Young Jane Young

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“A smart, intersectional feminist tour de force.” —Washington Times

From Gabrielle Zevin, beloved author of the international bestsellers Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, comes another story with unforgettable characters that is particularly suited to the times we live in now.
 
This is the story of five women…

Meet Rachel Grossman.
She’ll stop at nothing to protect her daughter, Aviva, even if it ends up costing her everything.

Meet Jane Young.
She’s disrupting a quiet life with her daughter, Ruby, to seek political office for the first time.

Meet Ruby Young.
She thinks her mom has a secret. She’s right.

Meet Embeth Levin.
She’s made a career of cleaning up her congressman husband’s messes.

Meet Aviva Grossman.
The internet won’t let her or anyone else forget her past transgressions.
 
“It’s brilliant and hilarious. . . . It has a heart. And a spine. It’s exactly what we need more of right now.” —Chicago Tribune

“Splendid. . . . [Zevin’s] vibrant and playful writing, and the fully realized characters taking turns as narrator, bring the story a zestful energy.” —BooklistNamed a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post * Kirkus Reviews * Chicago Public Library

“This sly, exhilirating novel takes on slut-shaming . . . and manages to be hilarious in the process. . . . [Aviva] emerges as a strong woman to be celebrated.”
—People

“This book will not only thoroughly entertain everyone who reads it; it is the most immaculate takedown of slut-shaming in literature or anywhere else. Cheers, and gratitude, to the author.” 
—Kirkus Review, starred review

“Splendid. . . . A witty, strongly drawn group of female voices tells Aviva’s story. . . . [Zevin] has created a fun and frank tale. Her vibrant and playful writing, and the fully realized characters taking turns as narrator, bring the story a zestful energy, even while exploring dark themes of secrecy and betrayal. Zevin perfectly captures the realities of the current political climate and the consequences of youthful indiscretions in an era when the Internet never forgets.”
—Booklist

“Presenting a sharp send-up of our culture’s obsession with scandal and blame, this novel pulls at the seams of misogyny from all angles.”
—Library Journal

“Satisfying and entertaining.”
—Publishers Weekly
 
“Young Jane Young is a witty and wise story of three generations of women; in particular, Rachel and Ruby are often laugh-out-loud funny, while Jane/Aviva and Embeth have a wryer take on their circumstances. Strong and brave, transformed by scandal, they make their way in an often hostile world.”
—Shelf Awareness

“This is a redemptive novel inspired by the ordeal of Monica Lewinsky. . . . The last thing anyone wants is to be dragged through the Starr Report again, one cigar at a time. Which is what makes Zevin’s clever approach to this story so appealing. Her novel comes to us in five distinct parts, each focusing on a different woman affected by Avivagate. That structure rotates the scandal in curious ways, and it also shows off just what a clever ventriloquist Zevin is. . . . Maybe with enough determination and love and support, women can choose their own adventures. They can start, like Aviva, by choosing not to be ashamed. In this life-affirming novel, Zevin doesn’t make that look easy, but she makes it look possible.”
—The Washington Post
 
“Zevin’s newest novel is an engrossing tale of growing up female in the digital age that every young girlboss should put on their to-read list.”
—Brit + Co

“It’s brilliant and hilarious, and it makes you wince in recognition. . . . It’s the sort of book that invites us to examine our long-held beliefs and perceptions. It asks us to imagine, for a moment, another perspective and delivers us the storyline to do so. . . . It hands us characters who are at odds with one another and peels back their layers to reveal the thing they have in common. It has a heart. And a spine. It’s exactly, I would argue, what we need more of right now.”
—Chicago Tribune
 
“By presenting a novel that delves into the life of Aviva—the ‘slutty’ woman whose stereotype has become all too prevalent in today’s society—Zevin offers a deft counterargument in the form of a well-crafted story. The book raises powerful questions about who receives the blame in such Monica Lewinsky-esque scenarios.”
—News & Observer
 
“Young Jane Young features witty yet compassionate storytelling from four women at different stages of their lives, each relating to the same event that uprooted them in profound and personal ways. . . . Zevin works creatively with arrangement, allowing the story to develop nonlinearly. She uses brilliantly unusual formats, such as a series of outgoing emails to a pen pal as a way for a precocious teen to speak candidly. The final section is told through a playful choose-your-own-ending format, which, tellingly, only provides one choice—a simple yet profound way to look upon the past.”
—BookPage
 
“Gabrielle Zevin’s latest work is a smart, intersectional feminist tour de force about feminine power and shame. . . . Each character’s voice is distinct and moves the tale along. The prose is lovely and lively in Ms. Zevin’s energetic and engaging style.”
—The Washington Times

“Witty and insightful with a crowd of strong female voices, this is a brilliant read.” 
—Emerald Street

“[Zevin] writes splendidly, capturing speech flawlessly. . . . Young Jane Young is clever and easily read.”
—The American Jewish World

“The tale is told, brilliantly, in many voices. . . . Significantly, there are no male narrators. This is a woman’s story.”
—The Daily Mail

“An irresistible novel. . . . The power of Zevin’s book lies in its main characters, a quirky estrogen-laced tribe; the book’s multi-layered structure; and the big-heartedness at its core. . . . Young Jane Young is a testament to second chances and reclaiming one’s own narrative. It’s a feminist anthem—triumphant, earthy, and hopeful. And it’s a terrific read.”
—Portland Press HeraldGABRIELLE ZEVIN is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, winner of the Goodreads Choice Fiction Award and named Amazon’s Best Book of 2022, as well as a Best Book of the Year by Indigo, TIME, The Globe and Mail, The New York Times, and more. Her other critically acclaimed novels include The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, Young Jane Young, and Elsewhere. Her books have been translated into over forty languages. She lives in Los Angeles.In the middle of a particularly brutal political season, I began to have dreams about Aviva Grossman, Florida’s answer to Monica Lewinsky. Unless you lived in Florida at the turn of the century, you probably won’t remember her. The story briefly made national headlines because Aviva Grossman had foolishly kept an anonymous blog, where she detailed some of the “highlights” of the affair. She never mentioned him by name—but everyone knew! It was speculated that Aviva wouldn’t have kept a blog if she hadn’t wanted everyone to know, but I don’t think so. I think she was young and dumb, and I also think people didn’t truly understand the Internet back then, if indeed they can be said to understand it now. So, okay, Aviva Grossman. As a twenty-year-old intern, Aviva had an affair with Aaron Levin, a congressman from Miami. He was not her “immediate supervisor,” to quote the squishy statement he made during the press conference. “At no time was I the woman’s immediate supervisor,” Congressman Levin said, “and so, while I am deeply sorry for the pain I caused my loved ones, particularly my wife and sons, I assure you that no laws were broken.” The woman! He could not even bring himself to say Aviva Grossman’s name. The details of the affair, which were as tawdry and clichéd and human as you would expect, were on every local news channel and newspaper for months. One station even had a recurring segment called Avivawatch, as if she were a hurricane or an orca that had mysteriously beached itself. Fifteen years later, Levin’s still in Congress; Aviva Grossman, whose résumé included a dual degree in political science and Spanish literature from the University of Miami, a tenaciously googleable blog, and of course that infamous stint as an intern, couldn’t get a job. They didn’t put a scarlet letter on her chest, but they didn’t need to. That’s what the Internet is for.

In my dream, though, Aviva Grossman had managed to get past all of that. In my dream, she was in her forties and she had smart, short hair, and she was wearing a neutral pantsuit and a turquoise statement necklace, and she was running for national political office, though my dream wasn’t clear which one. It felt like Congress to me, but maybe that’s too poetically just. But it’s my dream, so let’s call it Congress. In any case, she was at a press conference when a journalist asked her about the affair. At first, Aviva gave a politician’s response—“It was a long time ago and I’m sorry for any pain I caused”—and she sounded not unlike Congressman Levin. The journalist persisted. “Well,” Aviva said, “being the age I am now and being in the position I am now, I can tell you with absolute certainty, I would never sleep with one of my campaign interns. But looking back and thinking about my part in it, my conduct, the only thing I can say . . . the only thing I can say about it is, I was very romantic and I was very young.”US

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