Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Wednesday Words: New Adult and Giveaway Winners

Chances are that if you're reading this blog, you're someone who is interested in the wonderful world of YA literature or at least interested in learning what all of the fuss is about. To be short, it's just awesome and is often criticized by people who don't give it a chance. This is often the result of generalizations: young adult is just teen books, fluff novels about high school, dating, no parents and no consequences. I'm not going to deny that some books are like that, but the spectrum of YA is much further reaching and deeper than that.

As a result, though, is classifying books as being YA too broad? First of all, it's a pet peeve of mine when people refer to YA as a genre - I think of it more as an age classification. There are still genre subdivisions under the young adult umbrella just like in adult fiction. But still, most of the time we just equate YA with teen books. And that's where the trouble starts. What is appropriate for a 13 year old and what's good for a 19 year old are worlds apart. When I took a YA lit class in library school, this was a constant topic of conversation - where oh where do we put the age cap?

Earlier this week I came across a blog post on Dear Author exploring the idea of a new age group - new adult. Simply put, if YA is meant for teenagers, then what about the books for people in their late teens or early 20s (the age group that people outside the publishing and book worlds think of as young adults)? Novels meant for this age are often difficult for people to place on their library or bookstore shelves. They deal with issues that maybe aren't quite right to include in a high school collection, but they don't exactly belong with the regular fiction either because they still have a specific target age group.

As an example, check out this Twitter conversation I recently took part in:



Personally, I'm in favor of this new classification. YA stories seem to have this sort of unofficial age cap on them that protagonists can never be older than the summer after their senior year of high school (because college suddenly puts them in adult territory). As someone in my young-mid twenties, I do wonder where the books are that are meant for an older YA loving audience.

But am I alone in this? What do you all think? Leave your comments below because I'm genuinely curious!

And now onto the moment I'm sure you're all waiting for, the giveaway winners! Yes, that's right, plural. Congrats to Jennifer - you've won the autographed ARC of Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin!

It's exciting to have my first giveaway under my belt, and I really appreciate those of you who entered. There weren't that many of you, but most of you are loyal readers and it means a lot to me. So I've decided that as a special thanks, I want all three of the books I'd mentioned to get new homes. Therefore, further congratulations go to Erin - you're getting a copy of Ravenwood by Andrew Peters - and Anna - you're getting a copy of Please Ignore Vera Dietz! All winners check your email and I'll do my best to get those mailed to you soon =)

So that's it for this post! As always, comments are always welcome and happy reading!

4 comments:

  1. Yay, congrats to the winners!

    I totally agree - I always feel like the college age and early to mid 20s get overlooked a lot. I really like that the "new adult" genre is starting to get more popular! I love YA, but New Adult is relatable on a different level for so many other readers! I always feel weird when I read books (especially chick lit type stuff) where the protagonist is 23/24/25, living in New York, and already has a full on career, getting engaged, etc. That's right around my age (25) and I'm like Whoa whoa whoa, I'm not like any of that.
    I think New Adult books are starting to come around more often, but still just picking up a little bit.
    Great post :)

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    1. I so agree! I turn 24 later this month and by Hollywood/chick lit standards, I'm apparently way behind the ball on things. New adult books could be a really great way to explore those college and just-out-of-school years in a more realistic/relatable way. And the could be good for older teens too, letting them see what living in dorms/first apartments/in your 20s is actually like.

      Thanks so much for your comments! =)

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  2. Aw! I won! Thanks, Monica!

    And I like the New Adult genre and hope it takes off. There's definitely a lot of growing and learning a person does in that age which could make for interesting stories.

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  3. I love the New Adult genre. When I saw the new classification a couple of weeks back, I did a happy dance. No joke. Because I was having some trouble classifying the novel that I am working on right now because my characters fall within that 18-26 age group. Also, I just think that the new adult age range is ignored and it shouldn't be that way. I want to read more books about college aged students and people in their early-mid twenties!

    I am 25 and like bookaddictsguide often struggle with relating to the protags in 'Adult' books that are in their early or mid twenties who are married or engaged, have their career life figured out because I am not any of that. Lot of people in their early 20s and mid twenties are still figuring things out and are really far away from those things, especially if they are still in college.

    Last but not least: I am soooo excited about winning. Thank you, Monica, for this awesome giveaway! I cannot wait to read the Masque of the Red Death :)

    Jennifer @ Dream Reads

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