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

[Liza]

Does anyone know how old Stephanie Garber is (or was in 2017)? I'm looking for a place to fit Caraval.

[Sherri]

Normal People by Sally Rooney

[Ashleigh]

I noticed that a lot of people have mentioned Sally Rooney for this prompt. A public service announcement is if you're an Audible member Normal People is the free audiobook download for this month! I just grabbed it!

[Kelly]

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote his first three novels in his twenties

[Karin]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was written while Douglas Adams was still in his twenties.

[Nadine in NY]

I’m currently reading Tweet Cute by Emma Lord, and it is so much fun!!! I’m reading it for “social media” but it also has a bird on the cover aaaaannndd ... the author looks young so I messaged her to ask if she’s in her 20s and she says yes she is!! If you like YA enemies-to-lovers rom-coms, I highly recommend this one!!

[Ashleigh]

Nadine wrote: "I’m currently reading Tweet Cute by Emma Lord, and it is so much fun!!! I’m reading it for “social media” but it also has a bird on the cover aaaaannndd ... the au..."

Was also published in 2020 and has an above 4 star rating :) And if you're a January baby, can use it for that too!

[Kim]

The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave was written when she was 29.

[Pam]

I read Funny, You Don't Look Autistic: A Comedian's Guide to Life on the Spectrum by Michael McCreary. I believe the author was 22 when he wrote this memoir!

[Megan]

Anybody know how old Tarryn Fisher is (The Wives author)? She looks young but I can't find a DOB anywhere.

[Heather]

Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh has been on my TBR for awhile. Her Goodreads bio says she was born in 1993.

[Theresa]

Crossroad Blues by Ace Atkins. Written and published when Atkins was 27. Excellent American noir detective story paying hommage to The Maltese Falcon and set along the Blues Highway in the Mississippi Delta.

[Claire]

I recently read After Darkness by J F Johns - she is 27 years old. :)

This was a brilliantly written dystopian fiction, it's set in the same world as her previous books but can be read as a stand alone (I haven't yet read her previous books).

[Sarah]

I'm reading A High Wind in Jamaica for this challenge. The author (according to the forward at the beginning of the edition I'm reading) was born in 1900 and the book was published in 1929. He started writing it in 1928. So Richard Hughes was in his 20s when he wrote it. It's an adventure story about kids and pirates, in Jamaica. It's very easy to read.

[Sarah]

Here is another book I found that would fit the profile for this challenge. Faded the author (according to a local newspaper interview) was 23 years old when her first book, Faded, was published.. this would be great for anyone who wants to read an urban story by a young African American woman.

[Virginia]

I read "Call of the Wild" first published in 1903 when Jack London was in his 20s.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

[Sarah]

It says on the back of the book that James Joyce wrote from 1904 to 1907. And he was 22 in 1904. The book was complete by 1907. But it wasn't published until 1914 because people of the time were squeamish. This book is a very quick easy read. The language is easy too. Dubliners

[Megan]

Not sure if it's here or not, but The Hate U Give counts. Angie Thomas was born in 1988, and the book was published in 2017, making her 29.

[Evil Secret]

I read Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

[Teri]

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera
I quite liked this YA book set in New York City.

[Arunimaa]

I am gonna go with 魔道祖师 Mo Dao Zu Shi by Mo Xiang Ton Xiu.
Now, it's a little complicated because I am not sure of the author's exact age. Since this is a translated Chinese novel, there isn't much information available about the author. But I do know that when she started writing the outline of the book, she was in the last year of her university. And the book was published 4 years ago so she can't possibly be above 30. So yes, I suppose this should work.

[Mariah]

One way to figure out an author’s age is to look for interviews. A lot of the time it says the age after the author is first mentioned.

[Janette]

I recently read Educated and seem to recall the author mentioning her age in the book and it was her late 20's. I know the book was published when she was 31. Does anyone know her age when she finished the book?

[Yoo]

I've just read Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier for another prompt but it mentions at the end she was 29 when it was published.

[Monnie]

Nancy wrote: "I did a bit of Googling.

Zadie Smith wrote White Teeth at 24.
Mary Shelley was only 21 when Frankenstein was published
Tea Obreht wrote The Tiger's Wife..."

Actually, for Stephen King you could also read Salem's Lot, The Shining and Rage. the Shining and Rage were published the year he turned 30 BUT before his actual birthday so technically he wrote them in his twenties :)

[Mirel]

Thanks to a suggestion here, I read Wuthering Heights. Emily Bronte died at 30, and if I remember correctly, the book was published a year before that.

[Lilith]

Chanel Miller was 28 when she published Know My Name. Powerful writing! Worthy read for anyone. The material can be heavy, and even the author suggests taking break. That said, it's hard to put down. 5 stars

[Barbara]

I read Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. He was 29 when it was published.

[Heather L]

I used Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass for this one, written when he was 28.

[Hilary]

Nadine wrote: "I’m currently reading Tweet Cute by Emma Lord, and it is so much fun!!! I’m reading it for “social media” but it also has a bird on the cover aaaaannndd ... the au..."

Thank you so much Nadine! I was getting desperate enough to stalk her on social media and ask. hahaha.

[Collin]

Does anyone know if K.M. Szpara or Sarah Gailey is in their 20s? I've searched several of their interviews for ages and can't find anything.

[Kimberly]

Edited to add: I just messaged Ryan through GoodReads and he replied so kindly that, “I started this book when I was a teen in high school, but wrote the bulk of the published version when I was 22-24.” So I’m choosing Reverie for this prompt!!

I’m looking for the birthdate of Ryan La Sala. His book Reverie is a Big Library Read. Anyone know if he was in his 20s when he wrote it?

[Kirby]

For this prompt, I read The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow (fiction). This book was published in September 2019, approximately 2 months before the author turned 30.

[Tamara]

I read "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green.

[Meredith]

Rhonda wrote: "You can find some author's ages on Wikipedia. I found that Pierce Brown is 31, which means that his original Red Rising series was all published when he was in his 20s.

[book:Red R..."

You're my new hero, as I was trying to figure out a book that fit this prompt that perhaps I had read this year but didn't need for a different prompt. Turns out Iron Gold was published days before his 30th birthday. And it was my first book of 2020. :)