Synopsis from Goodreads:
Young Jane Young‘s heroine is Aviva Grossman, an ambitious Congressional intern in Florida who makes the life-changing mistake of having an affair with her boss‑‑who is beloved, admired, successful, and very married‑‑and blogging about it. When the affair comes to light, the Congressman doesn’t take the fall, but Aviva does, and her life is over before it hardly begins. She becomes a late‑night talk show punchline; she is slut‑shamed, labeled as fat and ugly, and considered a blight on politics in general.
How does one go on after this? In Aviva’s case, she sees no way out but to change her name and move to a remote town in Maine. She tries to start over as a wedding planner, to be smarter about her life, and to raise her daughter to be strong and confident. But when, at the urging of others, she decides to run for public office herself, that long‑ago mistake trails her via the Internet like a scarlet A. For in our age, Google guarantees that the past is never, ever, truly past, that everything you’ve done will live on for everyone to know about for all eternity. And it’s only a matter of time until Aviva/Jane’s daughter, Ruby, finds out who her mother was, and is, and must decide whether she can still respect her.
My Thoughts:
(Disclaimer: I will never post spoilers in my reviews HOWEVER the comment section is completely fair game to discuss any and all specifics including spoilers)
4.5 Stars
This book is a GEM. I couldn’t put it down and finished in 3 days. I found it so interesting how the author was able to tell a complete story through so many different avenues and though so many different perspectives. I love when fictitious books inspire me to research current events and I found myself researching the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal in great depth and with a different perspective than I had before. As much as I loved this book, I do have some criticism. Aviva was clearly portrayed as the victim throughout the story. While I can appreciate that she was very young…she was still an adult and was capable of making adult decisions. I wish she would have taken more of the blame as she was a consenting party on numerous occasions. I also wish the author would have developed certain storylines further such as the meeting between Ruby and Rachel. However, this novel was overall so wonderfully well written and so interesting. I hated that I finished it so quickly, this could easily have been a great one to savor. The ending was left wide open on so many levels…could there perhaps be a sequel in the future? Fingers crossed…
Bottom Line:
Why did I have to read this one so quickly??? This is a book to savor.
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