Paperback pick: These Days Are Ours

Anyone who has experienced a quarter-life crisis will be able to relate to the central character in These Day Are Ours, Hailey, an unemployed graduate living in a big city (with her parents), unsure of what the next step is in life.

Set in a post-September 11 New York, Hailey and her friends, although privileged, tell the story of twenty-something-year-olds past and present everywhere, coming to terms with the real world and slowly realising certain ideas and dreams they once thought would come true might never happen.

Hailey’s story is one of gradual reevaluation of life, as she moves from childhood to adulthood, and hearing her shallow, immature and self-centered concerns around love, work and what people think of her provide a stark reminder of how tough our twenties can be.

But Hailey isn’t an unlikeable character; in fact, her honest and highly relatable narrative serves as a personal reminder of being young and lost.

A great read, full of humour, These Days Are Ours is sure to speak to twenty-somethings now, and to those who have survived them, alike.

These Day Are Ours by Michelle Haimoff is published by Penguin, and costs £8.99