The Grown Ups audiobook

1/27/15-Now Available!This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life. 4 Stars!I ended up being completely sucked into this book. After I was invested in the story, I had such a hard time putting this book down and found myself telling my family members that I needed "just one more minute" on the day I read this book. Anyone who reads a lot can tell you that that is a sign of a really good book. This story is told from three points of view over the course of 15 years. During this story, we watch Sam, Suzie, and Bella grow from the awkward age of 15 to their adult years at 30. I think that most readers who are in their adult years will relate to this story because everyone know how hard it is to find your way in the world and deal with the multitude of issues in our lives.Sam, Suzie, and Bella are part of a larger group of friends who somehow manage to stay together. These three are impacted by their fair share of problems: divorce, alcoholism, relationships, marriage, career choices, and caring for an aging parent to name a few. Each chapter is a moment in time in one of the three characters intersecting lives. Their lives and decisions all impact one another in varying ways because of how their lives have become intertwined. This was one of those rare books where I found that I actually liked all of the characters. That doesn't mean that I liked everything that they did because some of their actions were just horrible. I liked these characters even though they made some horrible decisions and I guess I can relate because I have made a few of those myself. I loved the relationships between the characters and thought that their portrayal was incredibly realistic.I must admit that I had a hard time getting into this book and the story did not immediately grab me. After I read a few chapters, I started to relate and eventually couldn't put the book down. This book doesn't have a big mystery and nothing is tied up in a pretty bow at the end. This book is a snapshot of a period of time in the life of a group of friends. We can only imagine what comes next for Sam, Bella, and Suzie. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who love an intriguing coming of age story. This is the first book by Robin Antalek that I have had a chance to read and I thought her writing style was simply wonderful. I plan to look for other works by this very talented author in the future.I received a copy of this book from William Morrow via Edelweiss for the purpose of providing an honest review.

I really LOVED this book. I loved that it followed a group of friends through the good, bad and ugly times. There is so much heart, honesty and truth in the pages of this novel. This is a coming a age story that focuses on a group of friends as time ebbs and flows. I love that there are no loose ends upon finishing the novel and that the novel highlights the ups and downs of family, love, friendship. The story made me both ache for the times of high school and college while simultaneously making me happy those times are long gone. I laughed, cried and felt connected to the characters. I felt a deep sense of wanting things to work out while watching them all make mistakes...both little and big. In the end I felt satisfied that they were all going to be ok...that things would work out. My heart is both a little broken and happy at the same time...but isn't that life?

I loved this book. I really did. Normally there's at least something I didn't like about one of the characters or how it was written when a book spans across so much time and gives you the point of view of several characters. The really great thing is that even though you may not have dedicated points of view of a lot of the characters, Robin Antalek writes so incredibly well that you know these characters. You get it. You get what they feel, why they are doing the things they are doing, and it's like you actually know these people and you've grown up right with them. The story is mainly about Sam, who after falling into a boyhood lust with Suzie, kind of finds himself adrift in life. Suzie moved away when they were still in high school bu can read more abut not without revealing something kind of catastrophic to a teenage boy. Not only that, Sam's mother abruptly leaves him, his brother, and his father behind and so while reeling from Suzie's departure, he's now dealing with his mother's unexplained escape. Sam's older brother goes to college and Sam... well he kind of makes it. He finds himself in a relationship with Bella, one of Suzie's best friends, and though it's a comfortable, predictable, and non-demanding relationship, it's also not as exciting as what he had with Suzie. Though he'll never know for sure if what he felt for Suzie was reciprocated, he's not sure what to do with any of it. And then when Bella's mom dies, Suzie unexpectedly returns for the funeral. Easily, one of the best lines out of the book was this: "They were here now, all of them. Relationships slightly rearranged, but still together. That was more than any of them would have imagined years before. They had watched their parents stumble and vowed never to do the same, only to fail one another in different ways. They experienced love, but they also caused disappointment and sorrow. They felt fear, and they knew loss. They ran away, only to return."I mean, can't we all relate to that in some way? The great thing about this book is that every single character goes through something that we have all been in. Marriage, divorce, death, financial problems, college woes, feeling unsuccessful and unsure in life, Feeling like a disappointment and confused when your parents don't regard you as such. Watching parents age, and then sometimes die and questioning if you had been good enough of a kid all along, if you should be doing more, but also being afraid to do more because it makes their impending loss from life seem more real. I'll be honest, it was a bit of a slow go at first. I thought immediately I was going to hate some of the characters, but then I got hooked. I think it was right after Bella's mom died because I could empathize with how she felt as her mother was dying and then how she felt immediately after. And then, I just fell in love. If you are someone who has life long friends, maybe they come and go in your life, but you know that no matter what, they'll always be back- this is definitely a book for you.

An unexpected surprise. I had a hard time putting this book down. Good characters and a good story of first loves, friendship and growing up.

4.5 stars!! Really enjoyed digging into this novel about childhood friends growing up. It's told in alternate voices: Sam, Susie and Bella. It starts in the summer at Susie's 15th birthday party when everyone got sick and a father was found to have been having affairs with all the neighborhood wives (or at least taking naughty pictures of them) and the fall out from that. Sam is in love with Susie and then she moves, and we read about the fall out from that. A lot happens just like in life but there is no big plot, which is just the kind of story I love. Character driven realistic fiction where you glimpse a little of your teen self and young adult self in well written chapters.

My Thoughts:The Grownups was a bittersweet look in to the lives of Sam, Bella, Suzie, and Michael. It's a story that spanned glimpses from childhood, high school, college, and adulthood. This is a story that everyone should be able to relate to in one way or another. We learn about first crushes, kisses, loves, self discovering, and growing in to the person that you want to become. There were moments of heartache, heartbreak, excitement, passion, healing, and peace.Sam and Michael may be brothers, but they couldn't be more different. Sam is the younger brother. He is carefree, optimistic, and enjoyed adventure, and discovering new things. Unfortunately, he has a tendency to run away when things gets tough, and has trouble to committing to anything in his life. He has always felt inferior to his older brother, Michael, who is highly intelligent, dedicated, ambitious, and dreams of becoming a doctor. When their mother leaves their father, and abandons them to live in another state, live with a much younger man, and make goat cheese, it effects them in different ways. This has a lasting effect on Sam's life, whereas Michael seems to cope with it better.Suzie and Bella are best friends. Suzie is dealing with the fact that her father is a cheater who has been with most of the most of the neighborhood mom's, and Bella has her own pain to deal with as she watches her mother die a slow and very painful death before her very eyes. The summer Suzie and Sam are fifteen years old, they spend a lot of time together. They confide in each other, support one another, and participate in a physical relationship. At the end of summer, Suzie, is forced to move while her parents try to have a fresh start. Sam is devastated, and Suzie losses touch with him, Bella, and all of their mutual neighborhood friends. Bella has always had a huge crush on Sam, but felt like she was second best. After Suzie leaves Sam and Bella have an on again off again friends with benefits type of relationship.Everyone is reunited many years later when they return for Bella's mother's funeral. Sam is upset and a bit shocked when he finds out that Michael and Suzie are involved in a relationship. As Sam, Bella, Michael, and Suzie grow up, they will experience, love and loss, pain and bliss, and discover what is most important in their lives, but one thing is for certain, they will always be there for each other.My Rating:The Grown Ups, by Robin Antalek, was true to life. This story put me through the emotional wringer, and not just because of the love relationships. I connected most with, Bella. She was sweet, down to earth, loving, kind, loyal, and compassionate. My heart broke for all of the challenges that these characters faced regarding their families. If you enjoy realistic fiction, coming of age stories, and the friends to lovers trope, read The Grown Ups. It will make you laugh and cry, and experience intense emotions right along with the main characters! My Favorite Quote:"They had watched their parents stumble and vowed never to do the same, only to fail one another in entirely different ways. They experienced love, but they also caused disappointment and sorrow. They felt fear, and they knew loss. They ran away, only to return." (eARC, Loc. 5380)~Sam*To Read More Book Reviews, Visit A Bookish Escape at http;//www.abookishescape.com

They say “Don't judge a book by its cover,” this is one time when I'm glad I dived in without taking much notice of the front cover. When I began to read this book, I had absolutely know idea where the plot would lead. I admit I wasn't immediately struck with the story but somehow after a few pages it gripped me in a way I can only describe as spellbinding! Sam, Bella and Suzie live in the same neighbourhood, attending the same school. It's 1997, they're fifteen years old and carefree. They're completely oblivious to the fact that all their lives are about to change forever. Until then, Sam spends an idyllic Summer, not quite understanding why he is the focus of Suzie's attention, but enjoys the awakening feelings that stir within him. Then suddenly, everything changes! Suzie leaves town with her younger brothers as their parents attempt to re-build their failing marriage in a new location. Already devastated, Sam sees his own mother walking out of their family home, leaving him and his brother Michael with their Father. Bella lost her best friend when Suzie moved away so she and Sam comfort one another. Over the course of the following decade we follow each one of them during their transition from being a free teenagers to mature adults.Robin Antalek has written an intriguing ensemble. Each character eventually heads off in different direction, but somehow manage to make their way back to each other over a period of years. Things never go back to how they originally were, but they're all still very much connected. Gut-wrenching at times, us the readers go on a roller-coaster of a ride as we follow these three young people. With alternating points of view, we feel their emotions and live their challenges as new life events assault them from many directions. Our three protagonists deal with some hefty life issues including heartbreaking dementia and miscarriage, which the author deals with in a sensitive and realistic way.The only reason I didn't award this 5 stars is because I felt overwhelmed at times trying to keep track of which person belonged to which thread of the plot. Other than that I am completely in awe of the author's ability to draw me into this enthralling novel.4½ Stars ***arc received courtesy of publisher William Morris in exchange for an honest review***

"The Grown Ups" is the story of Susie, Sam, and Bella and by extension, Michael, who is Sam's brother. When the book opens they are teenagers. It's the things that they do as teenagers that will shape them into the adults that they become. This book is really interesting because it looks at each of the characters throughout their formative years, those strange years from being a teenager to being a full fledged adult. Each chapter of the book focuses on a different character in a different time period. We see them first as teenagers and then college-age kids and then adults. This book tracks the trajectory that each of their lives take and how even after they flee the comfort of their suburban neighborhood, their lives continue to be interwoven with each other.I really enjoyed this book. I think anyone who has gone through the transition between those strange years as a teenager to trying to find ourselves in college to becoming a full-fledged adult who has to do adult things will get something out of this book. In many ways this book is a traditional bildungsroman tale about all three of these characters. They start out not really knowing what their future lives are going to be like. Each life is different. Suzie knows what she wants. Bella thinks she knows what she wants but may not really know. Sam has no idea what he wants.I really like the way that this book was written. At first I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about the characters as we only get to see them every so often throughout each of the different sections. However, the author has a really great way of making the reader understand what is going on in each of the characters heads. We see them succeed. We see them struggle. We see them try to make a sense of the world where they are supposed to eventually be the adults even when it feels like they really don't want to. It was that part of the book that really hit home for me. I think I was particularly struck by the way that the author was able to show how sometimes even as an adult you wake up and wonder how exactly you got to wear you are. Overall, this was a good story.

This fabulous book arrived wrapped in brown paper as part of the BookSparks 2015 Summer Reading Challenge which made me absolutely giddy. There’s nothing better than the arrival of a new book and the promise of hours of delving deep into the fictional reality of new characters. Unwrapping it was great fun and I was so eager to read this title knowing it was written by the author of The Summer We Fell Apart (HarperCollins, January 2010 release, chosen as a Target Breakout Book).The Grown Ups by Robin Antalek is a novel with rich story complexities and sentences so dense with character development, each new chapter will leave you feeling rising empathy for the young Suzie, Sam, and Bella.Left to make sense of their parents’ complicated lives (all unhappy, some unfaithful, another gravely ill), the three adolescents at the heart of the narrative come of age as members of a neighborhood that’s both comforting and dysfunctional. With the turn of each page, their stories deepen, and you see the power and the pain interconnectedness brings. Ironically, a death brings them together, love tears them apart.The novel spans ten years with chapters that alternate between three point-of-view characters. There’s friendship, a love triangle, sibling rivalry, death, loads of childhood memories, and lots of unanswered questions about the true nature of the people you love. There’s great beauty in the writing as it captures all of the raw and pure tendencies of Suzie, Bella, and Sam as they experiment with their bodies and try to make sense of their emotions.I couldn’t put it down. It’s a book that hooked me so deeply into the story my eight-year-old son had to find me in the living room then tap me on the knee to tell me I forgot to fix supper.Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Julie Valerie's Book Blog: www.julievalerie.com

This book was wonderfully written. The story begins in adolescence and travels over a decade into adulthood. Every theme is touched upon so beautifully and realistically - family, friendship, parenting, love, loss, jealousy, sacrifice, forgiveness, and the list goes on. It's hard to find a book for people my age that conveys what its like to be in this place where your friends are engaged, married, having children, in the midst of ticking off all their life-long goals, while you feel trapped in a sort of limbo trying to catch up to them. Antalek reminds the reader that everyone goes through life at their own pace. Some people seem to fly through life with ease as if they just have all the luck. But, everyone has their own internal battles that you might not know about. The best thing is to stay focused on what you are doing and not on what everyone else is doing. A book with this many layers can sometimes be overwhelming and difficult to read. But, Robin Antalek did a fantastic job of keeping the drama to a minimum and making the experiences more realistic.

This novel spans the course of more than a decade but begins with the lives of three teens who are sort of friends. Each teen has their own issues they are dealing with, but their commonality are the difficulties that their parents are dealing with. One of the teens has a sick mother, another has a father who likes to cheat, and the other has a mother who likes to cheat as well. The book follows the lives of these three main characters: Sam, Bella and Suzie as they explore different relationships, marriage and more. The characters are well written and realistic and the secondary characters are very well developed as well. This was one of the better family dramas I have read in a long while.

This is the story of some teenagers growing up and then following them to adulthood. The central focal point of the novel is about Sam who has a tremendous crush on a girl named Suzie. She leads him along but he is taking the relationship far more seriously than she is. When she gives him the heave ho it takes him years (if ever) to rid himself of this infatuation. Lots of family drama in this one and I am not sure that this cast of characters ever truly act like grown ups even when they are older but perhaps that is the point of it all.

My favorite book in a very long time.I loved this book! I adored the narrative structure and how multiple stories were told through a few character's perspectives. I did not want it to end and stretched out the final chapters, sad to let go of the story. This book fills me with nostalgia and makes me reach out to my close friends, eager to see them and to create new memories, while we reflect upon the past.

I will admit that the cover drew me in. I love it! Reminds me of one of my favorite TV shows, Parenthood (if you haven't watched it, you are totally missing out!). Often times in life you wonder what might have been if your past went a different path, if you didn't move away, or if you acted on your feelings at the time instead of waiting. This book covers the aspect of young love and the evolution of friendships over the years. This was a relatable read and I enjoyed the book.