What do you think?
Rate this book
Twenty-Somewhere #1-40
Twenty-Somewhere
Written as 40 weekly webisodes, Twenty-Somewhere is the fast-paced, heartfelt story of 3 young women learning how to be independent, yet also hold onto each other, in this big, crazy, modern world.
Best friends Sophie Lin, Claudia Bradford, and MJ Alexander have graduated college and are ready to take on the real world. Or so they think. As relationships sour, careers sputter, and ethical dilemmas arise, the girls turn to the one thing they can always count their friendship with each other. But even that will be put to the test...
189 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 14, 2009
7 people are currently reading
590 people want to read
About the author
Kristan Hoffman
12 books18 followersOriginally from Houston, TX, Kristan Hoffman studied creative writing at Carnegie Mellon University and later attended the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop. Now she lives with her family in Cincinnati, OH, where she writes both fiction and nonfiction with a focus on feminist, multicultural stories. Her words have appeared in the New York Times, Switchback, and Citron Review, among others. She is currently at work on a Young Adult novel. For more, please visit kristanhoffman.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 1, 2011
Kristan Hoffman describes her book by saying “Think Sex and the City meets Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.” I really love this description because it makes it clear that the book is about a group of close-knit friends. The thing I loved about ‘Twenty-Somewhere’ is that it’s set right after the girls (Sophie, Claudia and MJ) graduate from college. I haven’t read that many books that take place during this time, so that made it interesting for me. Hoffman did a good job describing the girls' feelings as they deal with new homes, new jobs, new loves, and just a whole lot of new situations.
While I really loved the concept (and even the plot) of the book, I had a hard time with the style of writing. For some reason the present tense really threw me off, and I had a hard time differentiating between characters at first. I never really felt like I got to know the characters all that well, perhaps because of the third person narration, but also because of the abundance of dialogue. The lack of lengthy descriptions and the short section breaks make ‘Twenty-Somewhere’ easy to read and kept me turning the pages, but it also kept me from feeling totally involved with the characters.
As this book won the St. Martin's Press "New Adult" contest it’s clear that it has a lot of potential. If you’re looking for something quick and easy to read that also contains humour and heartache, then ‘Twenty-Somewhere’ might be for you. This book covers a topic which could be pretty heavy, but Kristan makes it light and funny, having her characters find strength in their new situations.
While I really loved the concept (and even the plot) of the book, I had a hard time with the style of writing. For some reason the present tense really threw me off, and I had a hard time differentiating between characters at first. I never really felt like I got to know the characters all that well, perhaps because of the third person narration, but also because of the abundance of dialogue. The lack of lengthy descriptions and the short section breaks make ‘Twenty-Somewhere’ easy to read and kept me turning the pages, but it also kept me from feeling totally involved with the characters.
As this book won the St. Martin's Press "New Adult" contest it’s clear that it has a lot of potential. If you’re looking for something quick and easy to read that also contains humour and heartache, then ‘Twenty-Somewhere’ might be for you. This book covers a topic which could be pretty heavy, but Kristan makes it light and funny, having her characters find strength in their new situations.
April 25, 2011
I've read entirely too many coming-of-age novels lately because I went into this one interested, but feeling like I'd read it all... yeah, not so much. This is more than a teenage girl finding herself, more than a the average 18-year-old finding himself. It's about a group of up-and-coming 20-somethings who help each other find themselves through love, laughter and fun.
The start of the book is a little rough. It takes a while to get used to the "episodes" and it felt a little disjointed at first. I started out thinking it really could have used an overhaul to truly be successful as a novel. It also felt too short in places, but I usually feel that way about airy reads such as this.
Having said that, this was a breath of fresh air. It was an easy read, the characters were all strongly written and the plot was well thought-out. I found myself alternatively loving and hating the characters, but always coming back to how real they felt. I didn't always agree with all of their decisions and directions, but it always made me smile.
I recommend this chicklit book for those who want an easy read and a few smiles.
The start of the book is a little rough. It takes a while to get used to the "episodes" and it felt a little disjointed at first. I started out thinking it really could have used an overhaul to truly be successful as a novel. It also felt too short in places, but I usually feel that way about airy reads such as this.
Having said that, this was a breath of fresh air. It was an easy read, the characters were all strongly written and the plot was well thought-out. I found myself alternatively loving and hating the characters, but always coming back to how real they felt. I didn't always agree with all of their decisions and directions, but it always made me smile.
I recommend this chicklit book for those who want an easy read and a few smiles.
June 24, 2010
I actually read all the episodes of this book on my Kindle and found myself sucked in right away.
The series is very addictive. I could relate to the struggles and growth these characters were going through right out of college. And honestly, once I got to a certain point, I had to stay up to finish reading. The author is working on a proposal for St. Martin's Press to turn these episodes into a more traditional book format. I can hardly wait to see how it turns out!
If you own an e-reader, Twenty-Somewhere is more than worth the price of the download ($1.99 from Smashwords). It's a great summer beach read.
The series is very addictive. I could relate to the struggles and growth these characters were going through right out of college. And honestly, once I got to a certain point, I had to stay up to finish reading. The author is working on a proposal for St. Martin's Press to turn these episodes into a more traditional book format. I can hardly wait to see how it turns out!
If you own an e-reader, Twenty-Somewhere is more than worth the price of the download ($1.99 from Smashwords). It's a great summer beach read.
March 3, 2011
For a light, refreshing read, Twenty-Somewhere hits the spot. It's not your typical coming of age book full of angst & brooding. Twenty-Somewhere is a smart, witty story of three friends who make mistakes, learn from them & seem to actually enjoy their journey. Sophie, MJ & Claudia discover that life happens while you're making other plans. Through fights, break-ups & major career changes these girls find their own strength. They learn that jumping into life with out a net is scary, but as long as you've got close friends to throw you a life line, you'll never drown. The characters are pragmatic & you can see yourself or your friends as one of them.
March 9, 2011
Was a quick read, but nothing really sets this apart from other books written about college grads trying to find themselves...the chapters are short though and it holds your attention since it doesnt really veer off the same storyline for the entire book.
September 3, 2012
Short, almost novella-ish self-published e-book about three girls who graduate from college and struggle with typical post-graduation choices re: boys, career, life direction, etc. I liked the characters. They felt real and well-developed. Pretty sheltered and not particularly exciting, but that's part of what made them seem authentic and relatable. The plot was also OK -- I couldn't exactly describe it, but there was a quality that made me keep reading. I wanted to find out what was going to happen to these characters. My main criticism of this book was that the writing quality could have benefited from more editing or more incubation time (a common problem I've noticed in self-published e-books... maybe the authors are so eager to get their work out there that they don't undergo more rigorous editing?). Each chapter was an "episode" and while I appreciated the pithiness -- points to the author for not wasting time on unnecessary filler! -- I do think some of the scenes could have used more fleshing out, particularly in the beginning of the book, which felt jumbled. I also got annoyed at the wandering POV -- jumping from character to character too quickly, and sometimes even to the narrator and random unimportant characters. Those seem like the kinds of things that could have been ironed out with additional editing, and detracted from the reading experience. The last half of the book was actually in really good shape, which is why the problems in the beginning stand out as fixable.
May 3, 2012
Three friends in their early 20's head out into the world. So original, I know! Still it was not a bad book. I got through it pretty quickly. Two of these girls had almost all male friends, who of course wanted to hook up with them. I felt like she could have done something differently than all that when she only had 3 main characters to work with. It was hard to separate those two girls as I was reading. I found myself checking how many pages I had left after I had gotten about halfway through it-a sign it was not holding my interest. It felt a little jumpy from chapter to chapter, and these odd little quotes in between that didn't seem to be necessary. I felt like the plot was a little weak! To be fair-I knew from the start this was a book outside of what I normally read ( that's what book club is for, right?!). It is not a terrible book, I just don't think I will remember it for very long. Probably a good book for a road trip or something, when you need just a quick, mindless little read.
May 7, 2014
Setting/World Building: 3/5
Main Character: 3/5
Other Characters: 3/5
Plot: 3/5
Writing: 3/5
Triggering/Issues: 5/5 (None)
AVERAGED TOTAL: 3.3 out of five, rounded to 3.
This was an alright book. It was originally written as a series of "episodes" which explains the disjointedness. It was an interesting look at three twenty-something girls, and I enjoyed the sort of... finding your way message about it. The end wrapped up a bit quicker than I expected, but overall it was a good, simple sort of read. Probably great for a beach/vacation read!
Main Character: 3/5
Other Characters: 3/5
Plot: 3/5
Writing: 3/5
Triggering/Issues: 5/5 (None)
AVERAGED TOTAL: 3.3 out of five, rounded to 3.
This was an alright book. It was originally written as a series of "episodes" which explains the disjointedness. It was an interesting look at three twenty-something girls, and I enjoyed the sort of... finding your way message about it. The end wrapped up a bit quicker than I expected, but overall it was a good, simple sort of read. Probably great for a beach/vacation read!
May 5, 2012
I feel like I read the cliff notes version of this book! Crazy things happen and *bam* - end scene! And it may get mentioned later but that's it. I was incredibly annoyed by how these girls all had multiple men panting after them. And for all the man drama, the two single girls never found the right guy. This book just wasn't for me I guess.
May 25, 2013
This was a fun little summer read. I got the sisterhood of the traveling pants without the stupid pants part (no way they all fit in the same jeans) feeling. I also enjoyed how this one was more "grown up" and sensible than most coming of age stories these days.
December 28, 2011
This was an alright book. I know it probably falls into the genre of romance, but lucky for me, it wasn't totally centered around the girls' love lives. Fast read.
October 31, 2012
Got this title as a bargain book or freebie on my Kindle and I just could not get into it or enjoy it at all, so at half way through I am giving up...
May 24, 2012
couldnt finish it...
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews