Staff Pick
I really liked this book; the characters are complex and the gender/sexuality confusion is extremely well done. Not for the squeamish (there is a lot of explicit sex here) but it is important to the story and Schrag is quite matter-of-fact about it. Adam seems like a real teenage boy to me: willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants, and not at all aware of the consequences his actions set in motion. I read the book in one day — Schrag's writing is great and her story is compelling. Nicely done. Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
When Adam Freedman — a skinny, awkward, inexperienced teenager from Piedmont, California — goes to stay with his older sister Casey in New York City, he is hopeful that his life is about to change. And it sure does.
It is the summer of 2006. Gay marriage and transgender rights are in the air, and Casey has thrust herself into a wild lesbian subculture. Soon Adam is tagging along to underground clubs, where there are hot older women everywhere he turns. It takes some time for him to realize that many in this new crowd assume he is trans — a boy who was born a girl. Why else would this baby-faced guy always be around?
Then Adam meets Gillian, the girl of his dreams — but she couldn't possibly be interested in him. Unless passing as a trans guy might actually work in his favor...
Ariel Schrag's scathingly funny and poignant debut novel puts a fresh spin on questions of love, attraction, self-definition, and what it takes to be at home in your own skin.
Review
"Schrag's gifts for characterization and dialogue make the whole enterprise sweetly entertaining....A well-composed story about love and lust in all their myriad variations and about a boy finding his place in a mixed-up, muddled-up, shook-up world." Kirkus
Review
"The book is sincere, dirty (but not in an excessive way), and downright hilarious. Schrag somehow manages to walk the increasingly thin tightrope of being respectful and yet brutally honest about transgender issues...While this book will surely be on the summer reading list for anybody with a family member or dear friend that fits under the LGBT umbrella, it could and should be enjoyable to anybody who picks it up. After all, its core message is universal. Surviving our teenage years is no small task." The Daily Beast
Review
"Colorful and smart, [Adam] understands that the struggle to discover one’s identity is somehow both ubiquitous and unique. With deep empathy and wit and humanity, Schrag has accomplished the seemingly impossible challenge of making the experience of marginalization and isolation feel universal." Grantland, June Book Recommendations: Young Adult for Adults
Review
"Gives an authentic glimpse into N.Y.C’s underground queer culture....A compelling page turner with a suspenseful plot....A quick, easy, and captivating read, Adam pulls you in." Bust Magazine
Review
"Completely and totally charmed, and also vicariously embarrassed for the titular character." The Chicago Tribune
Review
"The sexual revolution is finally over, and Ariel Schrag has won. Adam is the most twisted, hilarious, and deeply gratifying reading experience I have had in a long time." Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home and Are You My Mother?
Review
"Hilarious...Schrag's riotous, poignant debut novel will leave you reeling." SF Weekly
Synopsis
Set in 2006, Adam is a coming-of-age comedy that tells the story of an awkward teenager who goes to spend his final summer of high school with his older sister, who is very much a part of Brooklyn's young and diverse lesbian, queer and transgender scene. Over the summer, Adam, and all those around him, will experience love and friendship, learning the hard truths that those relationships often bring.
Ariel Schrag's scathingly funny and poignant debut novel puts a fresh spin on questions of love, attraction, self-definition, and what it takes to be at home in your own skin.
Synopsis
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE DIRECTED BY RHYS ERNST AND STARRING NICHOLAS ALEXANDER, BOBBI SALV R MENUEZ, LEO SHENG, AND MARGARET QUALLEY
"An insightful, funny, and unexpected love story."--Aimee Mann
When Adam Freedman -- a straight, cis teen from Piedmont, California -- goes to stay with his older sister Casey in Brooklyn, he fantasizes about a summer of freedom, new friends, and falling in love. He's in for a surprise.
It's 2006 and Casey has thrown herself into NYC's lesbian and trans activist scene--marriage equality marches, L Word-watching parties, BDSM sex clubs, and trans rights protests. Adam tags along, having fun in places he'd never have expected, but he's surrounded by lesbians, and it seems like the last thing he'll find is a girlfriend. That is, until he meets Gillian. Adam is soon hopelessly, desperately in love...only there's just one small problem. Gillian thinks he's a trans man.
Ariel Schrag's scathingly funny and poignant debut novel puts a fresh spin on questions of love, attraction, self-definition, and what it means to be part of a community.
" An] audacious coming-of-age novel."--Miami Herald
"Compulsively readable."--Bookforum
"Hilarious...Schrag's riotous, poignant debut novel will leave you reeling."--SF Weekly
Synopsis
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE. A sweet and subversive coming-of-age novel by award-winning memoirist and screenwriter Ariel Schrag.
When Adam Freedman -- a skinny, awkward, inexperienced teenager from Piedmont, California -- goes to stay with his older sister Casey in New York City, he is hopeful that his life is about to change. And it sure does.
It is the summer of 2006. Gay marriage and transgender rights are in the air, and Casey has thrust herself into a wild lesbian subculture. Soon Adam is tagging along to underground clubs, where there are hot older women everywhere he turns. It takes some time for him to realize that many in this new crowd assume he is trans -- a boy who was born a girl. Why else would this baby-faced guy always be around?
Then Adam meets Gillian, the girl of his dreams -- but she couldn't possibly be interested in him. Unless passing as a trans guy might actually work in his favor . . .
Ariel Schrag's scathingly funny and poignant debut novel puts a fresh spin on questions of love, attraction, self-definition, and what it takes to be at home in your own skin.
"An insightful, funny, and unexpected love story." -- Aimee Mann
An] audacious coming-of-age novel." -- Miami Herald
Compulsively readable. -- Bookforum
Hilarious...Schrag's riotous, poignant debut novel will leave you reeling. -- SF Weekly
Synopsis
The sweet and subversive debut novel by award-winning memoirist and screenwriter Ariel Schrag. Sometimes a queer girl summer in New York is just what a straight boy needs.
About the Author
Ariel Schrag grew up in Berkeley, California. She is the author of the graphic memoirs Awkward, Definition, Potential, and Likewise, and has written for the television shows How to Make it in America and The L Word. She lives in Brooklyn.