What do you think of when you hear new adult fiction? As a
reader or even as a writer you may be thinking of the latest titles in adult fiction. If you searched your local library
or bookshop you would find a Children’s section, a Young Adult (or
teen) section and an Adult section – but it’s unlikely that you will find a New Adult
section. What makes it more confusing is that the New Adult category (targeting
say 18-25 year olds) is sometimes called mature Young Adult (generally
targeting the upper end of 12-18 age bracket) and “new” doesn't seem to be a
natural progression of “young.”
Yet New Adult is very much the topic of the moment. A Google
search comes up with some 61,300,000 entries – with most written in the last
year or two. One Good Reads shelf lists 2,440 titles (most published since
2011).
In 2009 St Martin Press coined the word as part of a
competition soliciting novels aimed the 18-25 year old demographic. In other
words, aimed at college-aged teens to twenties who are in transition between being
under parental authority to becoming fully independent and responsible adults.
However, the category (it’s not strictly a genre) didn't take off until 2012
with the breakaway success of self-publishing authors writing for the New Adult
market as well successfully published fan fiction. Arguably, E L James’s Fifty Shades of Grey fits into this
category as a published Twilight fan-fic
with 21 year old college student, Anna Steel, as heroine and “emotionally damaged”
hero, Christian Grey.
New Adult fiction has received a barrage of criticism – as being
“smut” fiction or condescending to twenty-something adults (as though they need
training wheels) or as a blatant marketing gimmick to sell books to a now grown-up
generation hooked on reading by Harry
Potter, Twilight and Hunger Games. To some extent New Adult
fiction can be compared to Young Adult fiction on steroids. It keeps it’s pacey,
emotional tone but is likely to contain (more) explicit sex, violence, darker
themes, alcohol, drugs, mental illness, suicide, bad language. The majority of
New Adult books are contemporary romances whose protagonists often have a
complicated past as titles like Easy,
Beautiful Disaster, Hopeless and Slammed might suggest.
But before we dismiss New Adult as Shades of Grey wannabees, I think we need to look beyond the
stereotypes. Not all New Adult romances major on explicit sex and New Adult is
increasingly embracing other genres such as fantasy, thrillers or crossovers. Moreover New Adult focuses on important "Coming of Age" themes. Many readers in their twenties identity the
need for fiction with protagonists their age and dealing with the situations
they face in everyday life – in particular the transitions from teenager to adulthood – from parental control to new freedoms, from school
to uni or the workplace. It encompasses firsts like leaving home, getting the
first job, moving towards marriage and parenthood. These are important themes for
readers and authors.
New Adult provides Christian authors with new possibilities while avoiding some low points –
or maybe it gives a name for what some authors are already writing – as for
example with Paula Vince’s books or maybe the Rose Dee’s Resolution series.
For readers it provides books with the pace and emotion of
Young Adult fiction (which many adults also enjoy) which may explore deeper
themes, with more complex plots and older protagonists.
The New Adult category is currently in a state of flux – what happens
in the next few years will no doubt shape it's future - for better or worse. We can be part
of that process.
Jeanette O’Hagan
Jeanette has practiced medicine, studied communication, history and theology and has taught theology. She is currently caring for her children, enjoying post-graduate studies in writing at Swinburne University and writing her YA/NA Akrad fantasy series. She is actively involved in a caring Christian community.
You can find her at http://jennysthread.com and http://www.facebook.com/JeanetteOHaganAuthorAndSpeaker
If you wish to explore New Adult further – here are some
resources I found helpful:
* Good Reads New Adult Fiction Shelf http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/new-adult-fiction
* Jane Litte. (July 24 2012) If you Like New Adult Books in
Dear Author, http://dearauthor.com/features/letters-of-opinion/if-you-like-new-adult-books/
* What is New Adult in NA Alley, http://www.naalley.com/p/about.html
* Karen J. Ohlson (February 25, 2013) Why I Didn't Toss Out
Fifty Shades of Grey in Talking Writing, http://talkingwriting.com/why-i-didnt-toss-out-fifty-shades-of-grey
* Lauren Sarner, (08/14/2013) The Problem With New Adult Books
in The Blog http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lauren-sarner/the-problem-with-new-adul_b_3755165.html
* Ashley Strickland (October 16, 2013) A brief history of
young adult literature in CNN, http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/15/living/young-adult-fiction-evolution/
* Molly Wetta (February 24, 2013) So, This Whole “New Adult”
Thing: Part One in Wrapped Up in Books, http://wrappedupinbooks.org/2013/02/24/so-this-whole-new-adult-thing-part-one-2/
