What Does the Bookworm Say?: New Adult

Hi and welcome to a new feature here on Nite Lite called What Does the Bookworm Say? that I am doing with my friends at The Reader’s Antidote, Elegantly Bound Books and The Windy Pages. This week’s topic is about New Adult.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock or aren’t a very big reader (in which case you probably would not be reading this blog), you’ve probably noticed lately that over the past year or so there has been a big surge in what has been coined the New Adult genre. From what I know of New Adult, it’s a genre or category of books whose themes focus on characters who are older than teenagers but are not quite into the world of full adulthood. I think a good example I see a lot is to think of it maybe as people who are in college, out of high school and maybe at that cusp in their lives where they are transitioning into adulthood.

I have not read too many New Adult books. So far I think I have read only Losing It by Cora Carmack, which I liked. I have mixed feelings about New Adult as a whole though. Part of me feels like it’s like YA but with more sex or romance with less sex. Which is fine but I am not sure why it needs its own category. I know that the themes are different than those of YA or adult novels but, to me, I don’t know if they are distinct enough to require their own sub-genre. It’s kind of interesting because I feel like a lot of YA authors are dipping their toes into the adult market by writing some YA while adult romance authors are maybe testing out the fields of YA by writing New Adult. That’s my take on it at least.

I think I need to read a few more New Adult books before I can pass any real judgement on it. What you do you guys think? Love NA or don’t care for it?

Be sure to check out what The Reader’s Antidote, Elegantly Bound Books and The Windy Pages thought of this topic as well. If you have a topic you’d like us to cover, just leave it in the comments below. Thanks!