I've heard good things about this one since it came out in spring 2021, but didn't feel the urge to pick it up until several Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club members cited it as a favorite "feel-good" novel in a recent discussion. (Funny thing: last year I had this book in my house when it released in the spring but I gave it away to clear space—but that was easily fixed as my library had several copies and short waitlists.) This 1970s coming of age story features 14-year-old Mary Jane, a sheltered girl from a respectable Baltimore family whose life changes the summer she nannies for a local doctor ... whose best client is about to become a live-in rock star in rehab. Mary Jane can't tell a soul what she sees in that house: the rock star's presence is a tightly-kept secret, plus her prim parents would make her quit if they grasped just how much their family sensibilities differ from those of her employers. She's left on her own to process her introduction to the baffling adult world of sex, drugs, friendship, and rivalry, as well as her burgeoning friendship with the rock star's wife, an actress she's long admired. I appreciated the strong setting and found myself googling numerous Baltimore landmarks, and Blau's light touch with heavy topics lent the book an easy-reading and entertaining, if not wholly memorable, quality.

This playful novel about coming of age and coming together is largely set in a real 1980s San Francisco department store. Its star is 19-year-old Zippy, the youngest saleswoman on the dress floor. She lives with her sophisticated 25-year-old roommate Raquel, with whom she enjoys frank conversations about kissing, sex, and their mutual crush on the dreamy model from the Berber Coffee ads. Over the course of the story, Zippy makes big decisions in life and relationships and explores what it means to become a “chooser” about what happens to her. Golly, I loved cheering her on! This bighearted novel delights with its upbeat tone, winning cast of supporting characters, and oodles of ‘80s nostalgia.