Along the way her quirky cast of cousins develop and recover from eating disorders, try to get their parents to 'out' them, and swim naked at a family barbecue.

The book follows Ingrid and her flirtation with Trevor, Brianne's boyfriend, over the course of a number of family events. From this point forward Ingrid's actions are judged with intense scrutiny by her family, especially after she laughs audibly at her uncle's heartfelt speech. It is here that Ingrid's older cousin Brianne, a psychology major, wonders aloud whether Ingrid might be a psychopath. The story opens at the Bar Mitzvah of their uncle who has decided to convert to judaism. It follows her and her five cousins who have been sitting at the 'kid table' during family functions for as long as they can remember. The story follows the main character, 16-year-old Ingrid Bell, through different family events over the course of a year or so. It was published in 2010, and there is talk of a possible movie adaptation, produced by Ivan Reitman. The Kid Table is Andrea Seigel's third book and her first for young adults. The cousins each take their own path toward graduating into adulthood-only to realize that maybe the kid table was where they wanted to be all along.Īlmost a reverse coming-of-age, this touching and hilariously funny novel will appeal to any reader who has sat at the kid table. When first love comes in the form of first betrayal (he's Brianne's boyfriend), Ingrid is forced to question her own personality and how she fits into her family. Her cousins each grapple with growing pains, but it is Ingrid who truly struggles as she considers what it means to grow up.

Over the course of five family events, Ingrid chronicles the coming-of-age of her generation. What does it take to graduate from the kid table? But then Brianne, the oldest cousin, lands a seat at the adult table and leaves her cousins shocked and confused. Ingrid Bell and her five teenage cousins are such a close-knit group that they don't really mind sitting at the kid table-even if they have to share it with a four-year-old.

The Kid Table by Andrea Seigel