Twenty-Something

[author_by_night]

So lady_sarai and I were talking earlier about some of our beloved teens' books, and I had a thought.

Are there any books for us twenty-somethings?

I can read books about sixteen year olds, and about forty year olds - not a problem. But there seems to be a lack of books written about the 18-25 age group. That, or I just haven't found those books.  The books I have found that involved kids my age were mostly beach reads, like Grecian Holiday and Spanish Holiday.

I dunno, I would just like to read about someone in that age gap for once. Someone who is in college, just out of college, or was never in college - either way, trying to find their place.  Or just something unrelated, but with people who are closer to my age and easier to relate to.

Just some thoughts. :) I would love to read a Sisterhood of the Travelng Pants type book or a Ya Ya Sisterhood type book - with characters someone my age can more easily relate to.

Comments

[kit-the-brave.livejournal.com]

Goodbye Without Leaving, by Laurie Colwin! If you like science fiction, Deep secret by Diana Wynne Jones. If you like fantasy other than HP, The Year of the Gryffin, by Diana Wynne Jones, and its prequel, Dark Lord of Derkholm.

More fantasy: A College of Magics and the sequel, which is called... um...sA Scholar of Magics, that's it.

Classics: The Color Purple, by Alice Walker. A really thick classic, but compelling, The Mill on the Floss, by George Eliot.

Geez, this is way more than you wanted to know, right? But I can go on! I'll stop now, though. :)

[shalli.livejournal.com]

Diana Wynne Jones! I love her work...

I've got a couple of suggestions too *grins*

Queen Kat, Carmel and St Jude Get a Life (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/014028124X/002-7413568-2725658?v=glance&n=283155) by Maureen McCarthy for the not fantasy element, and if you do like the fantasy stuff, or Fiona MacIntosh's The Quickening Trilogy (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060747560/sr=1-3/qid=1155526199/ref=pd_bbs_3/002-7413568-2725658?ie=UTF8&s=books) might be worth a look too. Starts off with the main protagonist at fourteen, but quickly moves to him reaching young adulthood. Great series with some good twists.

[shalli.livejournal.com]

Er, messed that up a little. First book isn't fantasy, the trilogy is. Must read over things before posting especially when I'm doing several other things at the same time.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Hm, have to look at those. And thanks. :)

I'm not so into fantasy, but I may give it a try. I'm very random with what fantasy I like for reasons that belong in another post.

[moonlinnet.livejournal.com]

I didn't know A College of Magics had a sequel! *goes to Amazon*

[petitecrivan.livejournal.com]

Well, I plan on writing one someday, would you like to read it when I do? :p

I'm trying to think of one...I'll get back to you if I do.

[crystalnova.livejournal.com]

A 'one day I'll do it' novel? Sounds like NaNoWriMo material! Wheee, I am so excited because I am going to do it this year. Or, I'll try. :D

Sorry for spamming up your journal, Amy. *guilty look*

[petitecrivan.livejournal.com]

Ooh, you're doing NaNo this year? Yay! I'm upping myself to 75,000 words in a month, think I can do it?

And I already know what I'm doing for it...ish. :p

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Go for it!

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to think of an idea too. We'll publish both. ;) But I have way too many story ideas.

[kasuchi]

Maybe writers figure that's what TV is for? I don't mean to sound facetious, but the target demographic for most television programs and their networks is the 18-25 range.

[sparkly-stuff.livejournal.com]

Actually the coveted target audience by almost all networks is 18-35, but either way I don't think novelists would ever use television viewing habits as a reason not to write! I think it's just that people our generation are more likely to watch TV than read books so maybe books aren't marketed as much to us as to older/younger people...but even still there's plenty of reading material out there for all ages.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Good point about our generation and television. I think a lot of people do find it easier, of all ages. And maybe they have a point - if they're the sort of college kids who are taking eight classes, have a full time job and a boyfriend, then yeah, it's going to be easier to sit in front of the television and catch the latest Lost episode for half an hour while eating dinner than to sit and read a book for an hour.

But yeah, there are those of us who do have time.

[kasuchi]

I was actually being tongue-in-cheek, but I guess I got taken the wrong way! :D

I do agree, but I've found so little even in my own experience for that age group. I've always enjoyed reading about characters older than me because I felt it prepared me for what was to come. So, you know, just saying.

But children's literature (Stellaluna, anything by Chris Van Allsburg, etc.) is timeless and remains a favorite of mine to this day.

[lotuseyes.livejournal.com]

I picked up a bunch of series about college-post college type books...they were all from the 50/60's though. so they were rather limited in their scope of what girls could do...I haven't read any recent ones. I've read mostly ones about girls 17-18, or books dealing with girls about 25ish who never went to college (cause they're fantasy books).

there is a wide derth of books for people in our age bracket. its annoying to only find romances...::Sigh::

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and it's annoying when most are romantic beach reads. And note the beach reads - it's like people can't be in a deep relationship at our age, it's all about the smut. Not that smut is bad, but... some of us want to read about stuff deeper than that. (And friendship, and other relationships too.)

Fantasy books... I'm sadly not so into fantasy. What fantasy I do like thoroughly depends on the universe. Makes the fact that I like Wicked and Harry Potter ironic, I'm sure, but nonetheless.

[sparkly-stuff.livejournal.com]

Read the Jessica Darling books (Sloppy Firsts, Second Helpings and Charmed Thirds) by Megan McCafferty. She's hilarious and over the course of the 3 books you follow the protagonist from high school all the way to her college graduation, and you can relate a lot to her. Well, I do at least. They remind me of the Traveling Pants books (which I also love).

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Hm, I shold look at those. :)

And I love Traveling Pants too, even if they are younger for me. And to be fair, in the last one, they were starting college. But still, it would be nice to read about more my age group as well. Especially friendship fics - why is it that we 18-25's only, according to the literary and media world, care about who we're sleeping with or lack thereof?

[parsimonia.livejournal.com]

I think there are probably a few "chick-lit" type books out there that are about young 20-somethings, but they are probably crap.

[purple-ladybug1.livejournal.com]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_young_adult_authors

This has a list of YA authors. I've skimmed the titles. Some are about preteens, some are about teens, and some are about our aged people.

[purple-ladybug1.livejournal.com]

In particular, Cynthia's Voigt's books have the same characters who age, as do Madeline L'Engle's books. Ann Rinaldi's historical fiction books vary in the heroine's age. The Face on the Milk Carton series ages. Those are just some that I know have college age characters. All, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, one of my favorite classics. Ooh, and Little Women and Little Men.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Ooh, thanks!