What a fun read!
The Younger Man is Zoe’s third novel, and is strictly a ‘girls’ own’ kind of story.
The storyline focuses on the life of Abby and her two girlfriends, Maddy and Chelsea, sassy and self-confident thirty-somethings, whose voices ring true throughout the text.
The book rollicked along with romance, work-life balance and friendship as the central themes.
The ‘younger man’ of the title is Marcus, a twenty-two year old, who captures the attention of thirty-three year old Abby.
The to and fro as to whether it is appropriate for Abby to be dating a man who is ten years younger than her is an old storyline, but Zoe makes the plot fresh and modern, which is helped by the playful interaction between the characters. Like this interplay between Abby and Chelsea:
‘How young? Like, eighteen?’
‘No, you sicko...twenty-five.’ Abby looked down.
‘How. Old.’
‘Twenty-two.’
‘WHO’S the sicko?? Twenty-two! Was he wearing a nappy?’
Oh, you’re an idiot. Twenty-two is an adult! God knows what I was up to at twenty-two, but I wasn’t a child. I knew what I was doing.’
The conclusion doesn’t feel as if Zoe has fought too hard to tie everything up in a neat little bow, but it is still satisfying.
The Younger Man is a great option for an easy-to-read romantic novel for the intelligent reader. I wouldn’t recommend this book to males or those with a distaste for chick-lit.
Find The Younger Man in the Adult Fiction section of the library.
