We all experience and cope with anxiety in different ways: sometimes we become workaholics, make compulsive relationship decisions, or go on a shopping spree. Millennials (people born between the early 1980’s and the late 1990's) have a specific way of coping with anxiety due to their upbringing and current age, with a deep focus on identity and technology. As a millennial myself, I find these stories relatable and endearing, even if sometimes they take a dark turn. No matter what your favorite genre (or your generation), these newer novels featuring messy millennial characters are sure to entertain.
In this slice-of-life novel, queer twentysomething siblings, the titular Greta & Valdin, are living together in New Zealand dealing with their respective abysmal outlooks on love. Valdin’s ex ditched him and moved to South America, while Greta is beginning a new relationship after letting her longtime work crush go. Through a series of interactions with their slightly dysfunctional Maori and Russian family and their quirky cast of friends, Greta and Valdin learn what it means to grow into adulthood gracefully and in their own way. Highly recommended if you need a joyous dramedy with excellent banter.
Years after the tragic death of her husband, 29-year-old Nigerian American artist Feyi Adekola is ready to get back out there. She's not done grieving, but she's ready to take care of herself and have fun, maybe even allowing herself to make some mistakes. After a chance encounter, she is whisked away by a new boyfriend to a tropical island to the home of a celebrity chef with the promise of an artist fellowship. The only problem is that Feyi can’t deny a romantic connection to someone else on the island, someone who is completely off-limits and explicitly not right for her. But what if letting go is the only thing Feyi needs to experience a second chance at love? You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty explores allowing yourself to live and love, even after earth-shattering grief.
In Worry, 28-year-old Jules learns that her sister Poppy is moving to Brooklyn and is staying with her indefinitely. Jules is understandably annoyed at the sudden change, but also equally worried: Poppy’s recent suicide attempt (that only Jules knows about) looms large in the background, and Jules’ anxiety and ennui about her own life is causing her personal chaos at work and home. The plot takes a surprising turn when Poppy and Jules visit their parents and we get to meet their comedic Jewish mother, adding another familial layer to the girls’ relationship. The two sisters bicker, bond, apply for jobs and quit them, adopt a dog, and doomscroll in this raucously funny and brutally neurotic debut from Alexandra Tanner.
An unnamed 24-year-old narrator is struggling with her life in San Francisco during the 2012 Silicon Valley tech boom when her long-term boyfriend J announces that he is moving away for grad school. Our narrator, who is an Asian American woman, begins to reflect on her interracial relationship with a white man, her role as one of the only female writers at a big-time tech publication, and her life in Silicon Valley and, later, in upstate New York. Meditations on race, technology and finding comfort in the archives (hurray for library representation!) are especially well done in Days of Distraction, showcasing Alexandra Chang’s tremendous literary voice.
Beth Morgan’s A Touch of Jen is the only speculative fiction on this list, but the horrors in this book especially touch the concerns of millennials today. 30-something Remy and Alicia are an average boring couple who become obsessed with Jen, a former work acquaintance of Remy’s and a moderately famous Instagram celebrity. When they unexpectedly run into Jen one night and get invited to the Hamptons, things take a surprising and dangerously violent turn. A great techno-horror for the modern ages, A Touch of Jen is a twisty sci-fi treat for those seeking messy millennial plotlines.
What's your favorite book that represents millennial life?
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