Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Aviva Grossman is young, perhaps naive, and ambitious. She’s smart, but not smart enough to keep herself out of trouble. Her mother, Rachel, will attest to that, for sure. They have been very close, more like friends than mother and daughter, perhaps. But when Aviva comes to Rachel to confess that she is having an affair with a married man – a well-known married man, at least in their part of South Florida, because of his political ambitions – Rachel is every bit Aviva’s mother, you can bet on that. She pleads with her, begs her, implores her to break up with him, even going so far as to try to bribe her, threaten her even. She knows the toll it will take on her reputation. But even Rachel has no clue that Aviva has been keeping an anonymous blog about her experience – and this before most folks even knew what a blog was, when the internet was like a new toy, seemingly harmless. When the affair blows up, Aviva’s life blows up with it. How will she survive?

This book is very Jewish, very South Florida, and steeped in stereotypes. Nonetheless, it is a quick, light, and amusing read. Aviva’s character builds into a relatable, vulnerable woman who earns both our sympathy, our understanding, and our respect. There are often many ways to see a situation, and we are often quick to judge. This is an example of one such situation. And that is the point.

Not ever going to be a Pulitzer Prize winner, but it’s fun and entertaining and has an important message to share.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Sadie is full of resentment, even though she can’t admit it. She’s given up her summer to be with her sister – and that’s ok, I mean, her sister is battling cancer, for god’s sake. She’s doing her best to be out of everyone’s way, when she comes upon a quiet boy named Sam, who, it appears, likes to game as much as she does. In fact, as his nurse has observed, Sadie is the first person Sam has actually spoken to since his horrible accident and his multiple foot surgeries. When the nurse requests that Sadie come back and game with him some more, trying to pry him further out of his shell, she encourages the development of a friendship that will go through many lives – almost like those of the characters they become in their games.

I am not a gamer, in any way, shape or form. But I loved this book and found it relatable on all of its levels. While gaming is the language the characters use to communicate, we sense their vastly deeper connection to each other, the love they feel. We also experience their pain and understand how they rely on gaming to escape this pain – to dive into worlds that are dreamlike, fantastical and utterly distracting in order to just get through. As they create games for others, they use this knowledge to create alternate realities for others to escape as well.

I also love how the plot unfolds. It surprises, interrupts, detours, and restarts – almost as if in a game itself. Because of this, it captures our imagination but also feels as real as one’s own heartbeat. It is simultaneously lyrical and tactile. The characters are both idyllic and deeply flawed.

I believe this is a MUST READ – a creative, imaginative, and very modern love story!

The Storied Life of AJ Filkry by Gabrielle Zevin

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

I have my friend Jimmy to thank for this one…

AJ is aware of how ornery he has grown and still cannot help himself – no, he almost delights in it, even as it might actually be responsible for driving away the few customers who might visit his tiny, fledgling island bookstore.  But when he is outright nasty to the attractive, new publishing company rep, he actually feels a twinge of remorse.  Two discoveries after this, one a loss and one a find, both that occur in the confines of his bookstore, lead to major changes in AJ’s life that open up his heart once again to the possibility of love and connection to others.

While this is a somewhat unlikely story, and requires some bit of blind acceptance, it is a sweet one, nonetheless.  We’d all love to believe that a middle aged man, set in his ways, living alone, would take in a completely strange toddler left on his doorstep.  It is a beautiful image, but I’m not sure how realistic it is.  But this is fiction, so we’ll go with it.

On the other hand, the setting is a bookstore on an island (a mashup of my 2 favorite kinds of places). The characters are utterly endearing, from the awkward Amelia, the publishing rep with the bad taste in clothes and the great taste in books, to the police chief with the expanding taste in books and the predictable taste in party foods.  They are characters we engage with easily and comfortably, as we would an old armchair.  Even the plot winds around our hearts and tugs gently but surely.  It will get you.

This is a sweet novel and perfect for anyone who loves talking about books – and reading about others who love talking about books!