The Adults by Caroline Hulse

☆☆☆☆
Kindle Edition, 348 pages
Published November 27th 2018 by Random House
About the Book:
Claire and Matt are no longer together but decide that it would be best for their daughter, Scarlett, to have a “normal” family Christmas. They can’t agree on whose idea it was to go to the Happy Forest holiday park, or who said they should bring their new partners. But someone did—and it’s too late to pull the plug. Claire brings her new boyfriend, Patrick (never Pat), a seemingly sensible, eligible from a distance Ironman in Waiting. Matt brings the new love of his life, Alex, funny, smart, and extremely patient. Scarlett, who is seven, brings her imaginary friend Posey. He’s a giant rabbit. Together the five (or six?) of them grit their teeth over Forced Fun Activities, drink a little too much after Scarlett’s bedtime, overshare classified secrets about their pasts . . . and before you know it, their holiday is a powder keg that ends where this novel begins—with a tearful, frightened call to the police.

This had the exact type of premise that intrigues me, I love reading about families, especially when there’s secrets involved and add in a little dysfunction and I’m all in. It’s told from every single family members perspective and I loved getting to see how each of them interpreted the same situations differently, especially the darling girl, Scarlett.

This was a really entertaining read if kind of ridiculous at times. The behavior of the family ranged from appalling to mildly amusing. The writing was solid and it was fairly fast paced making it an easy read, this would actually be perfect to read over the holidays to escape your own crazy family.

I loved this novel as it’s fresh, smart and intriguing. The writing is captivating and the characters are flawed and selfish in their own way – some more than others – and yet, I couldn’t help liking them. Full of surprises and twists that turned the novel into a soap opera, this novel made me laugh. A gripping and enjoyable story about dysfunctional families and bonds that are too strong to be destroyed.

#TheAdults