Young Jane Young

June 26, 2017
Zevin (The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry) offers a satisfying and entertaining story of reinvention and second chances in the wake of a political sex scandal. Aviva Grossman was far and away the most capable intern working in the Florida district office of her local congressman—until their affair was exposed and the subsequent national scandal destroyed her reputation (though, tellingly, not the congressman’s) and doused her political aspirations. Fast-forward more than a decade: Aviva, a single mom, has legally changed her name to Jane Young, moved to small-town Maine, and applied her logistical competence to running her own event planning business. When the town matriarch encourages Jane to run for mayor, her youthful indiscretions threaten to derail her tentative foray back into the political arena. Divided into sections, each focusing on a different woman—Aviva’s mother, Jane; her 13-year-old daughter, Ruby; the congressman’s wife; and Aviva—the novel’s structure means that plot points are occasionally re-trod, though sometimes with surprising new insights. Zevin also plays with form, crafting Ruby’s section as a series of frequently hilarious emails to her Indonesian pen pal and the final section like a “Choose Your Own Adventure” novel. Real-world parallels aside, Jane’s story is in the end less about political scandal and more about gaining strength and moving on from youthful missteps.

Narrator Karen White animates five perspectives in this story of Aviva, a young intern who has a disastrous affair with a congressman. The story is told by three generations of women, with their narratives advancing the story over 13 years. White excels at using accents, intonations, and emotions to create believable portrayals of primary and secondary characters. With equal aplomb, she portrays Aviva's protective Jewish mother, Aviva herself after she's reinvented herself as the witty Jane Young, Jane's 13-year-old smart yet innocent daughter, and beleaguered Embeth, the congressman's wife. Just as smoothly White transitions between the novel's various literary devices, which include Ruby's emails and a second-person "choose your own adventure" format. White captures relationship dynamics and irony with a light touch that reveals darker themes of sexism and the unforgiving nature of the Internet. S.W. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine