twentysomething

books with characters who are in their 20s (and trying to figure out their 20s). primarily but not exclusively lit fic.

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created by leylines

last updated July, 2026

28 books

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Phoebe Berman's Gonna Lose It

Brooke Averick

Ghost Fish

Stuart Pennebaker

Real Life

Brandon Taylor

Lo Fi

Liz Riggs

Go Lightly

Brydie Lee-Kennedy

Snake Oil

Kelsey Rae Dimberg

The Guest

Emma Cline

Eileen

Ottessa Moshfegh

Cleopatra and Frankenstein

Coco Mellors

Sweetbitter

Stephanie Danler

Luster

Raven Leilani

Ripe

Sarah Rose Etter

The New Me

Halle Butler

Darling Rose Gold

Stephanie Wrobel

Bunny

Mona Awad

Such a Fun Age

Kiley Reid

Conversations with Friends

Sally Rooney

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

Ocean Vuong

Hot Milk

Deborah Levy

My Year of Rest and Relaxation

Ottessa Moshfegh

Water for Elephants

Sara Gruen

The Secret History

Donna Tartt

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

Gail Honeyman

Soft Core

Brittany Newell

Green Dot

Madeleine Gray

Margo's Got Money Troubles

Rufi Thorpe

Worry

Alexandra Tanner

The Rachel Incident

Caroline O'Donoghue

Comments

seema

Almost half of these are on my TBR.... Better get to reading, my 20s are almost over 😭

leylinesOP

ive read most but not all but they HIT. let me know if you want specific recs for my favorites 👀

seema

I think I'm okay on recs for now, but thank you, I may come back here when I'm in the mood to tackle these and trying to pick within them!

leylinesOP

yea absolutely!!

geminireads

oof yeah, I need this right now

crybabybea

love this 🥺

ErinYeager

I haven't heard of most of these books, but I love the list idea. Definitely would love recs on where to start 👀

leylinesOP

YES of course!! my favorites are worry, green dot, margo’s got money troubles, soft core, and snake oil!

if you’re looking for less plot/more character study go for worry or soft core. for more plot, margo or snake oil. for something inbtwn, green dot.

also: if you have a sister, worry is FANTASTIC!!! if you don’t it may not resonate with you as much. the people i know who loved it all have sisters, the people i know who didn’t like it don’t have sisters LOL

ErinYeager

Fantastic, I'll have to look into these. Thanks!

a.sword.fern

If you're taking suggestions, may I recommend Real Life by Brandon Taylor? It's about a queer Black biology grad student having a quarter-life crisis. The author has a background in science so he knows what he's talking about, unlike some authors of supposedly scientist protagonists.

leylinesOP

absolutely! adding now, thank you :)

crybabybea

i just realized Ghost Fish by Stuart Pennebaker would be so good for this list! it's about a young 20-year-old's grief for her sister, but it's also her moving away from home and to the city, learning how to trust herself and trust the people around her, learning how to make friends, etc. i found it to be such a poignant portrait of what it's like to be in your early 20s trying to figure life out