--- product_id: 3704901 title: "In Zanesville: A Novel" price: "₪241" currency: ILS in_stock: true reviews_count: 9 url: https://www.desertcart.co.il/products/3704901-in-zanesville-a-novel store_origin: IL region: Israel --- # In Zanesville: A Novel **Price:** ₪241 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** In Zanesville: A Novel - **How much does it cost?** ₪241 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.il](https://www.desertcart.co.il/products/3704901-in-zanesville-a-novel) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description The fourteen-year-old narrator of IN ZANESVILLE is a late bloomer. She flies under the radar-a sidekick, a marching band dropout, a disastrous babysitter, the kind of girl whose Eureka moment is the discovery that "fudge" can't be said with an English accent. Luckily, she has a best friend with whom she shares the everyday adventures of a 1970s American girlhood, incidents through which a world is revealed, and character is forged. In time, their friendship is tested--by their families' claims on them, by a clique of popular girls who stumble upon them, and by the first, startling, subversive intimations of womanhood. With dry wit and piercing observation, Jo Ann Beard shows us that in the seemingly quiet streets of America's innumerable Zanesvilles is a world of wonders, and that within the souls of the overlooked often burns something radiant. Review: a quietly beautiful novel about the hard work of adolescence - This novel depicts a small but significant shift: from the powerlessness of childhood toward the moment when power and decision-making and volition suddenly seem to come from the self, not from parents and teachers. The narrator's wry, eccentric observations are a constant delight, and the depiction of the narrator's mother is deeply familiar to me--a Midwestern woman who expects life to be filled with sacrifce, whose love is mixed with exasperation. I also loved the depiction of small town social class distinctions. In the wide world, a bunch of schoolgirls from Zanesville, Illinois have more in common than not. But within Zanesville the demarcations of privilege (or its lack) stand out: whose house is bigger and cleaner; whose father is more sober; whose clothes are new or culled from a box of cast-offs. If you loved Jo Ann Beard's *The Boys of my Youth,* and I did, reading this novel will make you want to reread *The Boys of my Youth,* which is one of my 10 favorite books of the last 50 years. And so I ordered it (I always seem to loan it out and never get it back) and reread it too. I am in awe of Jo Ann Beard's talent. Her books are smart, funny, companionable, her characters as recognizable as the people who inhabited my childhood and yet full of surprise. Review: Quick summer read! - It was very well written and nostalgic, and the characters are very relateable. It was quirky and funny and sweet. I was kind of sorry it ended where it did, and wished it had gone on longer. It was hard to let these characters go...I wanted to know what they were going to do next. This is a really cool, summer, beach, quick read! ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #4,995 in Coming of Age Fiction (Books) #22,388 in Literary Fiction (Books) #77,550 in American Literature (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.0 out of 5 stars 245 Reviews | ## Images ![In Zanesville: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51cm4hXKHML.jpg) ## Available Options This product comes in different **Media Format** options. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ a quietly beautiful novel about the hard work of adolescence *by A***E on July 28, 2011* This novel depicts a small but significant shift: from the powerlessness of childhood toward the moment when power and decision-making and volition suddenly seem to come from the self, not from parents and teachers. The narrator's wry, eccentric observations are a constant delight, and the depiction of the narrator's mother is deeply familiar to me--a Midwestern woman who expects life to be filled with sacrifce, whose love is mixed with exasperation. I also loved the depiction of small town social class distinctions. In the wide world, a bunch of schoolgirls from Zanesville, Illinois have more in common than not. But within Zanesville the demarcations of privilege (or its lack) stand out: whose house is bigger and cleaner; whose father is more sober; whose clothes are new or culled from a box of cast-offs. If you loved Jo Ann Beard's *The Boys of my Youth,* and I did, reading this novel will make you want to reread *The Boys of my Youth,* which is one of my 10 favorite books of the last 50 years. And so I ordered it (I always seem to loan it out and never get it back) and reread it too. I am in awe of Jo Ann Beard's talent. Her books are smart, funny, companionable, her characters as recognizable as the people who inhabited my childhood and yet full of surprise. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Quick summer read! *by L***. on July 9, 2013* It was very well written and nostalgic, and the characters are very relateable. It was quirky and funny and sweet. I was kind of sorry it ended where it did, and wished it had gone on longer. It was hard to let these characters go...I wanted to know what they were going to do next. This is a really cool, summer, beach, quick read! ### ⭐⭐⭐ Good, but not great. *by S***Y on March 7, 2012* Not really what I expected. The story seemed completely unique to anything I have read, which I am still not sure if that is a good or a bad thing. Did not understand the immaturity of the two lead characters, especially in the first pages when talking about their babysitting fiasco. The whole story, I felt completely unrelated to the characters. On the other hand, the story was about an evolving friendship that was very interesting. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.il/products/3704901-in-zanesville-a-novel](https://www.desertcart.co.il/products/3704901-in-zanesville-a-novel) --- *Product available on Desertcart Israel* *Store origin: IL* *Last updated: 2026-10-24*