It's no small feat to plot a novel with multiple points of view, nor to plot one that jumps through time, and yet Grant Ginder (The People We Hate at the Wedding; Honestly, We Meant Well) does both without missing a beat in So Old, So Young, his sixth novel. Mia, Adam, Sasha, Theo, Richie, and Marco have been friends since college. Ginder tracks their friendships and romances across two decades and five pivotal gatherings: the New Year's Eve party at Richie's small New York City apartment where mid-20s Mia first met Marco, the love of her life; a nightmare of a destination wedding in Cancún (which Sasha and Theo opt out of since they're honeymooning in Hawai'i); a disastrous birthday getaway Adam throws for Richie's 35th birthday; a children's Halloween party Sasha insists everyone attend at her and Theo's new house in the New Jersey suburbs; and a tear-stained funeral where the friends say goodbye to one of their own.
Each event is tinged with the realities of being human, the fact that the only true constant is change. Birthday parties place exes together with their new partners in ways that spark regrets and jealousies alike. Weddings reveal the best and worst of love. Side texts make friends feel left out, accidentally or intentionally, while deep conversations invite intimacy where perhaps it shouldn't exist. Ginder juggles this all without ever allowing the plot to falter, delivering a laugh-out-loud funny, emotionally gripping story that explores what it means to grow up, grow apart, grow together, and grow old(er) within friendships that stand the test of time. --Kerry McHugh, freelance writer