Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman

I began this week feeling cynical about everything, from life to books, and then Abbi Waxman’s Adult Assembly Required came along and made me sigh, grin, and laugh my head off every few pages. My faith in humanity may still be bruised, but my hope for modern literature is restored. And I now have a new batch of literary friends to visit when I feel low or want to debate the merits of various organizational systems.

“When Laura Costello moves to Los Angeles, trying to escape an overprotective family and the haunting memories of a terrible accident, she doesn’t expect to be homeless after a week. (She’s pretty sure she didn’t start that fire — right?) She also doesn’t expect to find herself adopted by a rogue bookseller, installed in a lovely but completely illegal boardinghouse, or challenged to save a losing trivia team from ignominy…but that’s what happens. Add a regretful landlady, a gorgeous housemate and an ex-boyfriend determined to put himself back in the running and you’ll see why Laura isn’t really sure she’s cut out for this adulting thing. Luckily for her, her new friends Nina, Polly and Impossibly Handsome Bob aren’t sure either, but maybe if they put their heads (and hearts) together they’ll be able to make it work for them.” —Goodreads blurb

Waxman does a fantastic job juggling a larger than life ensemble with the more intimate story of Laura’s growth. While centered around Laura, the story makes room for her new friends to shine, too. They may be a part of her book, but they clearly have lives of their own going on and aren’t on pause until their own books come (or since their own books finished, in some cases). I fell in love with each and every one of them, and their vibrancy and wacky humor reminded me of all my favorite people. It’s been a while since I’ve seen an ensemble done so well, and you can bet I’ll be coming back for more.

The main subplot to Laura’s journey is a romance with one of her new housemates, Impossibly Handsome Bob — or, as I like to call him, Impossibly Adorable Bob. It’s insta-crush for both of them, but not in a cringe way. They’re just two kind souls who find rare comfort in each other’s company and stumble their way into true love. Laura is more on the reserved side and, coming off a couple of life-changing, traumatic years, is understandably slower to open herself up to romance. Bob, on the other hand, is shy but surprisingly open with himself, and he basically has heart-eyes from the moment he sees her. And because he’s right to crush on her (Laura is amazing) and because he’s so hilariously, adorably awkward about it, even in his own head, I love him with my whole heart.

In conclusion, I loved this book. It’s sunshine and joy and random and nerdy in the best way, with a warm heart beating at its center as our heroine embraces her found family and learns to move forward and give herself grace. It was exactly what I needed this week, and I can’t recommend it highly enough if you enjoy found families and the best literary references.

My thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

—b