Ep. 28: Young Twenty-Somethings (The Secret History + Act Your Age, Eve Brown)

Summary: Ah, the follies and joys of youth! If you’ve been with us since the start, you know that Holly and Devin love stories with octogenarian protagonists. This week we’re mixing it up and focusing on 20-something people who are still figuring themselves out. Holly struggled to find a book in her wheelhouse for this theme, but is generally drawn to young protagonists in thrillers because the silly mistakes they make to get murdered seem more plausible. Devin struggles to find books that *don’t* focus on 20-somethings, since the romance genre has a long history of focusing solely on young people. Overall, though, they always have a blast following young protagonists through thorny plots and tough growth, and today’s episode is no exception!  

Topics Discussed:

• The Dagger (3:04): Holly discussed The Secret History by Donna Tartt, a novel following 6 friends at an elite Vermont college who, through their own hubris, are sucked into a dark tangled web heavily featuring Greek Classics. As an inverted detective story, we quickly learn that the group is responsible for the murder of one of their own, Edward “Bunny” Corcoran, whose body is found days after his disappearance at the bottom of a ravine. Her key takeaways were:

• Tartt captured the 20-something experience by delving into themes that resonate with that time in life. Holly was especially impacted by the dangers of isolation, superficiality, and the weight of keeping secrets for the group of 6 young students. 
• While initially fearful of reading this book because it might be too pretentious for her taste, Holly enjoyed it thoroughly after 8 years on her TBR shelf. The writing is incredibly strong and Holly was ultimately drawn to the group of friends and Tartt’s phenomenal character development 
• This book popularized the dark academia / campus novel subgenre when it was published in 1992; Holly especially appreciated the chill fall moods and dusty college setting that added to the sense of isolation and doom for the plot. 

• The Heart (20:21): Devin discussed Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert, Book 3 in the Brown Sisters series that follows Eve Brown, the youngest sibling and a 26 year old self-described mess. When Eve fails at yet another job, a fight with her parents sends her driving nowhere just to escape; 45 minutes later she stops for a snack at a bed and breakfast that is in desperate need of a new cook. She interviews on the fly with the B&B owner, Jacob Wayne, but his stormy and abrasive attitude make her flee yet again - only to hit Jacob (by accident) with her car. 

• If you haven’t already, Devin *highly* recommends reading all 3 books in the Brown Sisters series! You can check out all the offerings at Talia Hibbert’s website here; they are diverse, sexy, well-written plots with characters you’ll love! 
• Both Eve and Jacob are on the autism spectrum and their mutual support, communication, and clarification of their needs throughout the book not only makes their enemies to friends to lovers journey something to root for, but the intimacy and sexual connection between them much more profound.
• As a coming of age romance, Eve is the sunshine, singsong friend and Jacob is the gray, stormy, unyielding counter. Together, though, their witty banter evolves into growth for both - Jacob with his abandonment issues and Eve with her deel fear of failure. 

• Hot On the Shelf (37:59):

• Devin: The Winners by Fredrik Backman
• Holly: Babel by R.F. Kuang

• What’s Making Our Hearts Race (42:27):

• Devin: Cross-country skiing setup 
• Holly: The Banshees of Inisherin

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