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.

I think this will be a controversial one, but those that get it will GET IT ya know. The characters are unlinkable, but isn't that the reality of life? I enjoyed reading about a group of people that felt realistic and flawed and full of self sabotage.

I usually love a reunited friend group, it’s actually a trope or plot point I often look for. This book did not hit the mark though. I kept waiting to like one of the characters, feel for them or connect in anyway. Instead I got a lot of entirely and whiney characters who infuriated me more than anything - and not in a fun way.

Since I listened on audio, the narrator helped to keep me invested. It felt like I was eves-dropping on gossip that I wanted to look away from but couldn’t and honestly, that’s not what I want from a book. But if that appeals to you, this might be for you.

For me, it was a wash.

Spoiled, insufferable twenty-something’s reminisce about their college days together, in this eye-rolling bummer of a literary fiction. I couldn’t finish the audiobook, to be honest—the best part of the whole book was the first chapter, which I imagined was a masterful, tight short story that was forced into expansion.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ARC audiobook of When We Grow Up.  Imani Jade Powers is a great narrator and has such a powerful voice for the character Clare.

Let me start this review off by saying the characters in When We Grow Up are deeply flawed and act like they are still in high school, and that's the point! The point of this book is that sometimes we can outgrow our high school friends and we don't need to revert back when we hang out with them.

I love the complicated relationships these friends all have with each other. Their friendships are based on years and years of knowing each other deeply. They also are the first ones to point out or highlight each other's flaws. You will struggle to like all the characters in this book. But guess what?! That's real life! You aren't going to like every character especially if they are written as 3 dimensional characters.

This book was hard to listen to at times, just because it does address a lot of serious topics. Then instead of any resolution or acknowledgment of progress the group just moves on. They are all set in their ways. Which is very much like real life. Maybe that's the problem. We all expect people to grow and change just like us but life isn't like that.

When We Grow Up is a character-driven novel but the characters are hard to root for.

Absolutely fabulous, instantly gripping, well written, comprised of multi-dimensional characters that you will love or hate. Give yourself time because you won’t want to put it down.

Thank you @macmillianaudio and @netgalley for this advance listening copy of: When We Grow Up by Angelica Baker. Pub date: 2/25/25

Clare is supposed to be the grown-up one. Married to the love of her life, with a major deal for her first novel, she has everything she thought she wanted. So then why does it all feel so wrong? When she agrees to a weeklong vacation with five of her oldest friends, she is hoping for an escape with the people who know her best. There is Jessie, who won’t stop talking about her new boyfriend; Mac, trying to pretend he hasn’t outgrown the group; Kyle, the eternal peacemaker; and Renzo, who brought them all together but keeps picking fights. And then, of course, there’s Liam, the guy Clare has barely seen since high school but somehow can’t get out of her head—or her bed.

But when a terrifying news alert shatters their peace, it becomes harder to ignore how much the world has changed since they were teenagers. As the resentments and tensions that have always simmered just beneath the surface begin to boil, Clare must ask if their shared history is enough to sustain their friendships, or if growing up might mean letting go.

I struggled to get into this one... the premise appealed to me, but ultimately the characters weren't very likable and I struggled to connect with or root for any of them. It isn't really a vacation read, the setting seemed like such an unexplored component of the story after the beginning. I still can't imagine these 6 people maintaining their friendship over the years, much less going on a vacation together. I wonder if this was a series with each character having their own book to get to know them individually prior to this trip, if I would have felt more invested...

The cover appeals to me and the narration was good. I enjoyed Imani Jade Powers's voice just like I have in various other books I've listened to that she's narrated.

Thank you to Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC.

Looking for a book that hits on every hyper-zennial political and culture topic there is without actually giving any substance to any of it?

Man, I hate writing negative reviews, but this one was just.not.it.
I will give the two major trigger warnings for the book here so you don't have to read through the rest: miscarriage & extra-marital affairs.

The premise of When We Grow Up is a group of friends from childhood go on a vacation together just before turning thirty.

I was expecting it to be an exploration of deep humanity and how we grow and change and how things in our lives that seemed so foundational just don't make sense anymore. Instead we have a whiny narrator, Clare, who has major self-esteem issues and a group of friends who don't even like each other all that much (past or present).

Clare is floundering. She doesn't seem confident in any of the choices she's made in her life. She also doesn't seem close to any of these friends. It's a paradox that they know one another more deeply than anyone because of how much shame and humiliation they witnessed in each other growing up (inevitable in middle school), but they also know hardly anything about each other as an adult. They claim they're so close, but they almost never talk about anything personal. Everything is so damn surface level. Then when they finally do, it's like they could be talking about literally anyone.

I only know Clare by the choices she makes in the novel, and how self-critical she is. I don't really know a damn thing about her character. That's a problem.

I didn't like Jessie, the only other girl in the group (why are there so many girls on the cover?), and the boys didn't have enough personality to even tell who is who until far too late in the novel. There was a black one and a gay one, and I thought they were the same person for most of the book. We knew who Liam was because Clare is having an affair with him, which also irks me because she didn't seem to even know why, beginning, middle, or end. (I'm not even counting this as a spoiler since it is alluded to in the blurb).

The biggest problem was I didn't care. There was nothing interesting about the book except the first chapter. Their vacation in Hawai'i happens to coincide with the false missile alert that went out to everyone on-island in 2018. That happens on page one, and kind of explains the whole book. The characters are completely apathetic, even when they're warned they're about to die. This absolutely should have been a short story. It actually would have been an excellent short story.

I wanted to like a book like this. As I read I was hoping that things would shift and the insights would start bringing everything together in some profound way. Nope. Never happened. The only insight here is that Clare is unhappy and kind of judgy. In some ways it kind of felt disparaging toward the whole generation, which, for context, I am the same age as these characters. In 2018 I was turning 30.

(spoiler)
Near the end, Jessie kind of confronts Clare by telling her being a boy's girl is essentially a fucked-up thing to be.

Ahem.

Like I said, this book was not for me.

Note:: This title was provided to me by the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️ It was OK, I can see why some loved it
The premise had me intrigued, with a group of old friends going on a vacation and reflecting on what has changed. I just couldn't connect with any of these characters. I was annoyed by all of them and their privileged bickering. For that, this book just wasn't for me.

The narrator, Imani Jade Powers, did a good job, I had no trouble understanding who was saying what, where, when, and with what expression/intension.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and author Angelica Baker for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. When We Grow Up is out February 25, 2025.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. The premise was interesting but it just wasn’t it for me. I did finish but couldn’t connect to any of the characters and every time I was pulled in I would lose interest just as fast. They argue throughout the whole book and I think realize that they grew apart and not nearly as close. The arguing just took up most of the book. Thank you to Macmillan and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and leave a honest review.