Well, this was a disappointment. Some books are not meant to have an audio option and maybe that’s why I didn’t like this book, but yet for some reason I finished it.

First, I absolutely loved Gabrielle Zevin’s previous book, The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, and my experience with that book set the stage for my expectations with Young Jane Young. Here’s where the immediate disappointment comes in…Young Jane Young is NOTHING like it! Keep in mind, I support authors creative writing process and their desire to explore different types of stories. I was just surprised that this book is so completely different.

Second, the narration by Karen White was just okay. Her voice exuded immaturity, which gave me a YA vibe. And the content of this book definitely does not fit the YA genre. It made it difficult for me to take the story serious.

Third, there were two sections of the book that were utterly obnoxious and I almost bailed. The narration of the emails between Ruby and her pen pal in Indonesia were a struggle for me. A positive for reading a physical book is that I can skip over the email address details. A disadvantage to an audiobook is that I’m stuck listening to the repetitive narration of these details. I truly wanted to punch something every time she read the “re: re: re:” of the email subject line. It got longer and longer each time. In combination with the narrator’s voice, I sensed that it was intended to be humorous. If true, I can appreciate that. It just wasn’t entertaining for me. I couldn’t wait for that chapter to be over with.

The next time I almost bailed was during the portion of the book where Zevin starts offering alternative options to the story line. This only occurred during the chapter the reader learns about Aviva Grossman and her affair from Aviva’s perspective. I think this style of writing works best for a specific type of book, like a murder mystery, and this wasn’t it. Additionally, this style only occurred in this chapter. It seemed out of place. At this point in the book, it started to feel too long by being repetitive about the affair. I appreciate learning Aviva’s perspective and I think it could have been presented succinctly.

So, if I have so many complaints about this book, why in the world did I read it to the end? Well, I liked the characters; Rachel Grossman was something else! haha Plus, I was curious how it ended. The story took a lot of different turns I wasn’t expecting. Not in a mysterious way, just unique paths.

Maybe I would have had a completely different reaction to this book in physical form. Who knows?

Did you notice the orchids in my picture? If you haven’t yet read Young Jane Young, orchids play a very minor role in the story.

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