All Adults Here

Book review, full book summary and synopsis for All Adults Here by Emma Straub, a lighthearted beach read about inclusivity and acceptance.

Synopsis

All Adults Here is about all generations of the Strick family, focusing on the stories of the various family members. At its center, is the matriarch of the family, Astrid Strick, who sees a woman she's known for a long time get hit by a bus. Astrid decides that it's time to come out as a bisexual to her family and tell them about her romantic relationship with her hairdresser, Birdie.

In this lighthearted and well-meaning story, the Strick family each has secrets and personal challenges they need to face.

(The Full Plot Summary is also available, below)

Book Review

I knew Emma Straub’s All Adults Here would likely be a fun, light read so it was an obvious choice to take to lake-side park for a picnic on the weekend. I didn’t end up feeling very strongly about it, but it was a pleasant enough read for the day if you read it uncritically.

All Adults Here is a sweet and benign book that’s mostly about inclusivity, acceptance and how it’s never too late to make amends or do what needs to be done. There are quite a few story lines woven throughout the book, since each family member has their own journey and their own obstacles to deal with. Porter is woman choosing to become a single mother. Astrid is an sexagenarian (68) who has recently come out to her family. August is transgendered but only gets to be himself at summer camp. And so on.

I liked all the stories, but it seems like Straub could’ve done more with many of them. There’s one about Elliot, the oldest sibling, developing a building at the town center, and that one especially seems like it could’ve had some interesting developments, but basically goes nowhere. Similarly, his wife is presented as a formerly high-powered woman, a Princeton grad and lawyer, who is dissatisfied with her life. She does most of the childcare and her husband doesn’t help out. But nothing comes of that setup, so it seems like Straub didn’t really know what to do with it.

So, yeah, a few of the story lines gear up and sort of peter out, but for the most part the characters each get their own arcs that conclude in a way that more or less makes sense and gives them some type of emotional journey. It’s unchallenging and lighthearted, if a bit pointless. I mean, it’s not, it’s trying to make a few well-meaning points about acceptance and what not, it’s just that it’s so benign that it’s kind of functionally meaningless. But whatever.

Read it or Skip it?

All Adults Here is an easy, upbeat and well-meaning read about a family in a small town, all of whom have secrets that they are keeping from each other. It’s a feel-good and unchallenging story about inclusivity, acceptance and forgiveness. I thought it was okay, though I imagine most of the people who will read this are people who already buy into its message.

I think, apart from a few dissatisfying story lines, the main gripe that people are likely to have with this book is that it wants to be inclusive by having a ton of (mostly closeted) LBGTQ+ characters, but doesn’t really get into the nitty-gritty of any of the difficult issues. It’s a very light, weightless read. The same qualities that make it a good beach read are the same qualities that don’t make it a particularly substantive or meaningful book.

That said, it went by really quickly, and it’s a perfectly serviceable, happy story. For those reasons alone, I think plenty of people could enjoy it, even if it’s unlikely to become anyone’s favorite book. For a quick beach read, this is not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

See All Adults Here on Amazon.

Book Excerpt

Read the first pages of All Adults Here

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