Adults - by Alison Espach (Paperback)

About the Book

"Emily Marie Vidal stands at the epicenter of a bizarre suburban universe where neighbors commit suicide, high school teachers have affairs with their students, and someone needs to be lit on fire to stop an even more heinous act from occurring. These situations send her on a physical and emotional journey that will take her from suburban Connecticut to Prague to New York City and back to Connecticut in an effort to find happiness, solace, and even love. The Adults chronicles Emily's coming-of-age in a modern world where an adult and a child can so dangerously be mistaken for the same thing"--

Book Synopsis

From the author of the Read with Jenna pick The Wedding People, a ruefully funny coming-of-age novel that deftly dissects matters of the heart and captures the lives of children and adults as they come to terms with life, death, and love.

At the center of this affluent Connecticut suburban universe is Emily Vidal, a smart and snarky teenager, who gets involved in a dangerous relationship with one of the adults. Among the cast of unforgettable characters is Emily's father, whose fiftieth birthday party has the adults descending upon the Vidals' patio; her mother, who has orchestrated the elaborate party even though she and her husband are getting a divorce; and an assortment of eccentric neighbors, high school teachers, and teenagers who teem with anxiety and an unbridled desire to be noticed, and ultimately loved.

An irresistible chronicle of a young woman's struggle to grow up, The Adults lays bare a world where an adult and a child can so dangerously be mistaken for the same thing.

Review Quotes

"A smart first novel." --People

"An outstanding coming-of-age novel...one of the funniest books I've read in a long time. Ms. Espach's coup is to chart Emily's growth through her maturing sense of humor." --The Wall Street Journal

"This cri de coeur carries a freshness and charm--honorable, too, for its cutting accuracy." --San Francisco Chronicle

"Teeming with clever insights, witty acerbic dialogue, and a helplessly loving acknowledgement of family quirkiness." --School Library Journal

"Espach nicely balances the acidic and the sweet in her coming-of-age tale." --Entertainment Weekly

"Sharp and witty." --The New York Times Book Review

"Coming of age with a quick wit and sharp eye...The Adults is as idiosyncratic as it is stirring." --The New York Times

"Espach perfects the snarky, postironic deadpan of the 1990s and teenagers everywhere, and her ear for modern speech and eye for fresh detail transform a familiar story into an education in what it means to be a grown-up." --Publishers Weekly

"Tom Perrotta meets Curtis Sittenfeld in this razor-sharp debut by Alison Espach, who weaves a wry, devastatingly perceptive coming-of-age tale set in Connecticut's affluent suburbs." --Marie Claire

About the Author

Alison Espach is the author of the novels The Wedding People, Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance, and The Adults. She has written for McSweeney's, Vogue, Outside Magazine, Joyland, and other places. She teaches creative writing at Providence College in Rhode Island.