Adam: A Scathingly Funny and Poignant LGBTQ Coming of Age Love Story of Identity

This book is full of turns that make the story develop on a very deep level. It starts out with the typical rich-kid attitude, and throughout the entire book, abuses his awkwardness. I laughed out loud on numerous occasions, and felt very sad at others because of events within the story. I just couldn't put it down; I finished it in about a week (while dealing with a nearly full time job and summer classes), which for me personally, is incredibly fast. The characters had me wanting to befriend, yell at, or even question their decisions on nearly every single page. The details are incredibly strong, but not too much to over saturate the story. Schrag leaves the right details up to the reader's imagination, which helps bring the reader even further into the summer that Adam experiences his biggest life changes. Language is very un-PC at points, which helps with the character development and believability that these could be genuinely real people. This development is where I questioned a lot, only to find out the reasoning typically hidden later in the book. It would be too easy and no fun if all the reasoning was spelled out straight forward. I found out about this book as a "similar to Catcher in the Rye" suggestion, and in many senses, it fulfills that very well. It essentially encompasses the themes of "coming of age" and "confidence in, and appreciation for, oneself". If you like books that are bland and can't handle feeling changed as a person by magnificent works of beauty, then find another book. All others, you'll enjoy this.

Sometimes when we're attracted to a person we bend the truth about ourselves a little bit to get them to like us. But no one does it quite like 17-year-old Adam Freedman. As Adam's junior year of high school ends, he's not quite sure he fits in with friends anymore, because they all have girlfriends and he tends to be a little more on the awkward side. He desperately wants a girlfriend, however, and really wants to lose his virginity (although don't tell anyone he's a virgin). When his friends start pairing off in couples, leaving him the odd man out, Adam decides to spend the summer living with his sister Casey in New York City, where she is a student at Columbia and has fully immersed herself in the LGBT culture, without worrying that their parents will find out. Adam finds himself drifting aimlessly through the summer, still feeling like a third wheel, and longing to meet the girl his dreams have envisioned—a beautiful redhead—so he can go back to his California high school a completely different person. When he meets Gillian—a redhead, no less—at a rally in support of same-sex marriage. He is instantly smitten, and when they meet again at a party, the two feel a strong connection. There's just one problem—Gillian is a lesbian, and has no desire to date a man. What's a guy to do? Desperate to build a relationship with Gillian, he pretends to be transgender, one who was born female but has transitioned to male, which explains Adam's youthful appearance. (He's also led her to believe he's 22, the same age she is.) Adam knows that a lie, especially one so serious, isn't a good foundation on which to build a relationship, but he can't stand the thought of being without Gillian. The more intense their relationship grows, the more he feels pressure to tell the truth, but instead he learns everything there is to know about being transgender, so his cover doesn't get blown. But Adam realizes how one lie leads to other lies, and the pressure of maintaining such a facade takes its toll on happiness. And he also learns that memorizing facts about what it's like to be transgender doesn't even scratch the surface of understanding what life is really like. Along the way he'll find himself in some compromising positions (both sexually and ethically), and he'll be more surprised than he ever imagined. Ariel Schrag's debut novel is sweet, funny, and quirky. At times I found Adam's character a bit reprehensible, but then I remembered he was only 17, and many an immature 17-year-old has done far worse, particularly in the pursuit of sex and love. (Often more the former than the latter.) Adam pokes fun at every LGBT stereotype, and while it does raise some interesting social issues, ultimately it's simply a charming boy-meets-girl novel, albeit this one tweaks that formula a bit. I enjoyed this book, quirks and all, and found Schrag's storytelling ability to be breezy and refreshing. I'll definitely be watching to see what comes next in her career.

The premise of this book is genuinely intriguing. Adam is a straight man who has come to live with his sister who is lesbian. In her world he is the anomoly. All her friends are part of the LGBT world. Many of the men are transgendered who are beginning or who have completed hormone treatments and sexual reassignment surgery options. Adam has yet to find himself comfortable in any sexual world. He is younger than this twenty something group. He is a virgin, body and soul. In order to win his first true love, he lies and says he was born a woman and is lesbian. The girl with whom he is involved has been born a woman and identifies herself as lesbian. There is much to admire in the writing of this book. The style is literate and witty. The author fairly fearlessly takes on the deeply complex waters of sexuality that is not only counter to the culture, but often to the body of birth. And sex is a divisive topic. There are questions of whether being accepted is simply pandering to a sick society and who is politically more correct. For Adam the landmines never stop and this is where the plot device devours the book. The continuing story depends on any number of coincidences and subterfuges succeeding. Adam is not without soul, and the lie is making him sick at heart. His struggle to understand the people around him make this book exceptionally insightful. But the lie keeps skewing the story to almost slapstick levels at times as he tries to hide or rationalize his erections. I think the endearing issue of Adam's "straight" sexuality being far from clear to him is lost in his endless faking. The device really could have worked, since this self confusion is a clear and present theme of this book. I still recommend this book. It addresses subjects central to the human condition and even at lesser level of success, it is more worthwhile than many successful treatments of easier topics.

I finished this book in a day. I couldn't put it down. I have read and re-read Adam several times. Ariel Schrag was on point with the emotions and getting the reader to feel those exact emotions that the characters were feeling. It was a refreshing story that many reader can relate to. I could relate to every character on one level or another. I did not want the book to end. I've recommended this book to every person that would listen. I did wonder how much of this novel was shaped by personal events and friendships. I can't wait for her next novel!

Ariel Schrag’s ADAM is at first a wisp of a book, that makes one think it’s a young adult novel, but in the end the book has been a study in young love, LGBT rights (emphasis on the L and the T), ungentrified Brooklyn and “discovering your path.” Awkward teenager Adam Freedman, feeling unwanted by the school’s core group, leaves the Bay Area to spend the summer with his sister in New York. His sister Casey, a lesbian, has a thing for transmen, so the book, which takes place in 2006 (for some unknown reason) is actually a study in the community of transmen at different points of transitioning. What Schrag has done is dangerous but smart. She has given these men attitudes, hang-ups and feelings of entitlement. Adam’s story is a bit more heartbreaking, as he meets the girl of his dreams, but she thinks he is a transman because of his slight build, soft features and his proximity (due to his sister) with so many other transmen. What could become THREE’S COMPANY-esque shenanigans with Adam trying to “hide his candy” becomes a poignant tale of first love with the Sword of Damocles hanging high above. Schrag, a writer for TV’s THE L WORD, is not shy about presenting sex in this brave new world, including a visit to an S&M club. What she has done, and if you think about, it’s pretty amazing, is create a YA novel for grown-ups. Think YOUTH IN REVOLT with less whimsy and more transsexuals.

I purchased this book because of the high star reviews. I won't give it high stars but we all have our own likes and dislikes with books. It was very slow in the beginning but did pick up towards the end. I would say the last 40% was worth reading. The author did a good job with describing Adam and allowing me to feel his feelings when he was upset, angry, mad, happy. I did learn a few things about Trans Gender.

I tried the book after reading a complimentary review, and enjoyed it very much. It made me laugh out loud a number of times, and the humor is suggestive of David Sedaris. I think it's sexual exploration got a little too graphic at times, but the author managed to get into the head of a testosterone driven 17 yr. boy old, admirably.

Guys, I'm not trans, but I am an ally and it's going to be hard to hit all the reasons that this book is offensive. You know I don't mean offensive in the sense that there's a ton of swearing, (there is), graphic descriptions of sex (there are) - but offensive in the sense that this feels like a book written by a cis-female lesbian to shock and awe her audience into thinking that this is some sort of breakthrough in trans fiction. I don't think I can write this review without spoilers. So, you've been warned. There are so many directions to go, I hardly know where to start. I guess we'll just start with Adam being a bit of a creepy jerk. Scratch that, the entire cast of characters all kind of turn out to be creepy jerks. But we'll start with Adam. Within the first few chapters, to impress his life-long friend he spies on his sister having sex with another woman. On purpose. Seriously? I'm really not sure what this was to add to the characterization of Adam except maybe he's insecure and just wants to be popular. I actually laughed out loud at the idiotic assumption that Adam makes while looking at lesbian porn that he should know what real lesbians do, because his sister is one. What?! So sad and rejected from the 'cool kids' at school Adam decides he wants to spend the entire summer in NYC with his sister who had just finished her freshman year at Columbia. The siblings move into a flat with June, who is continually thought of as 'butch' and intensely ugly by Adam, and Ethan - who June and Casey have found on Craigslist. Casey (the sister), comes across as a know-it-all on everything counter-culture sexuality. Actually, she comes across as a mean-girl. She also fails to do anything to offer readers any sense of empowerment with her own sexuality and really is representative of that sad girl who will do anything for attention and fails to recognize her own poor choices that put her in compromising and hurtful situations. If I cared enough I would go back through the book and find the number of times women are referenced as butch, ugly, or some clever insult thereof. Worst of all there is no redemption from Adam on thinking these awful things or for judging a book by its cover. Again and again women are objectified and lesbian women in this book even more so. I have to think that the shocking scene in the NYC sex club where Adam watches his sister having very public and rough sex (again), is a furtherance of that objectification. Why does this kid spend so much time watching his sister have sex? Oh, but let's get to where the real offense is. Adam meets the girl of his dreams (no literally, he has a vision on the plane to NYC about this girl) and *gasp* she's a very pretty lesbian. Somehow, somehow, she mistakes Adam for a female to male transperson. ...and what does Adam do? He rolls with it. So he's totally in love with Gillian - learns everything he can about trans-culture (all the better to fool you with, my dear) and keeps up the subterfuge until blessedly the author pulls the trigger and Adam has to come clean. What happens then? Does she feel violated that she's been having sex with someone who had committed an incredible transgression of her trust? Does she get angry and run away? NOT AT ALL. After Adam reveals he's a cis-male that has been posing as trans for months, Gillian just says. "I know." ...and they stay together. WHAT?! So basically skeevy teenage boy poses as trans to get into the panties of a lovely lesbian and gets away with all the goodies. No lesson learned, nothing. I also find this offensive in reinforcing the idea that gay people can choose their orientation. All the sudden Gillian is straight and we see no struggle in her identity about that. Are you going to say anything nice? Sure. There were tidbits of educational information about kind of maybe what it might be like to be trans. (Nothing of the terrible discrimination or the fact that the suicide rate is higher than any other population in America), but there is some education on types of surgeries a trans person may choose to go through, or why they may not choose to go through them. Overall though. This book is a hot mess. I read it because it's a part of The Tournament of Books and I would love to see it destroyed. I didn't go into it as a hate read, but somewhere along the way it ended up being one. Edit: I thought I'd add some quotes for context. Racism: "She had transferred ... mid semester and was the only black kid in Adam's American history class, and whenever they were talking about civil rights or racism, Kandis would get all huffy and groan really loudly any time a white kid had an opinion." p.38 Homosexuality: "June was clearly gay. Like, no doubt about it, this was a lesbian. Casey, who had long hair and often wore skirts, wasn't obviously gay..." p. 41 Excuse me, what does 'clearly gay' look like? "It might be fun to talk with a girly lesbian, just for the night, even if it went nowhere, but none of these girls were remotely hot. Why would you want to make yourself look so unattractive?" p.56 So much for body-positivity. Transgender: "Everyone kept talking, and all the sudden it hit Adam. He got it. The lesbians here weren't hemaphrodites - they were girls who wanted to be guys. And somehow this was possible." p.60