar in addiction recovery. (These scenes do include swearing, one brief sexual encounter, and a major fight between two adults involving a lot of broken dishes.) It just may be too shocking for your taste, and that's okay. Know thyself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Infidelity, Racism, Drug use, and Antisemitism
Minor: Alcohol
The racist and antisemitic comments are a result of the historical context (the story is set in 1975). The narrator's parents, who are white and upper-class, make general statements reflecting widely held beliefs about Black, Latinx, and Jewish people by those who sought to differentiate themselves from anyone who was not a WASP. The young narrator is able to tell that these statements are harmful, and does discuss that with her parents to an extent. The comments about the Jewish community are particularly uncomfortable, so proceed accordingly.kimveach's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this delightful coming-of-age story set in the 1970s.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Cursing, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Drug abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Addiction, and Classism
Minor: Eating disorder
quietcoastline's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Loved the writing, loved the setting, loved, loved, loved the characters. This book immediately and completely sucked me into their little summer even though it’s snowing outside. I miss them all already.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Infidelity, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Alcohol