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A review by ladymacbeth_1985
Twenty-Five to Life by R.W.W. Greene
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This book has been on my shelf for something like two years! I always had it on my TBR pile but never got around to it, so, finally, I … got around to it! And I’m glad I did, as Twenty-Five to Life is an engrossing novel that was much more contemplative than I expected.
This novel features an unending road trip - a life constantly in transit.
It’s also a novel about protest, going against the expected grain, and finding adventure despite the risk. Julie decides she doesn't want to live a life only plugged into the VR world, escaping the mundanity and doom around her, and that she’d rather be uncomfortable and have genuine experiences than be comfortable and suffer ennui. She also learns a great deal about herself, society, and growing up. It’s one of those novels with a younger protagonist but it’s not a YA - the novel doesn’t skirt over the dangers of living on the road, but it also shows how most people do look out for one another.
I would almost call this novel pre-apocalyptic. While the world isn’t destroyed, it is environmentally bleak and a great deal of the population has moved to cities, leaving behind abandoned buildings and towns. Cops use drones to patrol these areas, kicking out anyone who tries to squat, but there are a lot of apocalypse tropes in the novel, enough that I think anyone who likes that genre will enjoy this book.
I loved the characters. Julie is naive and a bit sheltered, but she’s determined to prove her worth and value to herself and her driving partner, Ranger. The latter holds her cards close to her chest, but as Julie gets to know her, so do we. We don’t know her as much as we do Julie, but she serves as a great mentor character to Julie. It sometimes feels like we’re learning the ropes of the transient lifestyle as much as Julie is.
One thing I also really enjoyed was the concept of upping the legal age to twenty-five. Julie can’t do all the things she wants to do: move out on her own, get a job, etc, because she’s not allowed. This, while not entirely realistic, works more as a parallel to the situation of many young people today - those who want to work but their fields are full of those who won't retire (or companies who only hire contract employees), young people who can’t afford housing or even rent, and young people who are held back by the coddling bestowed upon them by their parents (and who are then blamed for it). Like a lot of people today, Julie feels trapped by society itself. It’s an understandable issue - I think anyone, even those who grew up in affluence, understands being in your early twenties and just wanting to get out and explore.
Speaking of exploration, all the action aspects of the novel move at a good pace and it's clear what's going on. Nothing felt too over-the-top (either in the dangers they face or how they escape situations), and it was wholly engaging. It was also nice to have a story about a young woman - especially one written by a dude - where romance wasn’t her end goal or even a part of the story.
Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. I stayed up way too late reading "just one more chapter." I definitely recommend this novel, which is what seems to happen when you leave things to ferment on your TBR!
This novel features an unending road trip - a life constantly in transit.
It’s also a novel about protest, going against the expected grain, and finding adventure despite the risk. Julie decides she doesn't want to live a life only plugged into the VR world, escaping the mundanity and doom around her, and that she’d rather be uncomfortable and have genuine experiences than be comfortable and suffer ennui. She also learns a great deal about herself, society, and growing up. It’s one of those novels with a younger protagonist but it’s not a YA - the novel doesn’t skirt over the dangers of living on the road, but it also shows how most people do look out for one another.
I would almost call this novel pre-apocalyptic. While the world isn’t destroyed, it is environmentally bleak and a great deal of the population has moved to cities, leaving behind abandoned buildings and towns. Cops use drones to patrol these areas, kicking out anyone who tries to squat, but there are a lot of apocalypse tropes in the novel, enough that I think anyone who likes that genre will enjoy this book.
I loved the characters. Julie is naive and a bit sheltered, but she’s determined to prove her worth and value to herself and her driving partner, Ranger. The latter holds her cards close to her chest, but as Julie gets to know her, so do we. We don’t know her as much as we do Julie, but she serves as a great mentor character to Julie. It sometimes feels like we’re learning the ropes of the transient lifestyle as much as Julie is.
One thing I also really enjoyed was the concept of upping the legal age to twenty-five. Julie can’t do all the things she wants to do: move out on her own, get a job, etc, because she’s not allowed. This, while not entirely realistic, works more as a parallel to the situation of many young people today - those who want to work but their fields are full of those who won't retire (or companies who only hire contract employees), young people who can’t afford housing or even rent, and young people who are held back by the coddling bestowed upon them by their parents (and who are then blamed for it). Like a lot of people today, Julie feels trapped by society itself. It’s an understandable issue - I think anyone, even those who grew up in affluence, understands being in your early twenties and just wanting to get out and explore.
Speaking of exploration, all the action aspects of the novel move at a good pace and it's clear what's going on. Nothing felt too over-the-top (either in the dangers they face or how they escape situations), and it was wholly engaging. It was also nice to have a story about a young woman - especially one written by a dude - where romance wasn’t her end goal or even a part of the story.
Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. I stayed up way too late reading "just one more chapter." I definitely recommend this novel, which is what seems to happen when you leave things to ferment on your TBR!