St. Louis native Soman Chainani encourages young people to take on political action in “Young World.” (Photo courtesy of Soman Chainani)

“You are in a generation that has been screwed over by the older generation. … You guys have lost the right to be young, and that’s the thesis of this book,” author Soman Chainani said.

The St. Louis-based author, widely known for his series “The School for Good and Evil,” is leaving the world of middle-grade fantasy behind for the first time. Under a new publisher, target audience, and genre, his upcoming book “Young World” is an exciting leap in a new direction.

Chainani’s propulsive new political novel tells the story of high schooler Benton Young, a 17-year-old St. Louisian who decides to run for president to impress a girl in his AP U.S. Government class. Within the first few pages, Benton goes viral over a video he posts online to impress her, is appointed to the presidency by the Supreme Court, and survives a drone attack on the White House. Slowly, a global movement begins as more youth leaders take similar positions of power.

“The whole book is about young people having to live in an adult space,” Chainani said. “And if you’re going to be asked to survive an adult world, then I think you should have the power to be able to run, to actually have power in that adult world, rather than just suffer through it.

Chainani might be the only world-famous author who plays tennis with members of the WashU tennis team — which, according to him, is his favorite part of his entire writing routine — especially when it came to writing “Young World.” His writing process involves alternating between working out and writing, making him physically exhausted but giving him great mental clarity to write with.

“He definitely thinks on the court as much as he does when he’s writing,” senior Case Fagan, a member of the WashU men’s tennis team, said. Fagan and Chainani play tennis together usually three times a week, starting at around 6:30 a.m.

While Chainani wrote “Young World” as a Young Adult (YA) novel, he believes that its message is valuable to readers of all ages.

When he was younger, Chainani’s involvement in politics began and ended with his term as the student body president of his high school. “Anything political, I felt, was for narcissists and the superficial type of people who just wanted power,” he said.

Author Soman Chainani, best known for his Young Adult series, “The School for Good and Evil” (Photo by Chad Wagner and Steven Trumon Gray)

“Young World” moves at a rapid pace and is told through more than just words: Over 100 pieces of original artwork help push the story forward. Everything from propaganda posters to tattoos to a guide to being a room service waiter to video game screenshots are included throughout the chapters.

“It was like making a movie,” Chainani, who graduated from Columbia University with a Master’s of Fine Arts degree in film, said. “I wanted a book that felt like the way you process information now, … which is fast and fractured and emotional and different in terms of media. And so the book wouldn’t have worked if it’s just words. It needed to be that feeling of the multimedia experience that is our daily life.”

But the book is not just unique in its dependency on artwork, because each chapter is written as one of Benton’s journal entries.

“In a first-person diary, I can have a character just tell the truth, because it’s confessional,” Chainani said. “And [Benton] can be unreliable sometimes. He can be an asshole sometimes. He sometimes can lie. He goes through all the things a teenager goes through. But as you go through the story, you do trust him more than you trust the adults you know, because at least he’s telling you the truth.”

Chainani finished writing “Young World” in December 2024. Since then, the book has proven to be somewhat prophetic in nature. Within the novel, a global fight over Arctic resources breaks out alongside the election of young leaders across the globe. Less than a year after Chainani finished “Young World,” Gen Z-led movements inspired regime changes in Madagascar and in Nepal. Then, in December of 2025, protests dominated by Gen Z led to the resignation of Bulgaria’s prime minister, Rosen Zhelyazkov.

“The book is actually happening, so it’s kind of amazing, but it also validates the reason I felt like I had to write it. Because I don’t think I was ever given a choice in the matter. It just kind of was this weird calling that told me I had to write the book,” he said.

In the novel, newly-elected youth leaders following in Benton’s footsteps from countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, and Japan gather for a G-8 summit in Sweden. Chainani wants readers to know that “Young World” extends beyond American politics.
“There’s a reason ‘World’ is in the title,” he said.

Chainani emphasized that all hope is not lost, and that political engagement is still very much possible. By reading “Young World,” readers can take a step forward into the world of activism and stand up for their own “right to be young,” which turns out to be Benton’s campaign slogan as he runs for president.

“The reason I chose to do this as a book rather than a movie or a TV show is because I felt like only by reading it and going through it are you going to actually be able to take all the messages and come up with your own action plan of what that means for you,” Chainani said. “It might be as simple as just getting rid of your phone [or using] it less. Or maybe it is running for office. Maybe it is registering to vote for the first time. You’re going to interpret the book in a different way.”

Chainani emphasized his novel’s broad appeal. His message is universal, and he explicitly calls all of the young people reading to action.

“I don’t think of [‘Young World’] necessarily as a political book. It’s not endorsing either side. In the book, Democrats and Republicans are equally kind of treacherous. What the book is telling you, is that as young people, you are your own force and your own army. Unless you start leveraging for power, people are going to continue to take advantage of you,” he said.

“Young World” is set to release on May 5 and is available for pre-order now.