
Mary Jane
A Novel
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Buy for $24.29
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Caitlin Kinnunen
"The best book of the summer." (InStyle)
"I LOVED this novel.... If you have ever sung along to a hit on the radio, in any decade, then you will devour Mary Jane at 45 rpm." (Nick Hornby)
Almost Famous meets Daisy Jones & The Six in this "delightful" (New York Times Book Review) novel about a 14-year-old girl’s coming of age in 1970s Baltimore, caught between her straight-laced family and the progressive family she nannies for - who happen to be secretly hiding a famous rock star and his movie star wife for the summer.
In 1970s Baltimore, 14-year-old Mary Jane loves cooking with her mother, singing in her church choir, and enjoying her family’s subscription to the Broadway Showtunes of the Month record club. Shy, quiet, and bookish, she’s glad when she lands a summer job as a nanny for the daughter of a local doctor. A respectable job, Mary Jane’s mother says. In a respectable house.
The house may look respectable on the outside, but inside it’s a literal and figurative mess: clutter on every surface, Impeachment: Now More Than Ever bumper stickers on the doors, cereal and takeout for dinner. And even more troublesome (were Mary Jane’s mother to know, which she does not): the doctor is a psychiatrist who has cleared his summer for one important job - helping a famous rock star dry out. A week after Mary Jane starts, the rock star and his movie star wife move in.
Over the course of the summer, Mary Jane introduces her new household to crisply ironed clothes and a family dinner schedule, and has a front-row seat to a liberal world of sex, drugs, and rock and roll (not to mention group therapy). Caught between the lifestyle she’s always known and the future she’s only just realized is possible, Mary Jane will arrive at September with a new idea about what she wants out of life, and what kind of person she’s going to be.
©2021 Jessica Anya Blau (P)2021 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...




















Featured Article: Celebrate Award Season 2022 with Page-to-Screen Nominees and Listening Recs Based on Your Frontrunners
And now, it's time to honor and celebrate the achievements of the artists who brought these treasures to the big screen. No matter who you're rooting for when the ceremony begins, these listens are all worthy of a golden statuette in our books. Here are the audiobooks that directly inspired the nominees and a few others to check out based on your own personal frontrunners.
People who viewed this also viewed...


















MARY JANE is a slice of life, coming of age story set in 1976 about a young teen from a cold, conservative family who gets a life education while babysitting for the daughter of a liberal family who are hosting a rock star and his tv star wife for the summer.
I was a few years younger than MARY JANE and was easily able to put myself in her shoes in this realistic story. I remember escaping my family babysitting, thrilled when families welcomed me into their lives and appreciated me for the gifts I had to offer. Like MARY JANE, I never wanted to go home and longed to stay with the families. While I knew no one as free-living as the Cones and no one offered me marijuana (that part wasn’t realistic), I enjoyed the craziness of the family. Dr Cone, a (terrible) psychiatrist, invited his famous clients to live with the family to help Jimmy detox. Even before HIPAA, I can’t picture this happening though it was lots of fun to read.
The Audible narrator was pitch perfect in all the voices and made the story even better.
Delightful
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The narrator made each character sound different and even sang! She was outstanding!!
Mary Jane rocks!!! 🎶
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved every minute
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Wonderful performance
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Magical & heartfelt
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
wonderful
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
didn't want it to end.
captivating
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A teen book of Substance: Compelling & Fun
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Best Narrator!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Narrator was excellent! This is a keeper if you want to be entertained.
Coming of Age
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.