Although there is never a specific date cited to deduce when this novel takes place, there are a multitude of clues that hint to the range of the time period that this novel could be set. First off, many magazines are acknowledged as being a source for gossip on Nico Rathburn: "People? Us, Star, the National Enquirer?  Do you watch Entertainment Tonight?" (Lindner 5). Out of all these, “Entertainment Tonight” is the newest, with the first episode airing in 1981. That said, the date of the novel can be moved up more, for Jane is constantly found using Wikipedia, which was not created until 2001: “One song in particular, ‘Wrong Way Down a One-Way Street,’ played irritatingly in my brain as I read record reviews and Wikipedia articles” (Lindner 12). Due to the use of Wikipedia, the novel must take place after 2001 (Wikipedia, The History of Wikipedia). Another clue that hints at the time the novel is set is the use of a CD player rather than an iPod. Since Rathburn has a pool, intercom system, and mansion, chances are he would have an iPod. Since Lucia gives Jane a CD rather than suggesting she go download the songs on an iPod, and iPods came out in the later part of 2001, one can make the deduction that this novel is set somewhere around 2001 (Wikipedia, iPod). Lindner writes, “…I stretched out on my bed, headphones on, listening to the new CD for clues, for insight into the personality that had written the words and music” (Lindner 119). That said, there is someone on page two using an iPod: “Another, in a full skirt and flat shoes I coveted, listened to her iPod, swaying almost imperceptibly in time to the music” (Lindner 2). This muddles the ability to pin down the time period as exactly 2001, as there is evidence that someone has an iPod, even if Nico does not. One could make an argument that it must be close to 2001, and maybe the iPod had just recently come out, and the reason that Nico does not have one yet is he is too busy preparing for the tour to worry about buying the latest technology.

If one believes pinning down 2001 as the exact date is a bit of a stretch, one can look at the last air date of the David Letterman late-night show, which is mentioned on page 119. Since Nico is a guest on the show, the novel must be set before 2015, when the show ended (VanDerWerff).

Bibliography: “Entertainment Tonight.” imdb, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081857/, Accessed 21 Oct. 2019.

Lindner, April. Jane. Little, Brown and Company, 2010.

VanDerWerff, Emily Todd. “Everything that happened on David Letterman’s last Late Show ever.” Vox. 21 May 2015, https://www.vox.com/2015/5/21/8633509/david-letterman-finale. Accessed 3 Nov. 2019.

Wikipedia. The History of Wikipedia, 2018, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Wikipedia. Accessed 20 Oct. 2019.

Wikipedia. iPod, 15 Oct. 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod. Accessed 20 Oct. 2019.