I read The Innocents years ago and had the exact same issue then as I had with this novel. I liked not a single one of the characters. Not a solitary single one. Slightly Adam's poor unfortunate wife but even she would have been better off shoving him out the door and going it alone. These are incredibly privileged people being spoiled and complaining when they do not get their way. I suspect that Segal is not the author for me at this is now two for two that I have not gotten on with. The writing is great, highly sophisticated etc but it is a real slog when you feel utterly disengaged about whether things work out well or not for the protagonists.

I found all the characters a bit smug and unpleasant! I struggled to believe in the relationship between Gwen and Nathan and I think this spoiled my enjoyment of the novel.

Starting a new life as a couple with two strange teenagers at home - one for each new member of the family - could be hilarious, demanding, awkward, almost impossible. Julia and James assume they love each other enough to overcome the tremendous challenges. But it seems they underestimated both Gwen and Nathan. Would their relationship prevail against all odds? Does love win, after all? Depends what kind of love you have in mind.
The Awkward Age seems at first a book that never ends and after a while you just feel yourself that it will not because teenage years are like this - for both the teen and its adult entourage. In fact though, things are moving on and on, pushing limits and destroying other people lives, selfishly. Actually, everyone in this story seems a bit too self absorbed and their own world is self-sufficient. If not some references about streets and places in London and UK, you might place the middle class story anywhere on the planet. All the characters, regardless their age, they are living in their own universe where there are no politics, social worries or financial constraints. A bit unrealistic for me, regardless how far on the Heath you are living.
For a couple of good pages, I remarked that in the story the focus is mostly on the women while the men are somehow in the shadow, although they give the tone of the women' lives. Somehow, this was on purpose, as it shows in fact a certain dynamic, where women may always feel guilty for their choices, especially if they are mothers of daughters, while men are aimed to have a professional career and a freedom of their own that regardless of their status, most women do not have such a priviledge and it seems there is always something they can refuse themselves when it comes to the choice between their personal life and their roles as women.
Despite the slow pace and some 'inside the bubble' inadequacies, The Awkward Age is a book that makes you think over and over again about the hardships of assigned family roles. And teenagers are, anyway, a different kind of beasts.

Rating: 3.5 stars

‘The Awkward Age’ by Francesca Segal tells the story of widowed piano teacher Julia Alden and American doctor James Fuller, a middle-aged couple who have recently moved in together with their teenage children from previous relationships. Julia’s daughter Gwen and James’s son Nathan are initially at loggerheads but the step-siblings later begin a relationship of their own resulting in Gwen’s pregnancy.

The title of the novel is something of an understatement. ‘The Awkward Age’ posits an uncomfortable, morally ambiguous, frustrating and very messy scenario in which there are no immediate solutions or happy outcomes for anyone involved. Segal makes some brilliantly unnerving observations about the nuances of dysfunctional middle-class family dynamics with some great set-pieces such as the trip to Boston and strong supporting characters like Phillip and Iris, the parents of Julia’s first husband.

I had some reservations about the realism of the situation such as how the teenage pregnancy would be handled in that demographic of North London and there were times when I thought Gwen appeared to be much younger than sixteen years old in terms of her behaviour and attitude. However, these improbabilities are what make the story so brilliantly uncomfortable, emphasising Gwen’s naivety and the consequences of Julia's molly-coddling parenting after being widowed.

‘The Awkward Age’ is a strong second novel by Francesca Segal – witty, nuanced and above all toe-curlingly exasperating all at the same time.

I just couldn’t get what this book was, a Young Adult teenage drama, or just a drama.

It’s well written, and the language is poetic and times but as often happens the novel is full of selfish people who only seem to think of themselves.

Unfortunately another one that was just not for me.

Loved it. Poignant and observant - and even though it was too close to home sometimes, it made me laugh out loud.

Really loved this - Segal writes so fluidly and it's an incredibly versatile book in terms of recommendations: you could give it to almost anyone, of almost any age, and they'd find someone to identify with in its pages. The inclusion of the grandparents' generation is particularly clever, and lifts the potentially melodramatic teen-pregnancy plot. Segal's willingness to write deeply annoying, but deeply sympathetic, characters is also commendable. We're already sending this out to a lot of customers and I'll be hand-selling it too!

It is a bit of a lopsided family. Julia after being devoted to her daughter Gwen for five years, where she has been the total and only focus of her life, has fallen deeply in love with James. James brings to the mix his quirky son Nathan. Then there is Iris and Phillip very much part of Julia and Gwen's lives. The loyal and supportive parents of David, Gwen's father and Julia's husband who died five years ago.

The story traverses the pitfalls of such situations - and the frailty and perverse nature of humans who are selfish and only see their situation from a point of view which is advantageous to them and them alone. Gwen cannot bear that her mother is happy and not just happy but incandescently happy with James. She cannot believe it either. She feels abandoned and alone. Nathan is sneering and rude, disruptive and a mess. That eventually two teenagers living in one house will develop feelings for each other is inevitable, but not obvious to the two parents who live there. When it does happen they are shocked out of their wits and each one secretly hates the other person's child. How is a loving relationship going to survive in the midst of so much secret antagonism. Then Iris and Phillip - Iris strong willed and Phillip very mild who springs the biggest surprise of it all. The impact on all is felt and on Iris it is an avalanche of feeling, repulsion and revulsion!!!

The story told from the three different units of couples was complex, interesting, varied and kept me on the go from the first page to the last. Human nature at its best and at its worst.
Goodreads and Amazon review up on 4/7/2017. Review on my blog on 4/9/2017

Readers who enjoy contemporary family sagas that focus on love in later life and teenage children will find this is worth a read. The Awkward Age an interesting contemporary family drama about two parents, Julia and James who meet up in late middle age and fall in love. Julia is a widow with a sixteen year old daughter, Gwen, to whom she is very close. James is a divorced American obstetrician who moves in with Julia and brings his seventeen year old son Nathan with him. Gwen hates both James, who has taken her mother away from her, and Nathan. Julia has remained close to her in-laws, who are divorced but pay a lot of attention to both Julia and Gwen's lives. James' ex wife, based in America, is also interfering especially where Nathan is concerned.

I didn't like any of the large range of characters particularly but I remained interested in them simply because they all had flaws. One or two plot lines felt a little false as the book neared the end. I'm not sure that if I was a mother in Julia's shoes and met a new love later on in life I'd want to know what pitfalls can happen. But where the book was realistic it worked well and I'm sure it will be very successful. Thanks to NetGalley and RandomHouse/Vintage/Chatto&Windus for the opportunity to read and review The Awkward Age.

The Awkward Age is a witty, observational novel about families, love, and how circumstance works out. Two families unite as James and his teenage son Nathan move in with Julia and her similarly aged daughter Gwen.. James and Julia want to live in bliss, in the happiness of finding love, but their children don’t get along and seem to resent their new living situation. What then occurs is a tale of parents trying to find the best for their children, even at the extent of their own personhood, whilst other family members look on and offer their opinions.

Segal’s novel is an enjoyable read written in a light style. Its third person narrative jumps between the points of view of characters quickly, showing just how much opinions on one scene can differ. This can be a little disorientating at times, but mostly works to comic effect, especially with regards to how James and Julia view each others’ child. The characters in the novel are all flawed, showing witty observation of how people with very different outlooks might come together and how circumstance can make these differences come to a head. Segal can be harsh to all of the main characters, which gives a quite cutting feel but may not be to the tastes of people who want to like the major characters. Gwen in particular can be relatable and dislikable at once, perhaps due to her position in the narrative.

The book is an amusing read, similar to Mark Haddon’s adult fiction. It is a good single-sitting novel with a fairly predictable plot and decently interesting characters, exposing the comedy and difficulties when life takes unexpected turns.

Since her husband died of cancer five years ago, Julia has raised her daughter Gwen alone. Unexpectedly, she falls in love with James whom she teaches to play the piano. Quickly James moves in Julia’s and Gwen’s house and also brings his son Nathan. Gwen and Nathan, both teenagers, are not happy with the new situation. Gwen misses the time when her mother was only focussed on her, Nathan still struggles with his parents‘ divorce and his sister living abroad. The unexpected happens: Nathan and Gwen find out that the other isn’t as bad as they had thought and another unexpected love starts to blossom in the household. The parents are furious when they find out, but the situation gets even worse when 16-year-old Gwen realises that she is pregnant.

Francesca Segal really achieves to make the characters of her novel seem lively and authentic. This is for me the most striking aspect of “The Awkward Age”. Julia who cannot fully immerse in her new love, since she is still close to her deceased husband’s parents and does not want to hurt their feelings even though they encourage her new love. Her own feelings towards her daughter, being caught again and again between the girl and her new partner – one can sense how complicated her emotional life is in those crucial months that the novel covers. I also liked Gwen a lot even though to some extent she is a typical hormone-driven teenager who sometimes falls back into infantile and inadequate behaviour. The grand-parents also struggle with their love life. Even though they have been separated for many years, Iris suddenly feels something like jealousy when Philip falls in love with another woman. Love can be a highly complicated matter.

The most interesting were Julia and James when their kids were fighting. Even though as a couple they are meant to stand on the same side, they frequently find themselves taking their respective children’s defence and opposing each other. It is those complex emotional states that make the novel outstanding since Francesca Segal created conflicts which are absolutely credible and authentic and in which those predicaments can show themselves – quite a crucial test for a new love.

Even though the main conflict is centred around the teenagers, I would not call it young adult novel, the other generations are as present as the youngsters and they quite well portray that love can be complicated no matter how old you are.