After emerging in 2007, the New Adult market brought together readers in their late teens and early twenties, that are often left out of the pages of both the Young Adult and Adult books, into the limelight. However, in the years following it has built up and struggled to overcome a heavy stigma, and almost always following plots which can be summed up as ‘Young Adult fiction but with explicit sex’.
New Adult (NA) books were written with readers who fall between the ages of 18 and 15 in mind, though, some consider the market to go as far as 30. These ‘new adults’ had just been shoved into an array of new responsibilities and their agency, so it no surprise that these new adults struggle with issues that their underage and older adult peers do not. When the NA genre first came to light, it mainly consisted of erotica most often set within universities, and where none of the characters progressed into adulthood.
This stigma is being broken though as more diverse NA stories are being published. New adults want to see stories that reflect themselves in fiction just as much as any other age group. Although it may not have a dedicated section in bookstores, there has been an increase in its popularity by agents, acquisitions editors and readers.
Despite this popularity, there has still been some push-back against the NA genre. Suggestions that it is ‘immature’, ‘entitled’, and ‘millennial’ can be found, it is evident that there is no smooth transition from underage teen to successful adult, especially in the current political, economic and social climates. Therefore these books are needed to aid this transition.
It is also argued that the NA genre follows the same themes that can be found in Young Adult books, such as:
- The Coming-Of-Age Experience
- Mental Health
- Physical, Verbal, and/or Mental Abuse
- Politics
- Social Issues
- Sex and Sexuality
- Emotional Growth
- Relationships
Nonetheless, the critical difference between YA and NA is the perspective in which these themes are presented and explored. The teenaged view and the perspective of a well-established adult would differ vastly from that of someone who has just entered adulthood. And the subsequent responsibilities that come with it.
The media that we consume impacts our lifestyle and mindsets. Therefore diverse New Adult fiction has the potential to help guide new adults through stressful and emotional experiences that they face in their day-to-day lives. Events that they may have never encountered before, either with someone or by themselves.
