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.

When do you decide enough is enough? I found myself thinking that as I was listening to the skillful narration of Imani Jade Powers in this novel. I, too, am still in touch with many of my friends from my youth over thirty years later. However, when we get together it does not look like this. As is true for all novels, there must be some drama for a story to be interesting and this does have drama. It was difficult for me to connect to the characters as I did not see depth.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy. All opinion are my own.

I typically love books about friend groups working through struggles, but this one was kind of a miss for me. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I didn’t listen to the audiobook. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, and while I think the narrator did a good job overall, she doesn’t do much differentiating between characters. Also there is a lot of talking and not a lot of anything else. That isn’t inherently a bad thing; I like character driven stories, but I didn’t particularly like any of the characters. Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Angelica Baker for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I had very high hopes for this book but, i'm sad to say it just wasn't for me. the entire book is a bunch of thirty year olds staring drama and acting like teenagers and it just wasn't appealing to me. i liked the premise of the book but at the end of it i just didn't really care what happened.

This is the kind of the story that either we have lived through aspects of it or know of someone who has. The vibes are very much “you are at a party and someone there knows you from years ago and keeps bringing up your dirt and gets offended if you ask them to stop”.

The story is about a group of high school friends who a decade plus later have a vacation together in Hawaii. After an almost near death scare- each of them reflects on what their friendships mean and how their lives are drifting apart despite their efforts to keep the status quo.

The audiobook made a dynamic read and I thought the narrator was really good. Definitely not a book I would be eager to read again, but I would recommend for fans of Claire Lombardo and Sally Rooney.

Sorry to say this is a DNF for me @ 55%.

The premise sounds good. A group of childhood friends reunites for their 30th birthdays in Hawaii! Sounds terrific!

It. Is. Not….
At least IMHO…

The friends are NOT nice to each other.
They never seemed to have grown up…. AT ALL.
They are not at all likable.
And…they treat each other terribly. I would not want to be friends with ANY of them…

I feel like I’m reading about teenagers…not 29 year olds…

That being said…. I am giving up on this one right here.

Sorry, but it was just NOT my cup of tea…or coffee…

When We Grow Up by Angelica Baker.

Thanks so much to #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for an ARC of the audiobook which is due to be released on 2/25/25…

Being as this is not a good review from me, I’ll limit it to here and Goodreads…

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Hmmm. I wanted to like this more than I did. The premise isn’t all that original, but some of the prose is really pretty. If I’d felt connected to even one character I think it would’ve been a much more enjoyable read.

I usually like books that tackle a group friendship dynamic but to me, this book stalled a little. People didn’t feel distinct enough and I didn’t feel like there was a unique element to this particular group. Ultimately I felt like I was entertained because I was able to simply tolerate the group.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I like the narration and all the built up drama.vilove the characters. I just could not relate. I'm just old and poor and I couldn't seem to invest much in their situation.

I chose this book based on the compelling premise of a group of old friends getting together on holiday, when they get warning of an incoming missile. I loved the idea - one of my favorite novels is The Interestings by Meg Wollizer, so I supposed I had pretty high hopes going into it. I listened to it on audio, and was gripped for the first chapter or two. The narration was good, the writing was enjoyable, and the premise had me hooked. Some of the observations about people and the times were great - one of the reasons I enjoy a book.

However, the story lost my interest for a few reasons. I wasn't able to connect to the main character, and found her friends unlikeable. Unlikeable can definitely work for me, but somehow I want them to be aware of their failings, or for the narrator to give us some unique perspective on their unlikeabiility, through humor or sarcasm. I gave it a go, but the plot didn't move along quickly enough to hold my attention, and I didn't get a sense for how these characters were going to grow or change. I felt stuck, as they were on the island, and have to admit I didn't finish. Maybe this just wasn't the right time for me and this book, but we weren't a good match at this time.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to the advanced copy.