In the age of gerontocracy, a teen president is YA fantasy
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Cover of "Young World" by Soman Chainani. Image: Courtesy of Penguin Random House
A new political thriller is mulling what would happen if the United States had a 17-year-old as president.
The big picture: The premise is meant to challenge young Americans to run for office, taking control away from aging politicians and giving it to those who will live with the government's decisions for decades to come.
- "Young World," from author Soman Chainani, features teenager Benton Young, who launches a successful write-in campaign for President of the United States, igniting a movement that inspires others across the world to follow suit.
- Teens end up leading several of the world's most powerful nations — at least until one of them is killed at a global summit, turning the story into a whodunnit where Young is the prime suspect.
Between the lines: Chainani, who also wrote the popular young adult series "The School for Good and Evil," told Axios he hopes the book will inspire students to recognize their political power.
- Chainani says young Americans are being asked to inherit a country hurdling towards crises. That knowledge led him to outline four tenets to ignite the global revolution in the book.
- They are: Regulating AI and protecting job opportunities; addressing climate change; combatting economic inequality, and preventing the leading cause of teenage death: gun violence.
"Older politicians have had decades to potentially safeguard those four tenets, and the fact that they haven't means that … they're just unwilling," Chainani says.
- "We have had two presidents in a row who are basically 80 years old, and they're not exactly crushing it," Chainani says. "So something has to change … and either it's going to happen willingly or unwillingly."
Zoom out: It's legally impossible for teenagers to lead countries like the U.S., but youth-led revolutions are gaining traction elsewhere, Chainani says, citing pressure Gen Z exerted on governments in Nepal, Morocco, Bangladesh, Peru, and the Philippines.
- Chainani says if 18-year-olds are allowed to serve in the military, take on debt, or face life in prison, barring them from running a "functioning democracy" defies "common sense."
- He argues that lowering the presidential age requirement could energize young voters, pointing to the influence of progressive New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
- "I think [young people] want to support one of their own," he says. "I am convinced with every shred of my being that in the next few years, you are going to see a young person come that captures their imagination."
What we're watching: Chainani is working with Eric Schultz, a senior adviser to President Obama and a political consultant for TV shows, to adapt "Young World" for television.
"Young World" is available for purchase at all major bookstores and online retailers.
