A novel about a fourteen-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.
It’s a schematic setup — strait-laced suburbanites versus groovy artists — but this book works because it’s got a great protagonist ... If this is a coming-of-age story, it is also a story of self-possession and common sense. ... Bighearted and retro in its setting and music, this novel has the bouncy rhythm of classic television ... Blau is a deft hand with comic juxtaposition and domestic fantasy. She keeps it light, she keeps it moving and she’s got terrific visuals ... There are moments when the plot feels farfetched ... Some of the primary-colored characters could use a little shading ... The end of the book is not quite as strong as the beginning, perhaps because Mary Jane starts spelling out what she learns...All this goes without saying! Still, Blau’s story is so clear and bright that you can watch the movie in your mind. Lady Gaga as Sheba? I’m already casting it.
... a playful romp of a novel ... While this story is written for adults, it would not be surprising if it becomes a popular YA novel. Kudos to Blau. Let’s hope she has more arrows like this in her quiver.
