01 - A book written by an author in their 20's

[Katie]

John Green's first two Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines both count.

...even if he spells Kathryn wrong, it's possible I'm biased though.

[T.]

I think I've decided to go with I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban.

[Kristen]

Jodi Picoult is a favorite author of mine. She was born in 1966, and her first four books qualify: Mercy, Picture Perfect, Harvesting the Heart, and Songs of the Humpback Whale.

I'm actually wondering how much I want to push the boundaries of the prompt. The Pact wasn't released until 1998, but seeing how much research she puts into each of her novels, SURELY she must have been working on it when she was in her 20s.. right? Haha.

[Karin]

Agnieszka wrote: "Karin wrote: "Charles Dickens published at least one novel when he was in his 20s, The Pickwick Papers, but his collection Sketches by Boz was published a year earlier.
..."

If you want to read both, Nicholas Nickelby will probably work for main character in their 20s, but I can't be totally sure.

[Jen]

Stephen King's Dark Tower series was written mostly in his 20s (started late teens and not published till later but still written then).

[Darci]

I'm actually going with a graphic novel for this one-Beware the Kitten Holy. The author is still in her twenties.

[SadieReadsAgain]

I'm going for Normal People!

[Karin]

Tracey wrote: "Nicholas Nickleby
The Old Curiosity Shop
The Pickwick Papers"

Great minds think alike, Tracey :)!!

Also the following two :

Karin wrote: "Charles Dickens published at least one novel when he was in his 20s, The Pickwick Papers, but his collection Sketches by Boz was published a year earlier.

Other books published in his 20s:
Nicholas Nickleby
The Old Curiosity Shop
Barnaby Rudge

I just compared his birth year with the list of his books by publication year--this isn't as hard for long dead authors as for some of the more recent ones :)


."

[Victoria]

Eleanor Catton was only 28 when she won the Booker Prize for The Luminaries.

And that was her second book, so she was in her 20s when she wrote The Rehearsal.

[Karin]

Tracey wrote: "Karin wrote: "Tracey wrote: "Nicholas Nickleby
The Old Curiosity Shop
The Pickwick Papers"

Great minds think alike, Tracey :)!!

Also the following two :
..."

True, but there may be good reason for it such as privacy in this digital age where it's so easy to get too much information on people :)

I may end up reading Dickens for two different ones, this one and also the one with a book written by or about a journalist, and would read two books. But it all depends on how my 2020 reading goes.

[Ali]

Victoria wrote: "Eleanor Catton was only 28 when she won the Booker Prize for The Luminaries.

And that was her second book, so she was in her 20s when she wrote The Rehearsal."

Oooh thanks! I really liked the Luminaries when I started it but had to return it to library before I finished it (it's a bit of a brick!) Great excuse to pick it back up.

[Angela]

The Ten Thousand Doors of January - The author was 29 when it was published in September.

[Karin]

Anne Bronte wrote her two novels when she was in her 20s; she died at age 29.

Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

If you read the second one, try to get one from the edition that was published when she was still alive, because Charlotte took out one of the most important parts of the novel after she died because it was scandalous at the time. While it's not scandalous by today's standards she was the first to write about an abusive, drunkard husband in the upper class.

[Lani]

I got The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima at a book sale for 50 cents, and see that it's on the Goodreads list!

[Marie-Eve]

Nancy wrote: "Johanne wrote: "Adam Silvera will be 29 the first half of next year.
Wait... it doesn't say they still have to be in their 20's just that they wrote the booj in their 20's. Well all his books to da..."

I read What if it's Us, which is co-written, and i absolutely LOVED it.

[Darja]

François Villon died so young. I choose some his work.

[Lynette]

has someone already listed Sister Carrie?

[Nicole]

Rachael wrote: "I'm going for Life, the Universe and Everything. It's a bit of a stretch, in that it was published in 1982, and Douglas Adams was born in 1952, so he was 30 when it was published, but t..."

Great! I planned to read this one this year :)
It also means the first 2 books of the series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and The Restaurant at the End of the Universe will count also.

[L Y N N]

Children of Blood and Bone and Children of Virtue and Vengeance
Tomi Adeyemi is in her mid-twenties! So much talent!!

[L Y N N]

How about Venus Envy? Also works for #20 A book you selected because the title caught your attention! There is a prompt for a different challenge, "A book with a pun in the title," for which this would also work!! MADE ME LAUGH!! ;)

[Milena]

I just found out The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter was published when Carson McCullers was 23.

[El]

Milk and Honey and The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur

[Asia_k]

It seems that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wrote couple of books before turning 30:
Purple Hibiscus
Half of a Yellow Sun
I would recommend those two, plus maybe others for other prompts?

[Maca]

I think I'm going to read El Príncipe del Sol by our spanish queen of booktube Claudia Ramírez

[Jas]

So they only have to have been in their 20s when they wrote the book not now?

[Shannon]

Does anyone know if Amanda foodie, author of daughter of the burning city, is in her 20s? It seems like I remember her saying that in an interview, but I can’t recall for sure.

[Jenny Dahl Bakken]

I am planning to read Carson McCullers´ "The heart is a lonely hunter" for this one. And looking forward to it! Her debut book which I´ve heard great things about. She was 23 when it was published.

If I like it I might also read her second book for the gold, silver, bronze prompt (it has "golden" in the title).

[Marta unmillondepaginas]

The author is 29

[Errlee]

Found a few possibilities that I don't think have been mentioned yet:

Rosie Price (26) - What Red Was

Isabella Hammad (27) - The Parisian

Beth O'Leary (26) - The Flatshare

Yara Rodrigues Fowler (26) - Stubborn Archivist

Don't know much about them but got some good reviews.

I also loved Normal People by Sally Rooney so I might try Conversations with Friends.

[Karol]

Helen Keller was 22 when she wrote The story of my life

[Yoo]

My favourite book of the 2019 challenge was The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas who was 29 when published.

[Patricia]

Karen Russell was not yet 30 when Swamplandia! was published in 2011. That‘s what I‘ll use

[Drakeryn]

Here are some fantasy books (either recs or from my TBR). Some were already mentioned but this is partly for my own reference anyway.

V.E. Schwab (born 1987) - A Darker Shade of Magic, Vicious, This Savage Song
Natasha Ngan (born 1990) - Girls of Paper and Fire
Roshani Chokshi (born 1991) - The Gilded Wolves
R.F. Kuang (born 1996) - The Poppy War

[Caley]

I started Where Angels Fear to Tread a couple weeks ago, which E.M. Forster was in mid-20s when published back in 1905. Old books = easy to find birth years and publications (as long as not too old ;-)

[Tania]

Lara Prior-Palmer wrote her memoir in her early 20's (she was 23 when it was published):

Rough Magic: Riding the World's Loneliest Horse Race by Lara Prior-Palmer

[Kristen]

Anyone know how old Taylor Adams was when he wrote No Exit? I couldn't find his age anywhere.

[Brandon]

Can anyone answer if Tricia Levenseller is in her 20s?

[Zandrea Mitchell]

F. Scott Fitzgerald was in his 20s when both This Side of Paradise and The Great Gatsby were published.

[Erica]

Beth Reekles counts at 26ish. The Kissing Booth was first published when she was 17 in 2012. The sequel Going the Distance was published this month

[Jeniece]

I just got a copy of Nameless Queen by Rebecca McLaughlin. From a brief internet search, it looks like Rebecca graduated high school in 2010 and college in 2014. So that would put her around 27/28. Should be a good option for this challenge. Also published in 2020 for those that like to double up on prompts.

[Sassafrass]

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion should work. The author is currently 38 and the book was published 10 years ago so he was in his 20's.

[Angelina]

The Mysterious Affair at Styles Agatha Christie was 30 when this was published and it wasn’t published straight away.

[That Book]

Does anyone know of any romance books I can read for this prompt?

[Sassafrass]

Beckie wrote: "Does anyone know of any romance books I can read for this prompt?"

I was having trouble finding any romance books as well so I went with another book that I needed for another challenge.

[Britany]

Finished Normal People by Sally Rooney

Was pleasantly impressed with this one.

My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Cr]

Ayano Takeda (武田綾乃) is currently 28 years old, so most (if not all) of her works probably count. She's well-known for "Sound! Euphonium" which was originally published 2013 (English translation 2017).

[Tania]

Both of the main characters in The Arrangement by Mary Balogh are in their 20's; I used this book for the vision impairment prompt, but it works here as well.

[Eujean2]

I just finished Notes from a Young Black Chef and I recommend it people who like both food & memoirs. The audiobook version is great.

[K.L.]

Ash Princess, Lady Smoke, and Ember Queen should all work for this prompt. Laura Sebastian just turned 30 this past week.

[Julia]

I'm going to read On Beauty by Zadie Smith. It was published when she was 29.