I repeatedly notice how often the main character of my fiction ends up being a twenty-something. I think it's helpful and important to read about people in a different place in life than me, but that does not only mean people in their 20s! I have been keeping count for quite some time now and my lists of characters in their 40s and older are still so tiny! They grow at a snail's pace, but at least they grow! Today I want to share my list of main characters in their 30s.
Authentically, Izzy... Either I didn't catch Izzy's age or it wasn't specified, but I do assume she's in her 30s. Our mail main character (Brodie), however, is most definitely age 34. This book was epistolary until about page 250. That did throw me off a bit but I quickly recovered and just enjoyed this fun rom-com.
Baxter family books... Because these books are about various family members they span a large age range. These are not for everyone as they're very dramatic but I really did enjoy them. I would say they're like a (conservative Christian) book version of Parenthood or This is Us. They get very heavy and almost always make me cry. I've linked the first five-book series but the Baxters series really contains 30-ish books, some spread out through different four or five book series, some as stand-alones.
Christiansen family books... Because these books are about various family members they span a large age range. I love them. They might be my favorite series.
The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley... Isadora's thirtieth birthday is the kick-off of this book. After reading an article about ways to be happy, she decides to conduct an experiment on herself. She'll try each of these things and probably not end up any happier. Right?
The Heart Between Us... The cover of this book about twin sisters made me think it was going to be all playful fluff but that is very misleading! It had a lot more depth and heaviness (and, bear with me, heart) than I would ever have expected from the cover. Also, twins, so two thirty-somethings for the price of one. Sexual assault is briefly mentioned multiple times in this book.
The Lost Story of Via Belle... This time-slip covers several ages but a main male character, Simon, is 33 at the start of the book. Simon is not telling the story from his perspective but we definitely get to know him quite well.
The Printed Letter Bookshop... This story, which takes place primarily in a bookshop, is about multiple women of different ages/ life stations. One is in her 30s so here we are. Again, the cover made this seem like a playful fluff book to me but it had a lot more substance to it than that. I prefer my books full of depth and substance so that didn't bother me in the slightest!
The Summer of Yes... This was a story about a 30-something writer who is road-tripping with a dying older woman and writing her biography. They're both learning that good things can happen if they only choose to say yes.
These Tangled Threads... The first thing I want to warn you of is that I started this book as an audio book and struggled with the multiple timelines. I had to switch to a physical version but I know some people handle audio better than I do. This book is all over the place time-wise but at some point Arthur was said to be 37 years old so here it is!
Twenty Something Else... This book was an interesting one for me. I love a fun time-bending story and this one did deliver on that front but sometimes I was very bothered by the main character's views/choices. Sutton is on her last day of age 39 on page one and then various twenty-something ages throughout the book. This one is said to be great for fans of Courtney Walsh and I think I would overall agree.
