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The Adults

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The Adults

By: Alison Espach
Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
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Summary
 FROM THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE WEDDING PEOPLE
On a bright summer evening in 1990s Connecticut, fourteen-year-old Emily Vidal stands on her parents' lawn, watching the adults arrive. Her mother is hosting a lavish birthday party for her father, even though he is about to leave her for another woman.

Adrift between her feuding parents and eccentric neighbours, Emily is closer than she knows to the choices and heartbreaks that will define her in the years ahead.

From the author of the million-copy international bestseller The Wedding People, this ruefully funny debut novel explores love, grief, consequences and the messy business of growing up.

THE IRRESISTIBLE DEBUT NOVEL FROM ALISON ESPACH, NOW PUBLISHED IN THE UK FOR THE FIRST TIME.

'Coming-of-age with a quick wit and sharp eye'
New York Times

'Outstanding. One of the funniest books I've read in a long time'
Wall Street Journal

'A wry, devastatingly funny coming-of-age tale'
Marie Claire©2026 Alison Espach (P)2026 Orion Publishing Group Limited Coming of Age Dysfunctional Families Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Parenting & Families Relationships Funny Heartfelt
All stars
Most relevant
The author has such a distinctive voice and a unique and quirky way of viewing the world.

Heartachingly human

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I absolutely LOVED Alison Espach's later novels, The Wedding People, and Notes on your sudden disappearance. I was really excited when I saw that The Adults was coming to Audible mid 2026. I had assumed this was a new novel, however it isn't a new novel, just new to Audible. It was published in 2012.

Unlike her later novels, I felt this was pretty drawn out in parts. I'm so glad I had already read The Wedding People and Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance, as I may not have been motivated to read them based on The Adults.

The Adults does still have a lot going for it: a very clear message about assumptions we make about Adults having more wisdom, maturity and integrity than children and young people. Espach's writing is also full of depth and the characters both complicated and believable. She is clearly one talented story teller!

The narration was excellent, and helped me keep up with the changes in time and geographies. however towards the end, there was a reference to changing to the next CD, So it must be a recording taken from the CD version. So although the novel is new to Audible, the narration doesn't seem to be. Not that that's a problem.

If this is your first experience with Alison Espach, and you're not sure about reading her later novels, I highly recommend you dive into The Wedding People and Notes on your Sudden Disappearance. They are two of my favourite reads for 2025/26,

Debut novel from 2012

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