Perfectly serviceable summer read. I lost interest in the characters about halfway in, particularly since I could kind of see where the story was going. Good choice for poolside reading.

Not bad. Dragged on a lot longer than it should have in a few places, which kind of damaged the sense of tension, but otherwise not bad.

I like this book kind of in the way I like [b: The Party|32620309|The Party|Robyn Harding|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1496760152s/32620309.jpg|53207995] and [b: Do Not Become Alarmed|33155774|Do Not Become Alarmed|Maile Meloy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1482644401s/33155774.jpg|53849349], in the sense that some of the characters are TERRIBLE, but they're supposed to be that way. More than once I wanted to slap Julia and Gwen upside the head: Gwen was absolutely a self-absorbed little brat, and Julia trying to push all the responsibility for the

Spoiler

pregnancy/relationship off on Nathan- who she calls a frickin' SEX OFFENDER, despite being barely a year older than Gwen

was disgusting.

Nathan and James have their own crap, but Julia and Gwen really got on my nerves. But much like those other two books I mentioned, their perspectives are not portrayed as the absolute Right. you're shown many perspectives, and as the saying goes, "the truth is somewhere in the middle".

Put it this way: More than half of this book, I would pause and picture this family doing a segment on "Dr. Phil" and gleefully imagined him ripping each and every one of them a new asshole.

This novel was tedious and disappointing. I really enjoyed the author's first novel, The Innocents, which is a modern day version of Wharton's The Age of Innocence and the reason why I picked up this book. Unfortunately, the story in The Awkward Age was predictable, the characters unlikeable the pace agonizingly slow. I found myself skimming just to get to the end. Had I not enjoyed her first novel, I would have abandoned this book.

Messy, complex, realistic storytelling of blending of families and cultures. The story is about the fractured lines of parents and teen pregnancy -- the humbling failures that sometimes follows parents as they try to create or recreate family harmony with their sometimes unrealistic hopes/dreams they superimpose on their kids lives. Enjoyed the karmic redress analogy.

LOVED, LOVED the narration by Jayne Entwistle.

This book had an interesting premise, but I found a majority of the characters to be annoying. The worst thing about the book is how it droned on about minute details that really didn’t matter at all. I thought the ending was wise but it took me a long time to finish the book because I disliked it so much.

I liked the writing but the ending left me 'meh'.

I've never wanted to scream at characters more

My favorite aspect if this was how each sentence was purposeful. Once I get established in a book I start to skim a bit and that backfired on me in this book every time. I'd have to go back to read what I'd missed. A paragraph would end in an entirely different place than it started. Details would circle around many pages later. Plus, all the sentences were GOOD. I enjoyed carefully reading them.

3.5 stars. Everyone in this novel makes stupid decisions. But it is entertaining nonetheless.