Name: Bethany s. 's review of All Adults Here by Emma Straub
Item: All Adults Here
Rating: 1
Author: Bethany s.

Emma Straub

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A WASHINGTON POST NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR A PARADE BEST BOOK of 2020 * A GOOD HOUSEKEEPING BEST BOOK of 2020 A TODAY SHOW #ReadWithJenna BOOK CLUB PICK! "In a time when all we want is hope, it’s a beautiful book to reach for." -Jenna Bush Hager “Literary sunshine.”—New York Times "Brimming with kindness, forgiveness, humor and love and yet (magically) also a page turner that held me captive until it was finished. This is Emma Straub's absolute best and the world will love it. I love it." —Ann Patchett A warm, funny, and keenly perceptive novel about the life cycle of one family--as the kids become parents, grandchildren become teenagers, and a matriarch confronts the legacy of her mistakes. From the New York Times bestselling author of Modern Lovers and The Vacationers. When Astrid Strick witnesses a school bus accident in the center of town, it jostles loose a repressed memory from her young parenting days decades earlier. Suddenly, Astrid realizes she was not quite the parent she thought she'd been to her three, now-grown children. But to what consequence? Astrid's youngest son is drifting and unfocused, making parenting mistakes of his own. Her daughter is pregnant yet struggling to give up her own adolescence. And her eldest seems to measure his adult life according to standards no one else shares. But who gets to decide, so many years later, which long-ago lapses were the ones that mattered? Who decides which apologies really count? It might be that only Astrid's thirteen-year-old granddaughter and her new friend really understand the courage it takes to tell the truth to the people you love the most. In All Adults Here, Emma Straub's unique alchemy of wisdom, humor, and insight come together in a deeply satisfying story about adult siblings, aging parents, high school boyfriends, middle school mean girls, the lifelong effects of birth order, and all the other things that follow us into adulthood, whether we like them to or not.

A Novel

All Adults Here

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A TODAY SHOW #ReadWithJenna BOOK CLUB PICK! "In a time when all we want is hope, it's a beautiful book to reach for." -Jenna Bush Hager "Literary sunshine."--New York Times "The queen of the summer novel."--Entertainment Weekly "Brimming with kindness, forgiveness, humor and love and yet (magically) also a page turner that held me captive until it was finished. This is Emma Straub's absolute best and the world will love it. I love it." --Ann Patchett "An immensely charming and warmhearted book. It's a vacation for the soul."--Vox A warm, funny, and keenly perceptive novel about the life cycle of one family--as the kids become parents, grandchildren become teenagers, and a matriarch confronts the legacy of her mistakes. From the New York Times bestselling author of Modern Lovers and The Vacationers. When Astrid Strick witnesses a school bus accident in the center of town, it jostles loose a repressed memory from her young parenting days decades earlier. Suddenly, Astrid realizes she was not quite the parent she thought she'd been to her three, now-grown children. But to what consequence? Astrid's youngest son is drifting and unfocused, making parenting mistakes of his own. Her daughter is pregnant yet struggling to give up her own adolescence. And her eldest seems to measure his adult life according to standards no one else shares. But who gets to decide, so many years later, which long-ago lapses were the ones that mattered? Who decides which apologies really count? It might be that only Astrid's thirteen-year-old granddaughter and her new friend really understand the courage it takes to tell the truth to the people you love the most. In All Adults Here, Emma Straub's unique alchemy of wisdom, humor, and insight come together in a deeply satisfying story about adult siblings, aging parents, high school boyfriends, middle school mean girls, the lifelong effects of birth order, and all the other things that follow us into adulthood, whether we like them to or not.

Merry Rudinger

mariola

Bethany s. 

I was dealing with the slightly uncomfortable word pictures until I got to the point at which a dead body was described by the phrase “an unflippable pancake." 

So I made it about ten minutes. Sorry not sorry.

Coming of age isn't just for kids. Astrid Strick has always tried to do her best for her three children. Now, they're finally grown up - but you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Elliott doesn't have any idea who he really is, or how to communicate with his own sons. Porter is, at last, pregnant - but feels incapable of rising to the challenge. Nicky has fled to distant New Mexico, where he's living the bohemian dream. And Astrid herself is up to things that would make her children's hair curl. Until now, the family have managed to hide their true selves from each other. But when Nicky's incorrigibly curious daughter Cecelia comes to stay, her arrival threatens to upturn everything...

Krystyna 

This wasn't supposed to be my first completed book of 2023, but I had to finish it before a book club meeting. So, I sadly had to sit The Priory of the Orange Tree aside so I could focus on this one. I'm sad to say that my first read of 2023 was rather disappointing.

While it does present some great topics, this one just wasn't for me. It was okay, overall, but I had some issues with it. The writing was okay, the story was okay, the characters were okay...everything was just okay. I felt like maybe the issue was that the author was just trying to do too much. I didn't feel like I really knew any of the characters, or connected with any of them. The first bit of the book I was trying to keep all of the characters straight because the book jumps around from one character to another. Also, all of the "adults" were incredibly immature. The most mature character was a 13-year-old girl. 

If you like domestic dramas that let you observe the chaos of a dysfunctional family then try this one out, if it sounds interesting. I will say that I probably wouldn't have been able to get through this if I didn't have the audiobook, because I would have wanted to put the book down and not pick it up anymore. 

I read this for a book club and the majority thought it was just okay or didn't enjoy it at all. I feel like I will forget this story and these characters in a couple of months, if that. Nothing was super memorable for me. It's an entirely character-driven story that will be entirely forgettable for me, unfortunately.

Gisela Ayala 

"Say it. Stay it now while you have the chance."

I'll say it once again for the 100th time - I have such a fascination for books with complicated family relationships. All Adults Here is as complicated as it can get with all the layers of family dynamics. One member has a different relationship with another member and another one is completely different to the other. This dilemma is presented so heartrendingly well with the matriarch, Astrid as she looks back on her "parenting mistakes" (I put in quotations because well... no one is perfect) and realizes how her kids are moving on without her and breaking or solidifying relationships with each other and not with her. 

Yes, the book definitely throws a whole bunch of social issues and perhaps it would be have been good to focus on a select few so that they could have been fully realized characters. There were one or two characters that by the end of the book I still didn't know to much about. BUT with that being said... I guess real life we don't always get the full picture either. You can never truly know someone, probably even your own sibling, parent, or child. You can only love and support them whatever decisions they decide on - which is a lesson that EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER in this book realize.

Cheri McElroy

Sixty-eight year old Astrid witnesses the sudden and tragic death of someone she has known for years. This leads her in a quest for honestly with her adult children, a way to open doors and mend fences.

This story was full of quirky characters who don’t always make good choices. I especially loved the sections where we get a glimpse of Astrid as a mother, and her regrets, memories, and wishes for healing.

A wonderful read that reminds me that even when we are all adults here, families aren’t perfect, and beauty can be experienced in them anyway.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the Advanced Reader edition of this book.

Ellie Younger

At times heavy on the gender roles, felt like the author googled every possible problem on the planet and decided to include them all without providing the needed space and respect to any of them. 

Cindy Lieberman

Secrets and regrets abound in this family of a mother, her three grown children, and several grandchildren. The mother witnesses an unexpected accident that causes the death of a local woman she has held a grudge against for close to 30 years, causing her to re-examine her own life. This is against the backdrop of others in her family and community also examining their life choices and vowing to do better or to live more honestly. 

The writing and narration are good. It’s just that the story was more a jumble of contemporary ideas and didn’t have much of a plot.

Lauren Attaway

I just finished All Adults Here but I already miss the perfectly imperfect Strick family. This is the perfect summertime read that is smart and fun escapism.

Alex

Cindy

All Adults Here is a nice novel. It's pleasant, in the way that playing Animal Crossing can be pleasant: free of high-stakes drama, no heavy plots, mini-arcs that are simple and clear though not the most exciting, and the sleepiness of small-town life minus the soapy secrets. It's a welcome literary escape from the quarantined hell of the past months, but without any stakes or risks, the novel lacks teeth.

All Adults Here is very much a slice-of-life; through the novel, we see a snapshot of a cast of characters, all of whom feel very real and human. They're people you might know: the brusque workaholic, the snooty middle school queen bee, the adults who feel like they've peaked in high school and struggle to escape those clutches. The main plot arcs don't feel necessarily transformative (Astrid trying to make up her parenting mistakes that she remembered from decades ago, Elliot making a business decision that could lead to fallout with his family, Porter moving on from her high school sweetheart), with the exception of Robin, but they feel familiar.

None of the characters really sung to me; it's clear that the book is meant to be viewed as an ensemble. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be Cecelia and the way she instinctively wants to do right, even if she's still bearing the consequences of her previous actions that she thought was right. And Birdie, obviously. Birdie is fantastic.

Straub's writing is cozy and gentle. I'd hesitate to call All Adults Here a feel-good novel, because it's not really the type of plot that's designed for warm fuzzies. But will it be a good palate cleanser from all the COVID articles we've been reading. Hell yeah. It's a snapshot of life in small-town New York that doesn't make any bones about being otherwise. Sometimes that's what we need, as we're all holed up in our own homes.

Chelsea White

The growth of the relationships between the characters was lovely to read, even if that meant slowly establishing multiple points of view that were developed throughout the book. All of the characters felt real (except perhaps Wendy, who had the least amount of book time. Maybe Nick too), and the family dynamic felt intimately familiar. Robin’s story made me cry, and I’m so glad Cecelia learned the difference between keeping secrets to protect someone and telling secrets to do the same.

Krystal Campbell 

Thank you Libro.fm for my ALC. 2.5 (50% enjoyment) 

This book started off with a bang and the story lines were all easy to read and most of the characters were relatable but I feel like the author very much had a kitchen sink approach 

It seemed like she tried to throw every kind of representation she could into the one book and it took away from the power of the messages. 

It really made me roll my eyes on a number of occasions. 

There were some funny moments but overall I’ve decided that books “just about life” are not my jam

Anna Pinto

First book I got through a Goodreads giveaway after almost 10 years!

I'd recommend this book to anyone who's a mother, a father, a child, or a sibling - possibly all of those together at some point. There's something really comforting in reading about small problems and struggles of imperfect characters, and I enjoyed how the author was able to portray their anxieties in a way that felt real. Because the book follows different storylines at the same time, I was left a bit unsatisfied with some of them.

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All Adults Here by Emma Straub

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