I’m stuck between “I really liked this one but didn’t love it” and “I sort of loved it but didn’t LOVE LOVE it.”
It’s very confusing. So I’m giving this a solid 3.5.
Young Jane Young is told from the point of view of three strong female characters so PLUS right there. It has a bit of a Gilmore Girls vibe, as well, between Jane and her daughter, Ruby.
It all starts, though, with a young woman named Aviva Grossman, who becomes embroiled in a Lewinsky-esque political scandal when news of her affair with a dreamy congressman comes to light. This, of course, throws quite a wrench in her life plans, as she’s become the butt of jokes on nighttime talk shows and can’t go anywhere (including to job interviews) without being recognized and censured.
The congressman is fine, after some public apologizing, because OF COURSE.
Meanwhile, Aviva is left with little choice but to pack up her life and move away, changing her name and trying to leave the scandal behind. This helps, as she hardly has time to deal with a scandal while raising her precocious daughter and running a new business as a wedding planner.
REAL TALK TIME!
I started this review two months ago, as the crow flies, and yes I realize that doesn’t make sense but I’m trying to distract you from the fact that the rest of this review is going to SUUUUUUUUUUUCK because I don’t remember much about this book now.
True story, I have a real issue with reading books about real life people lately. I just can’t get into them. So, while I can recognize that this was a good book, and I enjoyed reading it, I was disappointed by the lack of elves or magic. Also, though I felt for some of the characters, I didn’t really feel a solid connection with them, with the exception of Ruby, maybe.
DESPITE THAT, I did enjoy this, though it was QUITE the bummer at times. The women who tell the story are wonderful, though, and strong and inspiring and all that jazz, so it’s worth the read for that alone.
