Kids These Days

July 31, 2017
American millennials—roughly speaking, those born between 1980 and 2000—are arguably the nation’s best educated generation ever, but also one with the unfortunate distinction of having come of age just as the American dream was beginning to fade. Harris, a New Inquiry editor and millennial, contends that the rich human capital (as demonstrated by high GPAs, AP classes, enrichment courses, advanced degrees) his generation represents has been exploited by educational institutions and employers. What awaits millennials is precarious employment, student debt, and global warming, rather than the suburban McMansions and ever-increasing salaries their labor was supposed to secure. Harris makes powerful points: health insurance, pension plans, job security—the American laborer’s one-time birthrights—are no longer guaranteed. And yet throughout the book, Harris seems to assume that millennials are somehow entitled to a risk-free return on every human-capital investment they make. He focuses on how interns, student-athletes, and even grade-school students doing homework perform demanding but unpaid labor. Harris gives the off-putting impression that he expects nearly everything in life to be remunerative. Readers will come away agreeing that millennials have gotten a raw deal but unconvinced that they represent the new proletariat. Agent: Chris Parris-Lamb, Gernert Agency.

September 15, 2017
A millennial writer talks about the coming crises his generation will face.Millennials--defined by the author as those born between 1980 and 2000--have been sold on the idea that if they work hard in school, forfeiting play and creative time for work and sports, and go on to a four-year college, where they continue to work hard, then a solid, well-paying job awaits them once they graduate. But as Harris (b. 1988), an editor at New Inquiry, points out, many in that age group have discovered there is no pot of gold at the end of that particular rainbow. In today's competitive economy, he writes, "young households trail further behind in wealth than ever before, and while a small number of hotshot finance pros and app developers rake in big bucks...wages have stagnated and unemployment increased for the rest." Those who manage to attend college are often burdened by high student-loan debts, forcing them to work any job they can to pay the bills. Athletes who attend college on a sports scholarship pay with the physical wear and tear on their bodies and the stress of high-stakes games alongside a full academic schedule. Harris also evaluates how millennials interact with social media (a topic that could warrant an entire book on its own), which creates a never-ending link to nearly everything every day, never giving anyone a chance to unwind. Professional musicians, actors, and other performing artists face strong competition in a world where anyone can upload a video to YouTube, so those with genuine talent have to work that much harder for recognition. After his intense analysis of this consumer-based downward spiral, the author provides several possible remedies that might ease the situation--but only if millennials step forward now and begin the process of change. Harris still has plenty to learn, but he provides an informative study of why the millennial generation faces more struggles than expected, despite the hard work they've invested in moving ahead.

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October 15, 2017
Harris, writer and editor for the New Inquiry, contributor to numerous other publications, and a millennial himself, attempts to deconstruct the stereotypes about millennialsthat they are entitled, immature, and worsein his first book. Harris draws on a variety of sources to capture the voices and experiences of millennials. Addressing millennial realities from unpaid internships to social-media algorithms, Harris writes clearly and thoughtfully on key issues facing this generation today. This is not a self-help book for those who are trying to adapt into the millennial culture but, rather, a book that reveals the political, cultural, and economic climates that millennials need to navigate, along with the new issues, never seen in previous generations, millennials must address. Readers interested in sociology of class, economic history, and the millennial generation will find plenty of fascinating food for thought here, as Harris uses social theories, economic analyses, and data research to prove his argument that millennials are the hardest working and most educated generation in American history. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)