All Adults Here

A Novel

By: Emma Straub

Narrated by: Emily Rankin

Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

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

"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, and the forthcoming novel This Time Tomorrow.

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.

©2020 Emma Straub (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"A quaint Hudson Valley town, an endearing matriarch, a goat cheese farm—Straub's modern saga of a complicated family web is a literary security blanket."—Entertainment Weekly

“You’ll never want to say goodbye to the Strick family of All Adults Here, Emma Straub’s charming fourth novel.”—O, The Oprah Magazine

“To describe Emma Straub’s novel All Adults Here without using the word ‘charming’ is like trying to describe an accordion without using your hands. But winsome and big-hearted do fine to characterize Ms. Straub’s loosely knit, multigenerational fourth novel …Tight, flinty Astrid…seems like close kin to Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge.”—The Wall Street Journal

Absolutely wonderful

This is this the most beautiful story. I could not stop listening. Left me feeling grateful for this wonderful, messy life ... and wanting to hug my people.

Real Life Family Drama

Great storylines throughout this entire book. Excellent narration. I’m hooked on Emma! She makes you feel as if you are living these dramas out. Next title please.

Fell in love with every character

The author and narrator brought every character to life. I found that I was able to relate to each of them, saying out loud all the things we worry about, fear and how intentions are often only understood by the person who owns them. As the story wound down I found myself dreading the end, knowing I would feel like I was leaving good friends and will think of them often.

Sweet easy and insightful read

It’s was an easy fun listen and throughout the book, the author dives into “have you ever thought about… Or isn’t it amazing how…” insightful moments.

Bits and Pieces that created a whole.

Enjoyed the storyline . Narrator did a great job. Many familiar life choices and consequences.

Keep going, it gets interesting

Talking about starting out with a BANG! There are twists and delightful turns throughout.

If only it had a plot!

The characters are wonderful and quite real. If only it had some plot. I still enjoyed this book. Not a page turner though.

Characters who live & breathe

The Strick family felt like a real family. They are cruel and caring and loving and the worst all in turn. And the idea of being “grown up” is turned on its head and then turned again.

A Poignant, Yet Easy Listen

Not sure why some of the other reviewers seem to take so much issue with the fact that this book doesn’t solely include heterosexual relationships and binary characters, but I would highly recommend for anyone who isn’t stuck in the 20th century. The story unfolded beautifully and the narration was spot-on. I look forward to reading more Emma Straub novels.

Devoured this!

Loved every minute! The characters were so loveable and beautiful. Each character's story would have been phenomenal on it's own, but combined, so powerful. The writing was just gorgeous. I didn't want to leave this world. The narrative was fantastic.