I honestly don't read contemporary books either, but then it's like, the fact that they're contemporary shouldn't necessarily be an automatic turn-off.
Although all literature can be taken as a unifying power in the sense that it makes us aware of all our underlying similarities and of the existence of this greater Human identity, all the generations end up facing unique struggles that significantly alter their experiences in this world. This is pretty obvious, but perhaps it's fair to note that the individuality of those generational experiences ends up soaking into literature, affecting everything from its stylistic elements to characterization to the distancing of the author element. Jameson has written a lot on this topic, so I am going to move on.
All books were contemporary at one point, and considering that I am alive right now and my own generation puzzles me so much, as well as the matter of negotiating /my own/ position within something as overwhelming as 21st century modernity, why not turn to contemporary millennial literature to gauge these questions? It's one of the functions that literature has served for millennia, so why are we so averse to allocating it that role?
At least, that was my own reasoning when I picked up the book.
See, I would be interested in why you say they're generic millennial stereotypes rather than actual millennials. This was a question that was pretty interesting to me as well, and I think it's something that was a core endeavor on the part of the author--notably, what is the real millennial and how does one characterize him/her in a world that has already made up its mind and pinned so many stereotypical labels on the generation? What for you is a real millennial?
Agreed, it really is more about a certain strata of very highly-educated, bourgeoisie Stanford millennials.
For user's sake, I really hope you don't always judge the quality of writing based on the first page. >->
A certain writing style (even one that is irritating, self-absorbed, and tacky) often works to reinforce a certain purpose/theme that is only revealed later on in the book, which I would say is the case here.
Maybe I overestimated Veeky Forums too much..........