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cindypepper 's review for:
All Adults Here
by Emma Straub
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.
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.