Mary Jane

by Jessica Anya Blau · 2021

Set against the vibrant backdrop of 1970s Baltimore, Mary Jane follows fourteen‑year‑old Mary as she steps out of her quiet, church‑choir life into a summer that will rewrite her future. When she lands a nanny job with a respectable local doctor, she discovers the house is a chaotic haven of bumper‑sticker slogans, take‑out meals, and a secret guest: a famous rock star and his glamorous movie‑star wife, hidden away for a month‑long rehab. As Mary introduces order—iron‑ed shirts, family dinners—and watches the rock‑star’s wild world of sex, drugs, and group therapy unfold, she is torn between the safe rhythm of her upbringing and the intoxicating promise of a freer, louder life. By September, Mary emerges with a fresh vision of who she wants to become, and a daring new soundtrack for her own coming‑of‑age.