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Young Jane Young: A Novel
Young Jane Young: A Novel
Young Jane Young: A Novel
Audiobook8 hours

Young Jane Young: A Novel

Written by Gabrielle Zevin

Narrated by Karen White

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

Young Jane Young's heroine is Aviva Grossman, an ambitious Congressional intern in Florida who makes the life-changing mistake of having an affair with her boss-who is beloved, admired, successful, and very married-and blogging about it. When the affair comes to light, the Congressman doesn't take the fall, but Aviva does, and her life is over before it hardly begins. She becomes a late night talk show punchline; she is slut shamed and considered a blight on politics in general.

How does one go on after this? In Aviva's case, she sees no way out but to change her name and move to a remote town in Maine. She tries to start over as a wedding planner, to be smarter about her life, and to raise her daughter to be strong and confident. But when, at the urging of others, she decides to run for public office herself, that long ago mistake trails her via the Internet like a scarlet A. For in our age, Google guarantees that the past is never, ever, truly past, that everything you've done will live on for everyone to know about for all eternity. And it's only a matter of time until Aviva's daughter, Ruby, finds out who her mother was, and is, and must decide whether she can still respect her.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateAug 22, 2017
ISBN9781681687339
Young Jane Young: A Novel
Author

Gabrielle Zevin

Gabrielle lives in New York City. She is the author of one other book for young adults, Elsewhere, as well as an adult book, Margarettown. Gabrielle is also the author of the screenplay for the film Conversations With Other Women, starring Helena Bonham Carter.

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Reviews for Young Jane Young

Rating: 3.823943664788732 out of 5 stars
4/5

355 ratings43 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Great! Totally delightful!! I had listened to a sample of this book quite a while ago and really liked it, but could not remember the name of it. So glad I ran across it here! ☺️. Light hearted and fun while, at the same time saying quite a lot about the human (female) experience. I got a little teary eyed at the end.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I liked the different stories from the different women. Nice that it's an atypical female lead
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Such a funny, emotional story. So thankful scribd recommended it :)
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The varying points of view made this book very interesting. Not only do the narrators switch, but it also switches between first person and second point of view. I’ve never read a fiction novel that was written in second person point of view, so that seemed very innovative to me. Loved it! Loved Aviva and Ruby! Would highly recommend.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Audiobook narrated by Karen WhiteThe novel is divided into five sections, each narrated by a different character: Rachel, Jane, Ruby, Embeth and Aviva.The basic plot is that a young woman with a degree in political science and Spanish, gets a job interning with a congressman, and then begins an affair with him. Of course, he’s married, and much older than she is. But she’s young and “in love.” And even when she confides in her mother and her mother tells her to end it, she doesn’t. And then she’s caught. And her life is in ruins, while the congressman’s wife and staff rally ‘round to save his position and reputation. Can you forgive yourself your youthful mistakes? Can you recover from such a public humiliation? Will you make further bad decisions to compound the problem? Or will you be able to put it behind you and go forward with grace and dignity and courage? Will the public let you? Many of us have crises in our lives – some small, but some potentially devastating. For most of us those crises remain fairly private, shared only with a few close friends or family members. But what if it’s a public scandal? This is a wonderful exploration of the ways in which women deal with such personal disasters. I thought the multiple narrators (and Zevin manages to give each of them a unique voice) was a very effective way to tell this story. I was cheering for every one of them, though I admit it took me a while to come to the side of the congressman’s wife. Karen White does a fine job of narrating the audiobook. She has multiple female characters to deal with and she’s able to differentiate them. I particularly liked how she voiced Ruby and Rachel.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    adult fic (humor/drama/single ladies). I really loved Rachel's voice, but some of the others got a mite tiresome. Still, a solid (but still "light" enough to be beachy) read.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    DNF. Just not the time for something like this.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Thoroughly engaging and enjoyable read built around the premise of a young intern who has scandalous sex with a married congressman. No innovation there, but what is fresh is the perspectives involved: first we hear about it from the intern Aviva Grossman's mother, Rachel Shapiro. She confronts it face-first as she sets out to try internet dating and the first man she likes brings up the scandal, not knowing her proximity to it. The next point of view is Aviva herself who has re-invented her life as Jane Young, moving from FL, the scene of the "crime" to ME where she now owns/runs an event planning business and raises her 13-yr. old daughter Ruby as a single mom. When takes on wedding planning for an aspiring politician (Wes West, and his fragile wife Franny) and she then decides to run for mayor of the small town they live in , the past comes crashing in and threatens to destroy her relationship with Ruby who has no idea of her mom's former identity or her own parentage. Ruby is a favorite character with lots of intelligence, chutzpah, and maturity for her age. The final section is written like a choose-your-own adventure book and fills in the past for Aviva, her family and the affair. Great issues of womanhood/feminism abound and the book is full of strong females, but the humor and absurdity of some of the situations keep it from being heavy-handed or didactic. Light enough to be entertaining, but has some teeth to it. Reminded me a bit of Where'd You Go Bernadette? with the scrappy girl, wounded mother, humor and blended genres. Perfect plane read as you could finish it in the airport/air time.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Pretty good story. I thought "The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry" was more interesting.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Loved this hilarious yet serious novel. It has a great message for young women maturing in times like these. Highly recommended for substance, great characters and great fun.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for the ARC. What a fun read! Read in a day, while I laughed out loud!
    The main characters are witty and spunky, all the way down to the youngest who is in middle school. It was easy to connect with each character quickly also. This will be a great beach read! Haven't been disappointed by this author yet! Thanks Gabrielle Zevin!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Read in one snowy day--a page-turner. Story is told from several women's point of view, which works well.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really enjoyed this humorous story about Aviva Grossman, who as a college student interns for a FL congressman, and has an affair with him. After being outed publicly, and shamed unmercifully, she moves away and reinvents herself. This is a great story about taking control of your life, and not dwelling on the mistakes of the past. The novel is told from the viewpoints of several of the female characters, and is really enjoyable.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Continuing on with my audio commutes. If you totally screw up your life, can you really disappear and start over again somewhere new? I enjoyed following “Jane Young” on her journey to start again. But man beware... the internet is forever lol. This was a fun light read. 4?
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    At once reminiscent and referencing of the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal, Young Jane Young is the story of an intern who has an affair with a Congressman and what happens when the affair becomes public knowledge. The story is told from differing viewpoints, most hilariously that of Jane’s mother Rachel. The narratives are from differing points in time– before, during and after the affair, and they are not linear, and yet this telling works surprisingly well.

    The tone of the novel is fairly light, reminiscent of "Bridget’s Jones’ Diary" and "The Rosie Effect", and the fourth wall is breached when the reader is asked “What Would You Do” type questions, with multiple answers provided. The answer that is the one that the characters choose is, of course, never the correct one, the one that we, the all knowing reader would have chosen. Choices are a big theme in this novel, and some readers may find themselves exasperated by the poor choices made in the story, but without poor choices/mistakes, there would be no learning, no consequences and definitely, no story! So if you have always made the right choice, never led with your heart instead of your head, never taken a risk, well this novel may frustrate and annoy you. For the rest of us, this is a fun, easy, read with memorable characters, a few surprises, some insights and many laughs.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Lots of stuff to like in this book, including a visit to the Jewish community in Southern Florida.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I enjoyed this book and the narrator! The beginning and ending was good however the middle was a bit slow and boring.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I picked this book up on a whim, mostly because the title struck me and I liked the cover. (Could I find a more stupid reason to choose a book? Not that I mind!)
    Anyway, I could NOT put this one down!!! I'm so totally going to be checking out more of Gabrielle Zevin's work, because I LOVE the way she wrote this book!!!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Good quick read from the author of "The Storied Life of A. J Fikry". Story of a sex-scandal and its aftermath is told from the perspectives of several women.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I was sent this book from the publisher. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review. I was not really sure if this was going to be for me, but I had heard great things about it. I ended up really enjoying this one. I actually listened to it on audiobook which I really loved as well.This story is told in five different parts. I actually enjoyed all five parts. Each section is told from a different persons POV, but all of the characters are connected. The story flows well from part to part. I was not sure if I was going to like this format, but it really worked.Part five is like a pick your own adventure novel, and I liked that. I wish it was really like that though. However; I still found myself picking my own option which normally followed the flow of what the author was going to pick anyway. I think this was a fun twist to the story.I am taking off one star for that ending. I feel the story ended with so many more questions.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    As a student intern, Aviva Grossman had an affair with her married boss, the local congressman. When it was discovered, she was shamed and laughed at, left with no prospects. She has changed her name and moved to Maine, where she lives with her daughter and runs an event planning business. But since she posted her experiences online, she can never completely leave her past behind.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A young congressional intern has an affair with her married boss, and her life is tainted forever. How she deals with it is the subject of this book, narrated by herself, her mother, her daughter, and the congressman's wife. It's an odd mishmash - a couple of sections seem to be played mainly for laughs, and the parts narrated by daughter Ruby and the wronged wife (Embeth) are particularly weak (an imaginary parrot - really?). I didn't find much to recommend in this fluffy concoction.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A fun and well-written book, a fast read that is breezy but focuses on a serious topic. I liked it, and it's impressively done. She's a very talented writer.I must be quirky, however, because the part most people liked -- the succession of narrators -- was my least favorite. The problem for me was that the first narrator, Rachel Shapiro, was so wonderful that I felt cheated when the story moved onto the others, who lacked plausibility in comparison. I also found it annoying that part of the book was in email format, and that's the part narrated by the least realistic character.But it's a good story, by a sure-handed, talented author, and easy to recommend.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Most of my favorite comedians are Jewish. They are uniformly funny – always in different ways – and they excel in self-deprecation. Larry David, Fran Leibowitz, Jerry Seinfeld, Lewis Black, and countless others drive me to tears of laughter every time. Gabrielle Zevin continues this tradition with her latest novel, Young Jane Young. I enjoyed The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, and YJY has provided me with loads of fun. Zevin's first novel, ,Elsewhere was published in 2005. It was nominated for a 2006 Quill award, and she won the Border’s Original Voices Award and was a selection of the Barnes and Noble Book Club. The novel has been translated into over twenty languages. In 2007 Zevin was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay for Conversations with Other Women which starred Helena Bonham Carter. In 2014, her eighth novel, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, debuted on The New York Times Best Seller List.Young Jane Young is the story of Rachel Shapiro who has daughter, Aviva, who aspires to a career in politics. She becomes involved with a candidate running for Congress in Florida and becomes pregnant and runs away to Maine. She changes her name to Jane Young, and becomes an event planner – mostly weddings – in a small town. Her daughter is named Ruby. Rachel divorces Mike. Her good friend, Roz, encourages her to do some online dating. Zevin writes, “I don’t particularly want a husband. They’re a lot of work, but I don’t want to spend the rest of my life alone either, and it would be nice to have someone to go to classes with is what I’m saying. I thought online dating was for young people, but Roz says, it’s not. ‘Even if it is,’ she says, ‘Rachel, you’re younger now than you’ll ever be’” (3-4).Aviva keeps the secret of her pregnancy, but, “It did not help Aviva’s cause that she had kept a blog, detailing her months working for the congressman. The year was 2000, and I did not even know what a blog was when I found out that Aviva had been keeping one. ‘Blog?’ I said to Aviva. The word felt foreign on my tongue. ‘What’s that?’ // ‘It’s short for weblog, Mom,’ Aviva said. // ‘Weblog,’ I repeated. ‘What’s a weblog?’ // ‘It’s like a diary,’ Aviva said. ‘It’s a diary that you keep on the Internet.’ // ‘Why would anyone do that?’ I asked. ‘Why would you do that?’ // It was anonymous. I never used names. Until everything happened, I had about three readers. I was trying to make sense of my experiences by writing about them.’ She said. // ‘Then buy a diary, Aviva!’ // I like typing,’ she said. ‘And I hate my handwriting’” (55).Aviva changes her to Jane and she picks up the story. By this time, Ruby is thirteen, and she becomes curious about her father. Jane gives her a fictitious name, Mariano Donatello. Ruby is suspicious, and she begins an internet search. She finally stumbles on the old weblog her mother kept. She becomes outraged at the deception of her mother. Jane decided to run for mayor of the town, and Ruby sets out to torpedo her candidacy.Lots of fun Yiddish words are used, and I knew a few from my high school days working in a pharmacy owned by a Jewish couple. That may be the seed to my blooming interest in Jewish comedians. Nonetheless, Gabrielle Zevin’s fourth adult novel, Young Jane Young is a fun read for every YA reader and above. 5 stars --Jim, 11/26/2017
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Young Aviva Grossman is a congressional intern who makes the mistake of having an affair with the married congressman she works for. The affair comes to light, she is slut-shamed, and sees no solution but to change her name, move to Maine, and raise her daughter quietly in a small town. When she decides to run for local public office, Jane/Aviva learns that the past is never completely erased in the digital age. And she must reckon with her daughter who is now old enough to seek answers about her mother’s past and her father’s identity.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    By the way, I never mention her weight because I don't want her to end up with a complex. I was overweight when I was her age, and my mother discussed it exhaustively. And yes, as a result, I would say I am the proud owner of several complexes. But who isn't? When you think about it, isn't a person just a structure built in reaction to the landscape and the weather?Young Jane Young tells the story of Aviva, a young woman interested in a career in politics who interns for the re-election campaign of a congressman. The congressman is charismatic and friendly, Aviva is insecure and determined to change her life. When their relationship is discovered, Aviva is the one to take the fall, while the congressman is able to continue his life as usual. This book reminded me of Where'd You Go, Bernadette? in its tone and structure, but with less obvious humor and a warmer heart. The narrator shifts between Aviva, her mother, her daughter and the congressman's wife, and the changes in perspective give the book a wider view of what happened and how Aviva managed to rebuild her life. Despite the extreme relevance of the novel's subject matter, Gabrielle Zevin manages to both build nuance and to keep the tone from becoming too somber or angry.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Young Jane YoungByGabrielle Zevin What it's all about...This book is about a young girl who fell in love with an older man who just happened to be a politician. This young girl had the idea that writing a blog about this relationship would help her. Although this young girl never named names she became famous for her posts. The fame, however, was not the kind of fame that anyone would want. This young girl eventually changed her name and moved far far away from Florida to the pine tree state...Maine. She had a daughter, reestablished her life and eventually ran for mayor of her small town. Her daughter was very clever and unique and eventually had issues with what her mother did. The question is...did they eventually live happily ever after? Hmmmm.Why I wanted to read it...I loved this author’s first book. It was beautiful. What made me truly enjoy this book...I loved this book because it is unique and very clever. The writing is just so good and the kind of writing I love in a book. Why you should read it, too...Readers who love cleverly written books with a beautiful storyline should enjoy and delight in this book. I loved it! I received an advance reader’s copy from Algonquin Books through NetGalley and Amazon in exchange for an honest review.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I don't like the cover, but I absolutely loved this heartwarming and heartbreaking story! This was so refreshing read, fast moving and interesting to read the plot from 4 characters view point, still connected and story goes on, the characters were nicely built with suspense elements and interesting details. I enjoy G.Zevin's story telling. I am so glad it was not even a tiny bit cheap story and stereotyped in some way, sad it hasn't made through the final of Goodreads nominee vote for the last round and I had to check double have I missed it.. It touched several topics including politics, society norms and it's own absurd, smart and strong woman, friendship and mentions Jewish community more than once.It is a story about how to find your own way to live and think you are doing the best when you have done the worst, made mistakes and when everyone around you is leaving you and don't care about you at all. My heart was breaking for Aviva's mother and the pain she was going through as well, how she faced the classic backstabbing from those the most dear to her. However, I did wonder did Aviva knew about them at the time when being in college...My favorite parts of the book were told by Rachel, Jane and Embeth view point. The book made me lough at times and cry at the end. Embeth is wife to the politician who was the one who did cheat, and there she is, still together with this man who goes into campaign again and being more than 10 years in politics you don't even need to prepare a speech, you can just go and say whatever you have told over and over again and everyone will be happy as long as you keep a joke here and there. I found her character warming and ready to put up with the public nonsense.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The reason I gave this book only 3 1/2 stars is because I listened to the audio version of this book. The format of the book does not work well as an audio. Zevin uses an email thread for a good portion of the book and the reader had to read the to, from, date and subject line each time. At one point I counted the reader saying the word "Re:" 16 times!! If I had read the book I would have been able to skip the headers and go to the body of the email. Also the use of "choose your own ending" also grew quite tiresome when being read aloud. With that being said I enjoyed the book and the subject matter. Zevin made excellent points on how a young life can be so changed when making some immature choices. It also drove home the point of one party getting more blame than the other although both were consenting adults and one definitely should have known better.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    In YOUNG JANE YOUNG, Gabrielle Zevin gives us a largely humorous, but ultimately quite serious, exploration of the role of women in America. Her focus is on the relative power differential between the genders and the role that shaming women plays in that dynamic. It is impossible not to think of Monica Lewinsky when reading this novel, but Zevin’s story is less about political scandal and more about redemption. Slut-shaming clearly is one of our society’s guilty pleasures. It is one of the primary ways we disempower women. Yet Zevin gives us a strong protagonist who overcomes youthful mistakes by building a successful life. This is jeopardized primarily by the technological guarantee that everything you have ever done lives forever on the Internet. Notwithstanding this sad fact, Zevin’s message is uplifting (i.e., we do not have to accept cultural norms aimed at shaming women).Variations of this mundane plot seem endemic in America. Aviva Grossman is a successful young congressional intern in Miami who has an affair with her boss. She blogs about it anonymously (she thinks). Following a stupid automobile accident (think Chappaquiddick), the affair and blog are revealed. The congressman walks away pretty much unscathed but Avivagate becomes a national scandal. To escape the shame, Aviva changes her name to Jane Young and moves to a small town in Maine. There she lives quietly for 13 years as a successful event planner and the single mother of the precocious Ruby. As a consequence of her decision to run for Mayor, her past is revealed. Ruby finds this unsettling and brings things to a head by running off to Florida in search of the Congressman, whom she believes to be her father.This novel derives much of its power from the adoption of five distinct perspectives. Rachel Shapiro is Aviva’s mother. She dishes all of the background in the voice of an elderly Jewish matron while telling her own experiences with online dating. She clearly loves her daughter. As the successful wedding planner, Jane fills us in on what has happened since Avivagate. Ruby’s section, replete with emails to her Indonesian pen pal, elucidates her discovery of Jane’s past. Embeth is the faithful wife of the congressman. She is a strong woman who is definitely loyal to her spouse but demonstrates considerable nuance, primarily via her communication with an imagined parrot. The final section, told in Aviva’s voice, is entitled “Choose Your Own Adventure.” This section derives its power from the second person voice where we cease shaming her and begin to imagine ourselves in her place. This narrative voice strongly suggests that empathy is often what is lacking in our assessment of these scandals.