Everyone told me I would love this book and everyone is right. Reminds me of so many of the college-age-relationship-books that have come out lately, but this one is my favorite. It's like if Sally Rooney characters were less annoying because they are real and not just mousy skinny smart girls.

I would mark this down as a quiet, curious read. We start out with our main character, Natalie. Fresh-faced post-secondary student, trying to find herself. Is she in the right career path, taking the right classes? Is she with the people she wants to be around? How is she going to carve her path in adulthood? And then Nora arrives, seemingly out of nowhere. Certainly a more adultier-adult (Natalie being 18, Nora being significantly older - though never stated).
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What grows from their initial interaction is a relationship that will have you guessing. As it twists and turns around the life of a student we begin to notice there are parts of Nora that just aren't being revealed. My curiosity drove me through this novel, I had to know the full Nora.
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The power-dynamic is a very big focus here. Natalie's determination to be seen as an adult by the woman she is in love with is so earnest to the point of uncomfortable at times and a strong reminder of the maturity differences between someone just starting the path of adulthood vs a more experienced adult.
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I really enjoyed this queer, coming-of-age novel. Definitely check it out! It would be a great one for book clubs.

I recommend going into this book blind to get a full experience! I was mesmerized by the story. For a debut, I thought it was brilliantly written and told. It's a coming of age and I can never stay away from a coming-of-age story! The Adult is about a woman moving from a small town to then navigating college and relationships. A lot of myself growing up is very much how Natalie was written. I think a lot of people can relate to the innocence. You see her navigating a relationship with another older woman and you feel a lot of things for Natalie throughout this, especially compassion since you're ultimately in Natalie's head (even about the most mundane things - I loved it). Definitely recommend and can't wait to read more from Bronwyn Fischer!

An impressive debut! I had been burnt out on coming-of-age stories for young adult characters, but this one hooked me back in. I enjoyed the themes and the queer representation in this. The extra cast of characters was a strong point for me, too; I really enjoyed the dynamics of the various characters that come in and out of Natalie's life.

Very lyrical writing, and the author had such an ability to draw you in and make you care for the protagonist. I really liked it, but I do think there have been a lot of similar books lately and I just don’t know if this did end up distinguishing itself from them. However, I really enjoyed it and definitely recommend if you like campus novels!

Everything I wanted it to be and more. Bronwyn Fischer nailed the anxiety and insecurity of an 18-year-old alone and lost at college. It was gripping from the first sentence and I have not stopped thinking about it since I finished it.

Based on the premise, I was unsure if I would enjoy this book. It wasn't enthralling for me, and it was slow-paced until the end when the action picked up. I struggled to get through this book because Natalie was a bit boring. I understand that a major point of the book is that Natalie is trying to find out who she is and become someone, but her portrayal is very bland. I did want her to be okay, but it was because many of her situations were cringe.

I gave this book 3 stars because the prose was well-written despite being boring at times. I can see others enjoying this book, and I think that this book works well for people who enjoy coming-of-age stories.

Thank you to Algonquin Books for an ARC copy of this book, and I have provided my honest review.

This was one of those books that's hard to explain why I loved it.
It was beautifully written, but that's just the half of it. I never went to college but I see myself reflected in Natalie's life there. I just really connected with it. It's something you either get or you don't and for me, I did.

I was immediately drawn in to the synopsis as it reminded me of <i>My Last Innocent Year</i>, which I read earlier this year and loved! This is the third book I've read this year that is coming of age and literary fiction with an age gap. That being said, I think that if it had been my first, I would've loved it more.

This is a "no plot, all vibes" type of read, which I really love reading. If you're looking for that type of read, this will definitely be up your alley! I would definitely read any future books Bronwyn Fischer comes out with, because I did enjoy her writing style.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for the e-arc.<i>

🌈 i LOVED this lesbian coming-of-age story because it had that sad girl main character energy that I can't get enough of. Add this one to your pride month reads, or just read it anytime because it's a seriously great book.
#deweyrating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sometimes I felt like I was back in my high school creative writing class while reading Bronwyn Fischer’s debut novel The Adult. (That’s not a dig, I was among very talented peers.) Her writing is so descriptive, free, and fluid, giving it a dreamy quality. Who is the real “adult” in this story, Natalie or Nora? This was a true queer coming of age journey over the course of a year filled with some hard lessons. Natalie may look back on this experience with Nora and it may feel like it was a year dream. Despite those lessons and maturation, she really did have a blissful experience with first love. Did I side eye the age difference and think Nora was like a mother at times? Sure did. But let’s face it…who hasn’t made regrettable mistakes in their youth? Natalie came out of the experience stronger, more confident, and self assured. I fully believe that she is the true “adult.” I really enjoyed this book and look forward to seeing what Fischer writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for the opportunity to read and honestly review this ARC.

I found this painfully slow but if you are looking for queer coming of age stories, these might work for you.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book! I read a queer romance novel last year with an ostensibly similar premise, but this book is definitively literary fiction rather than romance. The twist toward the end was very predictable, but that didn't take away from the overall storytelling and character development. The author did a great job capturing that sense of being eighteen and walking that line between youth and adulthood.

this book reminds me so much of the price of salt and like how i said in my review of it, there is something very “wrong” to be in a relationship with such a huge age gap. natalie was eighteen, and while nora’s age was never clearly mentioned, i would guess she was in her thirties. if this situation happened between an adult man and a teenage girl, we could easily accuse the man as a predator, and as much nora didn’t harm natalie in a way a predator would, in the end i could still say that nora took natalie under her care because she knew she could be in much greater control.

there’s always a power imbalance in this relationship. natalie would always feel anxious and insecure for her to stand on the same ground as nora. she would always feel left out for nora had always been ahead in everything.

and this by no means criticizes the book for having such a theme. in fact, we do need this kind of coming-of-age story, to show why it is important to have a power balance in a relationship.

i adore this book, particularly in its attempt to answer, or the lack thereof, the questions and problems that arise as a part of growing up. i rarely feel connected to a coming-of-age story but this one is different. i like this book much better (than the price of salt) for the way it made me feel certain things; the curiosity we had when we turned 18 and thought that we were finally an adult. the feeling of finally being away from home and discovering things we could call our own decisions.. also our first time falling and understanding that after all, we knew not much of this world, that we couldn’t understand the adults at all. this book brought me back those feelings and got me thinking back on these past 7 years and if anything had changed at all since i was 18.

thus i also feel the title is so fitting; whether it refers to nora, who was “the adult” for natalie, or refers to natalie herself as she was trying to be “the adult” to level herself with nora.

i know nothing was solved in the end; no one asked for forgiveness and no one forgave anyone either. we all just moved on while reminiscing those memories as our past. just as how most of us deal with life—we just moved on. and maybe that’s what makes this story beautiful.

Natalie arrives at her first year of University in Toronto and everyone seems to know exactly who they are… except her. She then meets Nora, a woman several years older than her, and what happens next is both beautiful and heartbreaking. This coming of age story captures what it’s like to be a young queer person trying to navigate through personal relationships and the complexities that come with them.

The Adult evoked a lot of emotions out of me. I know that very specific sadness that comes with realizing what you thought was true love was actually infatuation - a longing for “what could be” rather than what it actually was. I felt like I was reading parts of my own life in Natalie’s story. I know Natalie, I was Natalie. I think a lot of queer people will see parts of Natalie in themselves and know it’s okay to not know who you are.

This surprised me. I didn’t know what to expect and I got so much from it. I felt like this book took me back and allowed me to love my younger self in a way I haven’t previously been able to. And I wish I could give 18 y/o me a hug and tell him “it really will be okay”

Thanks Netgalley for an eArc of this book!

I went in to this book expecting I would love it based on the premise alone. Unfortunately, I only kind of liked it. It was not particularly gripping or enthralling for me; the pace kind of slogged on and it felt like nothing ever really happened until the end, where everything started happening at once. My reading experience felt somewhat bland. I didn’t struggle to get through it but I also wasn’t excited to read it. And at the end, I felt mostly like “oh, that’s it? Okay.” It was just okay.

Natalie was honestly a little boring, which I understand is kind of her thing, but that’s still boring. She barely felt like a person (again, I get that that’s the point, she’s trying to find out who she is and become someone) but I felt like as a main character and narrator there could have been a little more of an edge to lean on here. Instead, it felt like she just drifted through the story and only occasionally offered any introspection or thoughtfulness. I did feel for her and want her to be okay, but I think that was more due to the fact that the situations she found herself in were so cringe-worthy I wanted them to stop than out of an abundance of like for her as a character. I felt like the side characters, like Nora and Clara, were similarly opaque and nebulous. I think Jones and Rachel were a little more fleshed out, and I did like their side plot situation a lot and found it interesting. Rachel in particular was certainly something—as an English student in uni I have met countless Rachels who act exactly like that, lol, so the added depth to her character at the end was really interesting!

The prose didn’t particularly move me. I’ve read some reviews saying it’s really good and I think it is really good and really well-written but it feels very stagnant and boring at times. There are some really insightful metaphors and turns of phrase in here, but most of the time the prose is a series of declarative statements one after the other. It is definitely atmospheric like the synopsis says but it is not gripping.

That said, I definitely can see others really enjoying this book and wouldn’t write it off for someone else. The moments of introspection do offer insight into the mind of someone just breaching the socially agreed upon threshold of adulthood with a level of authenticity and honesty that reminded me of my own terrible first year in uni. It is a slow and meditative story that touches on a lot but doesn’t dig into any conclusive answers or resolutions. If that’s something that interests you, this book could catch your eye.

"As Nora slept, I imagined a cold creek rolling through the grooves of her mind. A dream where ther inner thoughts were rinsing themselves, basking in the streaming water. I thought it would be wonderful to go to sleep, full of complication, full of knots, and for those dense points to have drifted free by morning."

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Natalie is a college freshman living in the big city for the first time. She grew up rather sheltered and is suddenly experiencing independence and all the world truly has to offer. She's a bit introverted and shy. We follow her as she meets her dorm mates, takes her poetry class and meets an older woman in the park. She is quickly overwhelmed and searching for comfort and finds it with this older woman. But she hides herself from her friends, not telling any of them she is gay or who she is really seeing. 

The narrative reminded me a lot of a Sally Rooney novel. Fischer really well captures that moment of youth where you are really testing the waters of who you are away from your parents. Natalie reminded me a lot of my early college days where I was trying on new personas and trying decide what was important to me. I felt so deeply for Natalie when she realizes what is really going on and yet most of the novel was frustrated with her naivety and willingness to keep things at surface level. 

The writing style is really beautiful and while a lot of it takes place in and around a poetry class, it was really accessible, especially for someone like me who finds poetry daunting. I would say to read this one if you liked My Dark Vanessa or Vladimir (although there is no explicit scenes in this one, the themes are similar).

Thanks to Algonquin Books for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own.

I loved the premise of the book. As a coming-of-age story, it captured the essence of what it means to be a young person in college, complete with all the angst and uncertainty that comes with it.

One of the things that stood out to me about this book was how well the author captured the experience of being a young person in college. From the uncertainty of choosing a major to the constant pressure to fit in with the right crowd, the book felt like a true-to-life portrayal of what it's like to be a college student. I could relate to the protagonist and her struggles, which made the book all the more engaging.

That being said, there were times when I felt like the author may have overwritten certain parts of the book. There were moments when I wanted the author to say less and let the story speak for itself.

One of the things that stood out to me about "The Adult" was the book's atmosphere. The author did a fantastic job of creating a sense of place that was both immersive and engaging. The descriptions of the college campus and surrounding areas were incredibly vivid, and I felt like I was right there with the protagonist as she navigated her way through this new world.

The author did a fantastic job of exploring the protagonist's sexuality in a way that felt both authentic and respectful. Overall, "The Adult" was a good read, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves coming-of-age stories or is looking for a delightfully sapphic read.

Truly amazing. It really stands out from all the other coming of age stories I've read before. The writing and the characters were fascinating and I enjoyed following the story from the very beginning. I will be recommending this to everyone.

The Adult is an interesting coming of age story.

Our main character Natalie is a young woman who lacks the general knowledge of who she is or wants to be. She looks for guidance from those around her but primarily seeks out the affirmations of an older woman(whose age is never truly disclosed).

Her inaugural collegiate journey is intrinsically linked with her lover, Nora, the older woman who approaches Natalie and becomes something of an idealized girlfriend.

I could begin to see the connections between the characters early on but was very shocked by the progression of their May/December romance.

Fischer crafts a well written story that offers another insight on finding yourself.

Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for this digital arc in exchange for an honest review.