Grown Ups

by Emma Jane Unsworth Narrated by Chloe Massey

Overview

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
“[E]ssential reading for our dismal times.” -The Wall Street Journal
One of Bustle's “Most Anticipated Books of Summer 2020”
Good Housekeeping's “25 New Fall Books You Have to Read This Season”
Lit Hub's “Most Anticipated Books of 2020”

Fleabag meets Conversations with Friends in this brutally honest, observant, original novel about a woman going through a breakup...but really having more of a breakdown.

Jenny McLaine's life is falling apart. Her friendships are flagging. Her body has failed her. She's just lost her column at The Foof because she isn't the fierce voice new feminism needs. Her ex has gotten together with another woman. And worst of all: Jenny's mother is about to move in. Having left home at eighteen to remake herself as a self-sufficient millennial, Jenny is now in her thirties and nothing is as she thought it would be. Least of all adulthood.

Told in live-wire prose, texts, emails, script dialogue, and social media messages, Grown Ups is a neurotic dramedy of 21st-century manners for the digital age. It reckons with what it means to exist in a woman's body: to sing and dance and work and mother and sparkle and equalize and not complain and be beautiful and love your imperfections and stay strong and show your vulnerability and bake and box...

But, despite our impossible expectations of women, Emma Jane Unsworth never lets Jenny off the hook. Jenny's life is falling apart at her own hands and whether or not she has help from her mother or her friends, Jenny is the only one who will be able to pick up the pieces and learn how to, more or less, grow up. Or will she?

Editorial Reviews

SEPTEMBER 2020 - AudioFile

Chloe Massey’s nuanced narration is perfect for a story about older millennials whose lives are dominated by social media, feminist principles, and relationships. Jenny’s life is falling apart. She’s lost her newspaper column, her friends, and her roommates. What’s worse, her ex-boyfriend is now with a woman she’s been obsessed with on Instagram, and Jenny’s mother is moving in to help out. Massey emphatically groans out “ergs” and “args,” making relatable moments even more so. A frantic pace puts the listener in Jenny’s shoes, adding to the intentionally exhausting vibe of the story. The relief Jenny feels when things go right is palpable. Vicious draft messages never sent and read in aggressive tones enhance this comedic and touching book about emotional growing pains. A.L.C. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

The New York Times Book Review - Kelly Conaboy

It is a paradox of social media that although we are inundated at all times with the thoughts and opinions and activities of everyone we've ever known, we can never unequivocally know why. What a person is thinking, why they said what they did, why they chose that exact punctuation, what their hope was for this small bit of output. Emma Jane Unsworth's new novel, Grown Ups, grants you precisely that voyeuristic look into the hideous unseen machinations behind the posts. And it is deeply unsettling. Although it's a comedic novel—and a truly funny one—it's less of an escape than it is a set of Clockwork Orange metal eye clamps, forcing you to examine…your own profoundly unhealthy relationship with social media…[The novel] unfolds in bright, punchy bursts of often nonlinear storytelling, interspersed with text messages and email drafts, dialogues and monologues. It whooshes your attention along with the strength of a constantly updating feed.

From the Publisher

"Sharp and original, Jenny’s story nails the challenges of adulting in the age of Instagram and evolves into a tender tale of letting those who love you help you find yourself."
–People

"By delving into the complicated psyche of a woman we might call “very online,” Grown Ups shows us there is hope to be found. Just maybe not in the place we’re always looking."
–The New York Times Book Review

“[Jenny’s] voice is so immediately engaging—and her perspective so zanily acute . . . But this oddly charming narrative is far more than a feast of one-liners. . . . In Grown Ups, self-inflating targets such as mindfulness, artiness and new-manliness are sparingly deployed and exquisitely punctured while the overall mood is subtly textured and the central plot almost quaintly plain . . . [E]ssential reading for our dismal times.”
–The Wall Street Journal

"One of the most anticipated books of 2020... An epistolary novel for the modern era, Grown Ups will resonate with late-blooming and struggling-to-launch Millennials everywhere.”
–Bustle

“Too funny, too clever, satisfyingly satirical, and with just the right amount of Zodiac chat, Grown Ups is incredible.”
–Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie

“So funny, arch, and tender, this novel shows what really goes on beneath the shiny surface of our online lives. A must-read for anyone who has ever wondered what it means to be a daughter, a friend, or a mother, when sometimes you don't even know how to be yourself.”
–Jessie Burton, New York Times bestselling author of The Miniaturist

“Dazzling observations and snarky one-liners, with a heroine who is vulnerable, funny, intelligent, and feels so real. I wish I'd written it!”
–Marian Keyes, internationally bestselling author of Anybody Out There?

“This book made me guffaw and took my breath away in equal, knocks-you-sideways measure. Confronting, heartbreaking, and hilarious—it is both a timely parable for modern anxiety as well as a timeless examination of men, women, sex, desire, friendship, family and the female psyche. I completely and utterly adored it.”
–Dolly Alderton, internationally bestselling author of Everything I Know About Love

“Emma's insight into the complexities of thirtysomething womanhood in a time of social media floored me. I've never felt so seen by a book. Generous, tender, and moving—a must-read.”
–Laura Jane Williams, author of Our Stop

"A sharp, funny tale of trying to be yourself in the age of Instagram."
–The Times (UK)

"Jenny McLaine is having something of a crisis when we meet her. This witty novel could not be more spot on for our day and age, told through texts, emails and social media posts as Jenny navigates floundering friendships, career failures and best of all, living again with her mother in her 30s."
–Newsweek, "40 Must-Read Fiction and Nonfiction Books to Savor This Spring"

“Jenny’s voice is strong, sharp, occasionally disgusting, and alternately charming and horrifying as she narrates every one of her stumbles through life. A bracing look at a breakdown that’s sometimes difficult to read but always completely captivating.”
–Kirkus Reviews

"Emma Jane Unsworth’s latest is chatty satire on our worst online behaviors. For fans of Fleabag."
–Marie Claire

"If you loved Fleabag as much as I did, this novel will take you 'across the pond' and fill you with the deep satisfaction that only dry, snarky humor can. Add some feminist themes, some clever observations about relationships, and you’ve got all you need for a girls’ night out from your own living room — except the wine!"
–Wendy Walker

“Unsworth’s wise and invigorating novel captures something essential in the ways Jenny rules, and is ruled by, her digital self; readers will be hooked.”
–Booklist

"[A] blistering tragicomic send-up of a life documented on Instagram.... Emails, internet searches, online posts, and even a screenplay comprise the varied and playful forms through which Jenny’s surprisingly poignant drama unfolds. Though directed squarely at millennials, Jenny’s stumbling journey toward authenticity will resonate with anyone who’s taken the bold, hard step of assessing their life without any filters."
–Publishers Weekly

“Grown Ups is being described as ‘Fleabag meets Conversations with Friends’ and also ‘a neurotic dramedy of 21st-century manners for the digital age,’ which are pretty much the same thing, the same thing being just what I want to read when I need to get away from the internet, and/or myself, and/or all my friends.”
–Lit Hub, "Most Anticipated Books of 2020"

"[C]aptures the millennial struggle with humor and honesty."
–PopSugar, "26 Incredible New Books Coming Your Way This August"

“Fans of Fleabag will love this hysterical account of a thirtysomething woman dealing with a rocky love life, an eccentric mother, and a slight (OK, significant) social media obsession. It's irreverent, it's sharp, and it will sneak up on your heart when you're busy giggling.”
–Good Housekeeping, “25 New Fall Books You Have to Read This Season”

SEPTEMBER 2020 - AudioFile

Chloe Massey’s nuanced narration is perfect for a story about older millennials whose lives are dominated by social media, feminist principles, and relationships. Jenny’s life is falling apart. She’s lost her newspaper column, her friends, and her roommates. What’s worse, her ex-boyfriend is now with a woman she’s been obsessed with on Instagram, and Jenny’s mother is moving in to help out. Massey emphatically groans out “ergs” and “args,” making relatable moments even more so. A frantic pace puts the listener in Jenny’s shoes, adding to the intentionally exhausting vibe of the story. The relief Jenny feels when things go right is palpable. Vicious draft messages never sent and read in aggressive tones enhance this comedic and touching book about emotional growing pains. A.L.C. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172684395
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	08/18/2020
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	984,780

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