Young Jane Young

Let's just get this out of the way: readers looking for another warm, quirky Storied Life of AJ Fikrey will be disappointed. I give credit to Ms. Zevin for not trying to write the same book twice, but I'm not sure quite what to make of Young Jane Young.

The novel centers around a fictional, South Florida version of Monica Lewinsky named Aviva Grossman. The point of view switches from Aviva's mother Rachel, to Aviva ten years after the scandal (highly successful at a surprising profession), her precocious daughter Ruby, the wife of the congressman who was caught with Aviva, and then finally Aviva's confessional about the affair. The first four sections are primarily set up for the last one, which uses a semi “Choose Your Own Adventure” format to show that, despite the power imbalance between Aviva and the congressman, she made choices along the way that contributed to the affair and subsequent disgrace. But there's also a strong feminist strain running through the book, and the suggestion that, instead of scorning Aviva (and Monica) for setting back feminism by fifty years, her fellow women should have supported and helped her instead.

The book is occasionally humorous (especially in the emails Aviva's daughter exchanges with a Malaysian pen pal) and the dialogue is frequently sharp and biting. I'm not sure what Zevin was hoping to accomplish with this novel but it made me remember that Monica Lewinsky was (and remains) more than a victim or a punchline. Wherever she is now, I hope she has found peace.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for honest review.