New Adult: Pros and Cons

Hello everyone, it's the Intern! And I'm going to be discussing the pros and cons of the up and coming category "New Adult" named for people that are "new" to being "adults".

For those of you who don't know, New Adult is written for people 18-25ish since they are no longer adolescents but you could argue that they are not exactly adults either. It's like the purgatory between Young Adult and normal Fiction.

What sets NA apart from YA is the topics it covers. They contemplate leaving home for college, first actual jobs, roommates, sexuality, mature relationships, and discovering yourself without your parents to guide you.

And the sexuality part is probably the biggest difference. It's racier and could even be more explicit (not graphic, but not exactly fade-to-black-for-the-sexy-times either.) Which makes the category definitely more Adult than Young.

To get my opinion out of the way, I'm going to just say that I like the whole New Adult category. And I hope it continues to be a thing. But I will also go over the other side's equally valid view points.

Cons:

One could argue that it's just a marketing ploy to try to get an even WIDER audience and try to sell more books that are in such a purgatory. And they could also ask why are they in such a purgatory? Can't they be limited to either YA or just A? You may not even hate New Adult itself, just when people try to limit books to one category when they can go across the board if they want.

Or you could be offended by the SEX ASPECT!1!

Sex has no place in anything anywhere. The fact that authors can even imply people aged 18-25 could have DONE that is just DESPICABLE. (This is my sarcastic side coming out since I can't take these kind of arguments seriously).

Pros:

I think that anything that engages more readers is a good thing. If you can appeal to a new audience, then what's the harm? I also think that there is a distinct difference between people in high school and people in college and post-college and I think many plots that one could apply to one cannot be applied to the other.

Also, people forget that YA wasn't really a thing until a couple decades ago. And I, for one, am particularly excited to be apart of this upcoming category. I think there are a lot of ways people could write for it and there is a great hope for more books in this genre to come.

And if the potential sex aspect bothers you, don't read it. That simple.

So yes. Hip-hip hooray for YA and NA!

If you guys have any opinions, feel free to comment them down below.

Bye!!

Owyn the BBS Page