Book Review: Mary Jane
Happy Friday!
I hope you are having a great week so far.
The weather in Melbourne has been warm and sunny so we’ve been getting out for lots of walks this week. We’ve been having so much fun with Baby Tj. We got our first laugh last weekend so we’ve been acting like fools trying to get her to do it again haha. She just raises an eyebrow and looks at us with judgement.
This week was also a great reading week. I finished a book and knew I had to write a review. So here you go!
The book:
Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau
What it’s about:
In 1970s Baltimore, fourteen-year-old Mary Jane loves cooking with her mother, singing in her church choir, and enjoying her family’s subscription to the Broadway Showtunes of the Month record club. Shy, quiet, and bookish, she’s glad when she lands a summer job as a nanny for the daughter of a local doctor. A respectable job, Mary Jane’s mother says. In a respectable house.
The house may look respectable on the outside, but inside it’s a literal and figurative mess: clutter on every surface, Impeachment: Now More Than Everbumper stickers on the doors, cereal and takeout for dinner. And even more troublesome (were Mary Jane’s mother to know, which she does not): the doctor is a psychiatrist who has cleared his summer for one important job—helping 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 she’s always known and the future she’s 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 she’s going to be.
Why I wanted to read it:
I first heard about this on Booktok (Tik Tok users who post about books) from the user Melted Books. I have generally agreed with her reviews and recommendations, so when she rated this book 5 stars, I knew I had to read it. I requested it from the library and then had to wait a few weeks/months for it to become available. When I finally started reading it, I couldn’t remember what it was about but I purposely didn’t look it up. I wanted to just read it and be surprised.
Final thoughts:
This book was so good! It is one of the few books I’ve rated 5/5 this year.
The characters were fun and well-developed and I could imagine them all so clearly. I loved Mary Jane’s innocence and her fascination with the family she works for. I enjoyed how her thoughts and ideals evolved while she simultaneously provided some stability and maturity in the household, even though she is just a young girl.
Some parts of the ending were unexpected which is always a nice surprise. I especially appreciated the story line with Mary Jane and her mother. I’m trying hard not to give away any spoilers but this book was sweet and fun while also addressing deeper issues such as race, religion, and addiction.
I found myself reading this during those late night feedings and forcing myself to put it away and actually go to sleep.
I’m often hesitant to recommend books to people because it’s such a personal experience. There have been great books that I haven’t connected with and mediocre books that have become some of my all-time favourites.
But I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this book! It’s a definite must-read from me, and I think it is just enough off the radar that it could be a great gift for the reader in your life.
Have a great weekend.
