Mary Jane

i'm not even 100% sure where to start, but i'll give it a go. this is one of my favorite books of all time.

it sounds sadistic, but i like reading books where there are traumatic experiences i have personally experienced and/or can relate to. in this case, mary jane living a fearful life under the roof of her bigoted, judgmental conservative parents hits incredibly close to home, and i found myself tearing up as mary jane learns that what she thinks and feels and believes are all valid, only her parents are telling her that there's something “wrong” with her. it was incredibly moving to see her open up and become an integral part of the cone family, all while helping jimmy recover and being the best fake-big sister to izzy. this book gave me a tight hug and reminded me that i don't have to be a product of my parents if i don't want to, and that there's nothing wrong with being me.

also i was 100% imagining sebastian stan as tommy lee for jimmy so that certainly helped my enjoyment

Cute, sometimes a little cloyingly so, story of sort of coming of age and of sort of found family. It made for an engaging and fairly cozy read. Mary Jane was a sweet and endearing character (teenage girls are often the worst Mary Jane is the opposite). Long story short if you need a break from heavy stuff, this one is pretty good.

Trigger warnings for mentions of racism and antisemitism (not a core aspect of the book but something to be aware of).

5⭐️

I don't even have words to describe how good this was, I love coming of age stories and this one hit so close to home that while listening to a bit of bullshit from my parents today I just kept thinking “just do what Mary Jane would do. lie and do whatever you want.” LOL

It's been a long time since I cried while reading a book and the ending was just perfect because it ended on a good note and I really needed that for Mary Jane. I didn't expect to get so attached to all of the characters. ❤️❤️

This coming of age novel is a pleasant, unexpected surprise. Set in the 70s, it tells the story of 14 year old Mary Jane's summer nanny job that introduces her to people different from any she has ever known and opens her eyes to the flaws of the society in which she lives. Through her experiences of that summer, she discovers a lot about who she is and who she wants to be.

Mary Jane has led a sheltered life with rigid, non-affectionate parents. She expects adults to behave a certain way. Her experience with the Cone household shows her that there are different kinds of people with different life experiences, and she learns to accept those differences as being okay and maybe even preferable to the life she has been raised expect. She meets a rock star heroin addict and his TV star wife who show her that just because people have made mistakes they aren't necessarily bad people. Life in the Cone house is messy and sometimes chaotic, but there is so much love and joy there that doesn't exist in Mary Jane's household.

There is clear contradiction between the two main families in this book. The Cones are a lovable bunch with all their unique personalities and eccentricities. Their celebrity houseguests are flawed but so beautiful and full of life. In contrast, Mary Jane's parents are stiff and formal and do not let Mary Jane see their personalities. There is no affection in the Dillard household. Mary Jane comes to realize the flaws in her parents' beliefs about people of other races and backgrounds. As a reader, I much prefer the Cones, which of course is what the writer wants.

This book does a great job showing the messiness of real life. There are drugs, sex, alcohol, infidelity, and other indiscretions in the plot of this story. The topics are all handled maturely. These issues are balanced with acceptance, love, family affection, and many other positive experiences.

This book succeeds as a coming of age story that captures the reader's heart while teaching acceptance and love. I definitely recommend this book.

1.5 stars.

This is the biggest disappointment of the year, I am calling it right now. I was expecting this to be a favorite of the year and ended up extremely disappointed by the execution of the novel.
I felt myself cringing at the dialogue between the characters and I could not understand why Mary Jane was so fascinated with the Cones. I thought they were too dysfunctional of a family to be role models for Mary Jane.

I really enjoyed this slice of life story about teenager Mary Jane and her summer job nannying for a neighborhood family. The story does a good job of describing that point in time where households were beginning to transition away from the Donna Reed housewife era. I grew up in this era, and the descriptions of little Izzy's feral Gen-X upbringing were pretty spot on. Loved all the references to the music, I'll have to look up the author's playlist.