This novel is a wonderful reflection on adulthood and how time affects familial relationships. Told wholly from Ida’s perspective it’s hard not to be completely invested in her and we can understand some of the actions she takes, even though they are questionable. It is emotional and raw and I really connected with some of the novel’s themes and ideas. Above all the book is so easy to read given how well it is written and how the story unfolds so naturally. I highly recommend this one.

If I was to convince you to read this book, it would be very hard, because I don't think it would be interesting to anyone. The pace is slow, the author used both non-linear and viewpoint narrative, but it is well composed into the whole.

Ida is a successful architect, she is in her forties and she is having a lot of casual dates, never close to any meaningful relationship. Ida is also the narrator of the story, so we get to see all the characters through her perspective, since that is the case it is very difficult to decide if the characters are portrayed objectively or not.

Although she seems self-centered and destructive, I have the feeling that Ida has a lot to solve. Her inner child is still hurt from feeling as an outsider since her mum has always cherished Marthe more. I felt sorry that she had such a strong urge to destroy everything she possibly could, even if it means that she would do that to her sister, or her sister's step-daughter. Ida's perspective seems to be flawed, but we get to understand her reasons as her story unravels, and we become more and more sympathetic towards her reactions. <spoiler>Ida does everything out of spite. She makes decisions to act when she is hurting, and then she hurts others as well. Although Olea was hurt in the boat incident, and Ida might or might not be responsible for that, I still felt sorry for Ida. Her life is one of the saddest, and all the lonelines, all the pain is there and she does nothing to let it go away. And the longer she holds on to it, the more bitter she becomes.</spoiler>

The characters are vivid and we get to know them better as the story progresses, I wanted to read more about their mum, because the only thing it is mentioned is that she cared more about Marthe, because Marthe always had some health issues. The truth is that Ida's attitude to all the characters made me feel the certain way about them, so from the beginning I didn't like Marthe and that hasn't changed until the end.

Overall opinion, I love the cover, the title has so much sense, the story is gripping. For now, this is the best read for 2022. :)

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC.

One of the most amazing books I’ve read this year. It was complex but it mirrored how relationships change throughout the years. Not just the romantic relationships are the focus, but platonic friendships are discussed.

This is a quick, fun read that felt perfect to attempt while on a flight. The prose is smart and enjoyable, and I enjoyed the tone and the voice. I'm not the ideal reader for this book--sibling relationships and pregnancy, for example, are big themes in this book and push the narrative forward, but I can't say I'm drawn into these topics personally. I kept reading, as I did find the book engaging and the writing smart, but this doesn't blow me away from the way it likely will with others who can more deeply relate. I still recommend this book, though it's not a personal favorite for me.

I don’t know how to accurately put into words how I feel about Grown Ups. I found the narrator, Ida, to be extremely unlikeable. She is miserable in her life and seems hellbent on making everyone around her miserable as well. I’ve also had a complicated relationship with my younger sister like Ida has with her sister, Marthe, which is why I wanted to read the book. However, no matter how irritating Marthe is, Ida is just mean. It was not the the relatable sister dynamic I was hoping to read.

Despite how much I disliked the characters, the author did a good job developing the characters and their backstory. The story was very easy to read and was probably one of the my fastest read books so far this year. If messy family dynamics is favorite genre, you won’t be disappointed with this book.

I’m giving the book a 3.5 based solely on the cast of unlikeable characters. If there was even one person I liked in the book, it would have been a solid four.

While I won’t buy this book once it’s released, I would easily try another book by the author in the future.

I just couldn't connect with the story. I felt as if it was an okay read, a short read. It was not what I anticipated, maybe that's why I'm so disappointed. I was in a mood for romance.

I adored this book. The writing is sharp and unflinching. It's about two sisters and the rivalry that's built into their relationship and how that dynamic plays out as they reach turning points in their lives. The simmering sibling resentment is perfectly captured early on as Ida watches her sister Marthe and recalls old, well-worn inequities: 'My jaw is stiff, she looks so stupid… standing there like that, I can't even look at her'.
Partner relationships are also dissected and picked away to their bare bones. Marthe and her husband Kristoffer are observed circling around each other, speaking with words that 'sound rehearsed' or chattering inanely to Kristoffer's daughter in sing-song voices, as if 'talking to a dog'.
Meanwhile, Ida remembers a failed Tinder date, one of many where her smile stayed frozen too wide for too long and she was bored stiff all night, yet still longed for him to say he'd call. Ida realises too late she's made a habit of self-sabotage and sabotaging relationships and watching this play out is painful and heartbreaking and also funny, as a wry humour also runs through this book.
Grown Ups is almost a novella length and every word is perfectly chosen by Aubert. She's an incredible writer who zooms in on moments of human frailty and never looks away.

A quick read, well-written, heartfelt, and evocative. I know almost nothing about Norway so it was pleasant to read a book set in a summer cabin in the fjords. Aubert's descriptions are lush and vivid; I could smell the earth and pine trees, feel the peaceful environment that's so at odds with the narrator's internal turmoil.
There's no plot to Grown-Ups, so to speak. The novel is a slice-of-life story, a family coming together for a week-long holiday, tensions and old resentment resurfacing with the prolonged proximity. Ida, the main character, wasboth relatable in some ways and unforgivable in others. She felt true, human, and imperfect, even when several of her decisions made me cringe.
The ending is very much open-ended, none of the conflicts that arise in the book are solved - a warning to those looking for happy endings in novels. That said, I thought it fit well with the slice-of-life mood of the book, and it was still satisfying.
A recommended read if you like books about dysfunctional families, less-known European cultures and settings, and musings about time passing us by, whether we choose to make our own families or not.

This is a quick (I finished it in about two hours) read about an acidic family away for the weekend at their family cabin. To be honest, I'm not sure if more time with these characters would have made them more sympathetic, or if I would have enjoyed it less.

Ida is a judgemental mess, but I felt sympathetic to her due to her loneliness and the clear favoritism of her sister... right up until she makes two choices that are pretty unforgivable, in my opinion. Her sister Marthe is unpleasant as well, and I will admit that as a stepmom, her whining about being stuck with just a stepdaughter rankled. But by the end I just felt sorry for her.

Overall, nothing seems to be particularly resolved at the end, except that everyone seems a bit more miserable. I give it 2.5 stars because the writing is good, but it felt like it needed to be fleshed out further.

Thanks for the ARC of the translated version, NetGalley!

Lovely read, very enjoyable.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

A relatively enjoyable story about sibling rivalry, unfortunately for me I failed to engage with the main protagonist Ida and it meant that the book didn’t grip me like it was clearly meant to

This is a beautifully written short novel that completely engrossed me. Set during a summer visit to a family cabin and explore the complexities of angst-ridden familial relationships. I loved and felt deeply sorry for the flawed narrator, her circumstance and her uneasy role within a family. The characters are well developed and structured creating a really beautiful novel.

This is the story of sibling rivalry and how far a sister will go to try to one-up the other. I completed the book but I was actually appalled at the nastiness of Ida, the older sister. Ida was in her forties and bitter about life in general. The book is about "grown ups" and the implication is that Ida finally sees her actions toward her sister for what they are and she becomes a grown up. The book was not funny, nor was it insightful. Thinking back, I cannot believe that I read the entire book. Because the book was able to latch on to me for its entirety, I generously gave it two stars. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the ARC Kindle book in exchange for an honest review.

An honest piece of relationship fiction about families. I will recommend it to people who enjoy relationship fiction, or women's literature but want a shorter read. The spare style of this story is beautiful in its simplicity.

Told from the perspective of Ida who has always been the sweet daughter and the supportive older sister in her family. When the family gathers amidst her own midlife struggles she starts to see the cracks in that role as her resentments boil up.

Ida is a flawed character who makes mistakes. If this book were very long, it would be exhausting. With the short period of time the book takes place in, the exceptional choice of events relayed, and the spare writing style, it is really wonderful. It felt like a reminder to assess oneself honestly in times of conflict to find that the source might be yourself.

I received an advanced copy of this book as a librarian. This review is my own honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley and Pushkin Press for the advanced preview of this book. The story follows Ida, a nearing middle age architect who is single and lonely. In the midst of attempting to freeze her eggs, Ida goes away to the country with her sister Marthe, her brother in law Kristopher, her niece Olea, and her mother & her boyfriend to celebrate her mother's 65th birthday. While away on holiday, Ida drinks too much and starts letting her emotions get in the way of celebration. This story is sad; Ida feels stuck in the ways of a teenager while dealing with the challenges of being an adult.

This was such a gripping read, it was well written with engaging storylines and well developed characters, I felt like I was part of the family.

The book:
It is written from the point of view of Ida, a forty-year-old architect, single, and panicking to conceive.
Now stuck in the idyllic Norwegian countryside for a gathering to mark her mother’s sixty-fifth birthday, Ida is regressing. She’s fighting with her younger sister, Marthe, and flirting with her sister’s husband. But when some supposedly wonderful news from Marthe heightens tensions further, Ida is forced to mark out new milestones of her own.

The review:
The theme of growing up, and being an adult is loud in this novel. Ida, inside her head, is rebellious but she can't help but try to please everyone around her especially her mum. Her relationship with her sister is terribly fake. She flirts around with her sister's husband, Kristoffer, during the night, and tries to win the affection of Olea, her sister's stepdaughter. She kept trying to creat conversations inside her head, like how she should end up with Kristoffer.

As much as I think the reader could be sympathetic to Ida, and her broken family issues, her unresolved childhood trauma of not getting love and attention from her mum, being jealous of her sister, I just couldn't like her. Could not relate to her. I felt like the author pushed too much on how Ida is tainted morally. She occasionally date someone's husband out of Tinder and said it's not her fault they're cheating.

I hated every character in this story, I'm so sorry. I feel like the execution can be a little bit better. I couldn't fathom why there isn't a bit of sympathy in Ida. She is a bitter person with no kindness at all. So sorry I tried.

Ratings: 2 ⭐️

Well what a toxic family. This was a strange one, very readable but short and nothing was really resolved at the end so you sort of thought what was the point in all that. Needed more. Also there was nothing remotely funny about it.
Thanks to Netgalley for giving me a chance to read it.

This is a delightful gem of a novel by Marie Aubert which takes us through a summer visit to the family cabin. We follow the narrator one of two sisters who share ownership of the cabin and who have very differing relationships with the cabin and life more general. The narrator is far from a reliable one and we gradually see her world through not just only her own but through the eyes of others. It is an intriguing and engrossing tale and one that I most strongly recommend. It’s a concise but beautifully composed work.

Full review closer to publication date!

I'd like to thank the publisher, Pushkin Press and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.