Friday, October 31, 2025

Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau, Caitlin Kinnunen (Narrator)

Fourteen-year-old Mary Jane is growing up in 1970s Baltimore. Her family seems "normal" for the time, stay at home, perfectionist mother, emotionally distant working father. But her life is about to be turned upside down when she becomes the nanny for three-year-old Izzy Cone. 
Izzy's parents are nothing like Mary Jane's. They shout, they show public affection, and their house is not organized to within an inch of its life. But there is a lot of love and some famous stars. Dr. Richard Cone is a psychiatrist and has cleared his whole schedule to help Jimmy work on his addictions. Jimmy is married to the electric Sheba who was on a television variety show and has many brothers. 
In a house of chaos, Mary Jane becomes the most stable person. As she tries to bring order into the swirling emotions of the people in the Cone house, she learns exactly how fallible adults can be and starts to see flaws, even in her own family. She also learns that there is no one lifestyle that is going to provide perfection. 
This is very much a book that reflects the values of the time including both casual and fairly blatant racism. Mary Jane is figure out how to navigate feelings that are suddenly bigger than what she is used to. A very familiar feeling for almost anyone who has been a teenager.

Four stars
This book came out May 11, 2021
Borrowed as audiobook from Libby
Opinions are my own

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