HI!
It's another week for us book girls and this week we are finally venturing into talking about New Adult genre! Nick from Nick's Book Blog submitted this into the suggestion form: "You know how some people say that New Adult is simply Young Adult with lots of sex and that's all. What do you guys think of it?" Now, I admit I haven't read enough NA to be a master at knowing about it but I decided to talk about what draws me to the genre and why I feel it leaves me much more satisfied than YA. So watch on to find out why...
So, what do you think of the New Adult genre? Is it just kids having all the sex? Let me know what you think!
Don't forget that we are always looking for topic suggestions. If you want to see us talk about something GO HERE and submit your recommendation.
OMG - NA - my absolutely favorite genre! Dude, you need to read The Sea of Tranquility and Hopeless! Oh, and have you read Slammed? I don't remember. Anyway, IF you havent' my god, Jenni!! What in the world are you waiting for? :D Just go, go, go! By the way, I read a book last week that is so much like Easy. Not in the plot wise, but it's maturity, hotness, feelings - ahhhh. Love it! I'll write my review soon so you can read my thoughts on it and see what book I meant. Heh. I'm sneaky like that;) Anyway, for me - I read about 4-5 books this weekend, because my PC is making me nuts and I can't do any of my essays and lab assignments for school so I just read and read and read and they were all NA. At some point they all felt the same, lol, but that's my problem for ending one book and jumping into the next one right after. I like that, just as you said, NA deals with heavier issues and it feels more realistic for me. Plus, who doesn't like the smexy? I love it! Also, it isn't as heavy as adult books are on the romance front. I like that there're lots of first in NA, but they're not that innocent as they would be if the characters were sixteen or so.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you! In YA books, sex does happen, but you don't read about it. It's often implied that they have sex, but it's just kind of a "fade to black" situation. In New Adult it's like there is no censor. The authors don't have to worry about freaking out 12 year old readers with sex scenes. But in NA there are no boundaries.
ReplyDeleteYes there is some sex in New Adult, but that's because sex happens when you're a new adult. YA authors have to be a lot more careful with what they put in their books if they want to label it YA because YA books are exposed to much younger audiences.
But sex is a real part of life and becoming an adult, and that's why it's in NA books. But that's not ALL that's in NA. NA is just about different experiences. It deals with COLLEGE life instead of high school life, and that does include different things like drinking, sex, drug use, and heavier topics. Because life is heavy!
I haven't read a single NA book that I've enjoyed. Most of the time I just can't stand the characters - they're horrible to each other, especially the men. There's a lot of glorified abuse (especially in Beautiful Disaster.) And I usually can't stomach it.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that I'm tired of purity being put on a pedestal in YA. I can barely think of any YA titles that feature a healthy sexual relationship. It's ridiculous to think that all these teenagers are wildly attracted to each other and think they're in love, but they never have sex.
For me, New Adult is just adult. That's it. It's just romance/contemporary for adults, with publishers tacking on the "New" title to gain more readers. Christina from A Reader of Fictions wrote a post about this a while ago that I then disagreed with, but now it totally explains exactly how I feel about the subject.
I totally agree with you about Flawed. I think that the maturity level and the subject matter make me think that it should be New Adult. I know it's high school aged kids, but still, it's very mature and I think you should be 17+ to read that.
ReplyDeleteI find that I feel less creepy swooning over the male characters in NA too. I mean how creepy does it seem that I'm swoony over a 16 year old book character? It's much less dirty when it's like a 20 something year old lol!!
Great vlog babe!! You explained it all very well!!!
I absolutely love the New Adult Books. They are my favorite, and I totally agree that they are definitely more satisfying in the "hubba hubba" area, but I don't think that is what they are all about either. I agree with you that it should be considered a genre. I know there are mixed feelings about that, some saying it isn't a genre, just an age-group and vice versa, but it is obviously becoming a big hit with a lot of people, myself included, and I think it is something that is here to stay and not a passing fad. I loved Flawed by the way and agree with you. It broke my heart, but I wouldn't have missed it. That will be one book I won't ever forget. Great vlog!
ReplyDeleteI don't think that new adult books are all about sex .... for me, I think it's about that transition from being a young adult to being an adult and having new experiences and whatnot.
ReplyDeleteThough, like you, I haven't read a ton of new adult books, but I do have a bunch of them on my shelf to read at some point. I think I like that they're not SO innocent, but it's still about having new experiences and new feelings. And I think there are certain situations that shouldn't be classified as YA, and they're not as serious as an adult book.
I do like what you say about new adult feeling more satisfying -- I think YA books are awesome, but once something good happens it ends. And I kind of like having the older characters because, like you say, they're easier to relate to.
Great vlog!
Jenni! Thank you for the shout out in the beginning! You're awesome!
ReplyDeleteI didn't think you guys would pick up my topic so fast! Didn't submit it last week? Well, you're fast!
Anyways, I knew that there some people who didn't like to classify New Adult as a genre itself, but then on twitter I saw this tweet from this author who said that NA was just YA with sex. It kind of pissed me off because that's not all NA is about.
There's just so much going and like what you said, new adult is more satisfying in a way. I feel like can connect much better with the characters than I do with the characters in YA.
Although I have to admit that as of recently, it seems that all NA books seem to have the same plot lines. I starting to feel a little unsatisfied and I'm hoping that something new emerges from it.
Great response, Jenni! I can't wait to see what the rest of you Book Girls think!
I haven't read many NA books but I wouldn't say NA was just YA with sex. I think it's great that NA characters are often older teens or people going to college because they often have to deal with stuff that adults have to go through but they are not yet numbed by all the mundane type of real life issues. Loved the topic this week. And you looked great in your vlog :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Kristilyn from Reading In Winter said. To me, NA isn't about sex -- it'd be a sad thing if that's how it ends up being labeled and marketed. NA seems to target college aged people, the place where you're no longer a teenager but your really not an adult yet. The issues can be more serious and more definite (whereas in YA sometimes the issues can be overcome once you go off to college and you still have time to change your life trajectory). I can relate better to some NA topics, but I still love YA. I also haven't read a ton of NA books yet. So I'm not sure, my opinion could change, but I hope not to the "just sex" thing. Great vlog!
ReplyDeleteYay, I love this topic! I agree with pretty much everything you said, although I do think there are a large number of NA novels being published right now that emphasize the sex aspect maybe a little too much. Nothing against the sexy, I'm just afraid that people will get tired of the books or think that's all there is to NA. I do really hope that the genre will endure and not burn itself out, since there's so much that can be done with it and it really is a refreshing change to read.
ReplyDeleteI think this 'being in college' part is the most important... not necessarily college, though, but definitely walking that fine line between young adult and adult. The plot itself isn't as important for me, the subjects, just the aimed age group.
ReplyDeleteHah, I'm not exactly eloquent myself today. :)
I think that the NA genre is more relatable sometimes than YA. I read both and enjoy them just the same. New Adult to me is not YA but with sex. The characters go through more issues, older issues I guess you can say. I know that high school students go through this too, but it is handled different as we get older. I hope this genre continues to thrive, because I like that there is an "in between" between the YA and Adult books.
ReplyDeleteLove this topic.
Jenea @ Books Live Forever
I have read a number of awesome NA titles (Sea of Tranquility, Double Crush, and I'd also consider Gayle Forman NA if we're going to go by the technical explanation), but I plead guilty to thinking most of the books marketed as NA right now are sexed up YA stories. I've seen very few that actually deal with what they say they deal with (adult issues, jobs, etc), at least in a meaningful way. It's mostly a marketing term to me at this point. But the genre's still new, so...we'll see what happens!
ReplyDeleteI get what the new adult genre is supposed to be. I think there is definitely a place for the college age group of characters, but I keep hearing about new adult books with teens in it. Did I hear there is one with a 15 year old? I can't help but think it really is just a way to put sex in the YA books.
ReplyDeleteGreat vlog (as usual) Jenni! I was really curious about this topic because NA is a frequent discussion topic and I honestly don't think I've read any NA yet so I was curious to see your take on it. I SO agree that sometimes the MC's behaviors or thoughts or actions...(or friends/boyfriends) can be SO juvenile in YA sometimes! I think that's the reason I've been reading more Adult books recently. I can see that some NA stuff might be an easy way to add sex to a YA-type story BUT in another sense, like you said: College age stuff is more direct, grittier & realistic. Topic that are only alluded to in YA can be fully fleshed out in NA.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to agree with Wendy one this one: NA is a big marketing scheme (for now). Yes the very few I've read have featured slightly older, college-aged protagonists, but a lot of them are still acting like YA characters (I'm thinking of what's-her-face in Beautiful Disaster). While NA might go a few steps further - characters are getting to have sex instead of a heavy make out with some petting - the characters (at least, the ones I've read) are still reacting in a YA way.
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