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.