Adam

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.

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.

Super-enjoyable look at NYC queer culture circa 2006 through the lens of a teenage boy trying to make sense of it all.

Adam is a 17 year old cis boy who pretends to be a trans boy for a summer to get a hot older girl.The book is transphobic and lesbophobic - the whole thing is full of his thoughts about how ugly lesbians are, how much trans men remind him of women, their nasal voices, their tells. There's muliple long scenes where he's grossed out by trans women.It is a gross, uncomfortable, transphobic train wreck of a book.

Ein echt tolles Buch habe es verschlungen / a real page turner!Great story, not as I expected, different view and not cliche! /Innovativ, etwas anderer Blickwinkel, richtig gute Story, einzigartig.Sehr zu empfehlen! Strongly recommended!

"Adam" throws you into the world of transgender people, but even more so; this is a story about love, trust and failing that trust. I often find difficulty believing in the romance in YA novels, but Adam and Gillian are exemplary as a fictional couple. They're real, they're compelling, I rooted for them like there was no tomorrow. In the margins of their relationship, Shrag doesn't forget the minor characters, who all have a unique personality and all their own wonderful quirks. This is how writing is supposed to be.Bonus: I'm female, but I think this is a YA book people of all gender identities can enjoy, which is always a good thing :)

Loved it! Humane, funny and very real.