Jami Attenberg's sharply drawn protagonist, Andrea, has such a riveting, propulsive voice that ALL GROWN UP is hard to put down, but I urge you to resist reading it in one sitting. I didn't want Andrea as a best friend, but I felt enriched by her take on the world. This novel takes a hard look at what it means to be a woman living on her own terms.Įxpect to see a copy on every sunlounger this summer. Jami Attenberg, this book is outstandingĪttenberg knows how to make a reader laugh and feel. I have never in my life finished the last page of a book and wanted to open to page one and start all over again. Thank you Jami.Īttenberg writes with a scalpel, and has presented one of the finest, and most unexpected, character studies you're likely to read all year. This is a good proud urban book, a sad and specific blast for the fearless to read. Is all life junk - sparkly and seductive and devastating - just waiting to be told correctly by someone who will hold our hand and walk with us a while confirming that what we're living is true. a delight and a superb character study.Īttenberg is one of our finest contemporary storytellers, and here, with her trademark clever, witty voice, she tackles the age-old question plaguing people of all ages: When do we know if we're actually all grown up? Attenberg has created a tangle of characters with flesh on their bones, and Andrea is the most multifaceted of them all.

Positively bristles with energy and newness. Smart, heartfelt, and really freakin' funny.

All grown up by jami attenberg