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Pages
307
Published
2011
Language
English

Synopsis

At the center of this affluent suburban universe is Emily Vidal, a smart and snarky teenager, who gets involved in a dangerous relationship. 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 sexuality and an unbridled desire to be noticed, and ultimately loved.

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

About the author

A
Alison Espach

Alison Espach is an American novelist and a professor of English at Providence College in Rhode Island. She was born in Trumbull, Connecticut, and studied at Providence College and earned an MFA in creative writing from Washington University in St. Louis. Her first novel, The Adults, was published in 2011, followed by Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance (2022) and The Wedding People (2024), which reached the New York Times bestseller list and won the fiction category of the 2024 Goodreads Choice...