Adults

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.

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.