I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook version of the advanced copy of When We Grow Up. I tend to listen and read mysteries and thrillers the majority of time, but like to find general fiction books as pallet cleansers and when I read the premise of When We Grow Up, I thought it would be a really good option. After reading the description for this book, I was looking forward to strongly developed characters and relationships between those characters but the book didn't really deliver on these. The relationships between the characters were lackluster and honestly really negative. I wasn't sure why this group of friends connected in the past, let alone stayed connected in the present. Most of the characters were unlikable or unrelatable as well, and overall I just didn't know why I was reading about these characters being together for a reunion. After having listened to this book, I wasn't sure why I didn't stop listening to it early on and I wasn't even sure what the point of the plot was altogether.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the advanced listening copy of this book. The book starts out with a group of childhood friends vacationing together in Hawaii and they all receive an emergency text alert that says a missile is about to hit in Hawaii. The story goes back and forth between current day and earlier times in their lives. This book was okay. I wasn't really impressed with the story and found my mind wandering quite a bit as I listened. I just couldn't connect with any of the characters enough to make their story important to me. I was a bit disappointed, but appreciated the chance to listen.

Six high school friends, 4 men and 2 women, get together 10 years later on an island in Hawaii. On their first day there is a news alert that makes them all question what they would do if they were all about to die. For the rest of the week the six look at their dynamics, old tensions, how they have changed since high school and whether their friendships are lasting ones.

Here you have 6 unlikable characters that I just could bring myself to care about. Much of their bad qualities are blamed by the fact that they are privileged (which I’m sort of bored with as a plot theme). This was a deep character study but the characters were emotionally stunted and didn’t evolve during the novel and since there wasn’t not much of a storyline it was hard to engage. The narrator is a great, but the constant whining in the novel made it so I couldn’t enjoy the narration. I do think the writing itself was good so it was really a matter of the story and characters.

3.25

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC to review

DNF at 10% - characters were immediately unlikeable, and the initial distress that I was interested in seemed to resolve. I wasn't interested in the characters to read on.

In When We Grow Up, a group of friends who grew up together take a vacation together in Hawaii. The book goes back and forth between past and present to build up their stories and explain their connection. This was a slow burn, deep character novel. It took me a bit to figure out who everyone was and where they all fit in but once I got it down, I was invested. It was an interesting look at past mistakes vs present mistakes and how do you move forward, how do you become a better person and how do you forgive. Are you able to move past the person you were as a teen or will that forever mark you? This particularly group of people were all incredibly immature which made them all unlikeable in their own way. But in the messiness and slow burn were some deep questions asked that made me think.

A novel about friendship, nostalgia, and the challenges of adulthood, *When We Grow Up* follows Clare and her longtime friends on a vacation meant to rekindle their bond. But as old tensions resurface and a shocking news alert disrupts their escape, Clare is forced to question her relationships and the life she thought she wanted. While the premise explores intriguing themes of change and self-discovery, the story didn’t fully pull me in, making it a bit of a struggle to stay engaged.

Angelica Baker's WHEN WE GROWN UP is a moody-like tale of six 30s long-time friends united in Hawaii when an unexpected crisis occurs, forcing them to explore their friendship.

About...

Clare is married with a significant deal for her first novel. She agrees to a weeklong vacation in Hawaii with five of her oldest friends as they all are approaching 30.

Jessie has a new boyfriend; Mac pretends he has not outgrown the group; Kyle is the peacemaker, and Renzo is the one who brought them together but stirs up trouble. Liam is one Clare who has been unable to get out of her head (and more) since high school.

Then, there is a news alert, both terrifying and alarming. This group's world has changed since they were teens. Have they grown up, grown apart, or have nothing in common? Have they had enough life experience to learn and gain wisdom?

My thoughts...

While WHEN WE GROW UP was not for me, I think a younger generation might enjoy it more. I am not in this age group or have a mindset like any of these characters. There is a lot of drinking, complaining, and partying, with conversations of complex racism, sexism, homophobia, and other social and political issues.

A cast of unlikable characters did not help or allow you to be invested in them. The author highlights good vs evil, and her writing is good, but the characters detract from the enjoyment.
As some other reviewers mentioned, I'm unsure how I would classify this novel, but I think it would have been better as a short story. Maybe friendship, family, coming of age, but it did not strike me as literary, which I enjoy.

Audiobook...

I listened to the audiobook, and while I enjoyed the narrator, Imani Jade Powers gave an outstanding performance; however, the constant complaining ruined the experience. Often, it got confusing with one narrator and multiple characters.

I cannot even imagine being friends or having anything in common with anyone from high school. I left my hometown early on and have had great life experiences traveling independently, seeing the world, working, creating, owning a business, and living in numerous places and states that all help you grow and flourish.

I would read other books by this author on different topics, and she proposes some thought-provoking questions. I wish this group could have enjoyed Hawaii as such a beautiful place and got outside themselves.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an advanced listening copy for an honest review. #MacAudio2025.

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@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 3 Stars
Pub Date: Feb 25, 2025
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From the first chapter, I knew this book would be the ups and downs of 6 friends. I was immediately ready for it and couldn;t get enough of the hidden secrets and jealousy. It’s a book that had me hooked from the beginning. i did not want to stop listening because it kept getting better and better.

First of all, thank you NetGalley and ......for this ARC audiobook. I struggle with negative reviews, but am having a heck of a time finding the positives in this title. I usually love a character driven story; these characters drove me crazy!



When you've known someone since middle school there's bound to be dirt, etc. Bury the dirt, grow up and move forward, quit dredging up the moments that were humiliating and hurtful, chances are they still will make you or someone else feel the same way; shitty. I was excited as this story began as was a weekend with friends in a posh Hawaiian location. However, it was tough to finish this book about a bunch of spoiled brats and turned into what I hated about you then, and oh guess what I still do now too. I finished it, but it was oh so painful. Both the character development and the storyline left a lot to be desired. Perhaps it was just me, but I truly did not enjoy much of this novel.

When We Grow Up
The premise? A reunion of high school friends in a Hawaiian paradise, think Steven Rowley’s The Celebrants if everyone were less a decade of life experience. Alcohol will be consumed, slip-ups will happen, and things will not be left unsaid. If White Lotus were cast only with 30 something’s, When We Grow Up is full of sharply observed humor in a very modern voice, and filled with the kind of musings that cut right to the core of millennial/gen z cusps. So many well written sentences, sometimes scathing social takedowns, that had me clicking my tongue or mmmmhmm-ing in relation. This book will have your highlighters drained, if that’s your thing. Thanks to MacMillan audio for the ALC— The narrator was excellent & engaging with a perfect pace/cadence for me.

My mom always told my that 25 was the age that challenged her the most, worse than middle age. My life blew up in my late 30’s, losing both my mother and mother-in-law who were my best friends. Grief wrecked me and friendships that I thought would last forever did not make it through that difficult period. I always thought once you escaped adolescence, the growing pains of friendships were over but boy was I wrong. Angelica Baker beautifully explores the complex nature of adult friendships in her novel, When We Grow Up. And perhaps those lifelong friendships with layers of history are indeed the ones that feel those colossal upheavals as the decades pass and life gets HARD. This impeccably narrated audiobook is captivating and real, allowing the reader to really reflect on how to embrace those tough situations. At the end of the day, we’re all human and we make mistakes. Hopefully, we can do our best to right our wrongs, be kind, and surround ourselves with people who forgive us and inspire us to be the best version of us.

This was a great story on life long friendships, how we change for better or worse, and how relationships change, very well written!

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the alc and to edelweiss for the arc.

Unfortunately this book was not for me. It seems that I am not in the minority here either. Oh well. I did enjoy Imani jade powers narration though!

I usually love books about a group of friends that get together, however this one just didn't do it for me. I wish the friends were somewhat nice to each other or at least had grown up some since the last time they were all together. This wasn't the case. None of the characters were likable or changed for the better during the length of the story. The writing was decent, but I didn't care for the plot.

This book was not for me. I thought it would be interesting--a group of friends from childhood gathering in Hawaii to celebrate their 30th birthdays. But what it turned out to be was a long slog of self-absorbed, self-indulgent navel gazing.

I'm not a fan of cheating in books and that's probably the first place this book lost me. Also, just the interminable self-righteousness of those who have barely lived life makes me roll my eyes. Unlikable characters combined with unpalatable action made for a very long, very tedious read.

I listened to this as an audiobook and that was probably the only thing that kept me going. If I were one to DNF a book I definitely would have with this one.

A group of high school friends reconvene for a group vacation on the verge of turning 30. This book explores why they feel a significant bond to each other and how they have all changed in the last 15 years. There are two girls and four guys who at times have been more than friends to each other, but now they can reflect on those relationships and if it was only due to their perspective of being young.

This book was just meh for me. Nothing really happened. They get into cultural and political debates and expose feelings they had when they were younger but were never able to share.

After an emergency alert is sent accidentally, a group of longtime friends ponders their lives during a trip to Hawaii.

This book was just not for me. I found the pacing off and the narrative meandering and dull. Contrary to the title of the book, the characters seemed emotionally stunted, stuck in there easy and acting much like they did when they met. And I found it hard to really care about any of them. With what sounded like an interesting plot, I was rather let down. Two stars.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and feedback.

I enjoyed the idea of this book, an exploration into a group of friends, connected through high school, in a not-so-distant future, trying to put off everyday life. However, occasionally I come across a book where I find myself asking "what exactly is the point of this" and that is how I felt with this book. Every story needs to be told, but this left me feeling unsatisfied. Our MC wasn't particularly likable, and there wasn't really a good ending, or a resolution of any sort, it just ended, and I just don't know what this book accomplished. The writing was worthwhile, but the story itself felt like it lacked purpose. Maybe I missed something, but this just wasn't for me.

Despite an interesting premise, this book fell flat for me due to its characters, who felt more like dramatic teenagers than thirty-somethings. The nonstop, unnecessary conflict made it hard to stay engaged, and by the end, I found myself indifferent to the outcome. Unfortunately, what could have been a compelling story was overshadowed by immaturity and a lack of emotional depth.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the audio ARC which I listened to in exchange for my review.

This book was not for me. The book was very well-written. While the plot is not fast-paced, the writing style is with quickly-changing observations of the six characters and rapid-fire dialogue exchanges. In audio format, this was hard to follow at times, especially when dialogue tags were absent. With the exception of one character, the narrator did not differentiate voices for the cast, which made it that much more difficult to follow who was speaking. However, I do not think a different format would change my overall opinion of the book.

The story was like a modern-day The Sun Also Rises. None of the characters are all that likeable, and they treat each other terribly. The entire book is a picture of futility. At the end, the main character seems as though she might show some growth--she seems to want it at least--but she doesn't grab hold of it. She merely accepts that this is the state of the so-called friendships she has held for fifteen years.

All that being said, many readers may not be bothered by this type of plot, and certainly there are readers who will greatly enjoy it. It simply isn't my taste.