Book Review - Adults by Emma Jane Unsworth

 Adults is a book that I had seen perched in Waterstones at the start of 2020, just perched on a stack of other books and its straight angle shot of a girl and her dog on the cover caught my eye. Since library's are now back open to browse, I picked a copy up as soon as I saw it and I'm glad I did. 

If you like the writing style of Dolly Elderton or Nora Ephron, you will like this book written as a satirical, sarcastic and intimate presentation of the thoughts of a woman called Jenny, a thirty-something navigating life in London. 

The book touches on themes of social media, mental health, progression at work, friendships (and how these can change as we age), relationships and the juxtaposition of reality, verses what is presented on social media - alongside the anxiety that comes with that. 

I loved:

- The writing style/form - This was sometimes broken and included gaps or interjections and this really allowed us as readers to be inside the mind of Jenny who was often stressed, confused, annoyed or anxious. By writing in this way, Unsworth highlighted wonderfully the effects of modern day society on mental health and explored themes of overwhelm and burnout that the main character experiences.

- The portrayal of characters - The characters in this book such as Jenny's close friends, flat mates, Mother, or ex partner are all so relatable and described not just by physical description but also by the protagonist's interpretation of them. Whilst some aspects of the characters are heightened for comedic effect in my eyes, I think the most quirky and unique of characters can sometimes remind us of someone we have met and the writer presented character traits in a subtle but effective way. 

The themes - Social media is such a big part of our lives, especially for Millennials' and the 'gen-z' generations. With all the positive aspects of online connection, there is also comparison, anxiety and even paranoia that can be felt when trying to portray the 'perfect' representation on social media. This book explores modern day dynamics, whilst allowing the reader to make up their own mind on the effect of the stresses presented. It is witty, eye opening and definitely made me think about my own social media use and the positives and negatives behind it. 

Rating 6/10 

The depiction of modern day society, humor and irony was presented so well, however just out of personal preference, I would not read the book again. Whilst I found it interesting and direct in its approach, I found myself disliking the main  character through her self indulgence, and through being in her mind I sometimes felt fatigued. I think, however, this is what Unsworth intended. The whole book itself highlights how social media perfection can lead to self obsession and by making the character so deeply self critical/self indulged it poses the question about social media and its effects on today's society.