'Blau’s intelligent, witty novel captures the essence of the ’70s with humor and immensely appealing characters. 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 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 Jane’s voice. 'I dare you to find a more winning novel than Jessica Anya Blau’s Mary Jane. 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 Lady Gaga as Sheba? I’m already casting it.' - New York Times Book Review She keeps it light, she keeps it moving and she’s got terrific visuals.You can watch the movie in your mind. 'Delightful.Blau is a deft hand with comic juxtaposition and domestic fantasy. 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. 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). A week after Mary Jane starts, the rock star and his movie star wife move in. 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. 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 Ever bumper stickers on the doors, cereal and takeout for dinner. A respectable job, Mary Jane’s mother says. Shy, quiet, and bookish, she’s glad when she lands a summer job as a nanny for the daughter of a local doctor.

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.

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

Mary jane a novel by jessica anya blau