So Old, So Young traces the lives of six characters who are all a part of the Millennial generation. The novel spans from 2007 to 2024, tracing the characters’ journeys from college into adulthood and exploring how their academic, geographic, and economic circumstances shape their perceptions of each other and reality at large.

The Millennial generation is defined by the 2008 economic crisis, which destabilized Millennials as they moved from the academic arena into the job world. While Millennials are more traditionally educated than previous generations, they are marked by financial instability: “Their difficult economic circumstances in part reflect the impact of the Great Recession (2007-2009) and in part the longer-term effects of globalization and rapid technological change on the American workforce” (“Millennials in Adulthood: Detached From Institutions, Networked With Friends.” Pew Research Center, 7 Mar. 2014). As a result, Millennials have more delayed milestones than previous generations: Laden with debt and more vocationally unstable than Gen X or Baby Boomers, Millennials have waited to buy property or to marry and start families.

The Millennial generation is also known for “the highest levels of political and religious disaffiliation” (Pew). Large percentages of Millennials do not identify with a specific religious sect or political party, a marked change from the generations preceding. This lack of strong affiliation may mean that some Millennials do not feel adequately represented by traditional parties and religious institutions, or that they are less stringent in adhering to one particular creed. At the same time, the Millennial generation is known for being more supportive of gay rights.

In So Old, So Young, Ginder’s characters reflect some of these generational tendencies. While the characters all receive a higher education, they do not all feel satisfied with their vocational situations after they leave college. References to Marco Bernardi’s protracted joblessness in Part 3 and to Theo Wingate’s struggle to find a new job in Part 5 create a light undertone of economic uncertainty. 

At the same time, the narrative largely presents characters who are stable and accomplished, speaking to a narrow and very privileged subset of people. Mia moves from one big-name magazine to the next. Sasha runs a gallery and is married to a wealthy husband. Marco finds security in his work in DC for years. Nina allegedly gets rich from her work with an e-cigarette company, and Richie’s financial and vocational situations are barely mentioned. The way the novel handles money and work does not centralize financial distress and is therefore not very representative of what a lower- or middle-class millennial experience may be like. The characters can, for example, afford to fly across the world for one another’s weddings or rent vacation homes at a moment’s notice for each other’s birthday parties—circumstances that reinforce that Ginder’s characters are of a particular social tier. The tepid narrative allusions to politics and religion also act as gestures to the Millennial experience but remain marginal. 

Ginder’s novel is in conversation with similar works of contemporary fiction, including Meg Wolitzer’s The Interestings, Emily Henry’s The People We Meet on Vacation, and Marlowe Granados’s Happy Hour.