Coffee Talk: New Adult and Why I'm Over It

Ahh, the long overdue post about my thoughts on New Adult.  You guys have no idea how many times I've tried to write this post.

Earlier this year, I went on a bit of a NA binge.  I'm not gonna lie, I kind of loved it.  Being a almost-21 year old University student, I felt like I could almost relate to the characters and the stage of life they were at.  I'm also already enjoyed both YA and adult novels, and NA is almost a middle ground between the two.

So, yeah, I'm not ashamed to admit that I enjoyed reading NA as much as I did, but I grew tired of it.

Every NA book I've read has felt the same.  Less experienced girl meets more experience, bad boy and they fall in love, then fight a bit, have a crazy break up before realizing their mistake and living happily ever after.  And don't forget the dark pasts that each character must overcome.  Plus, in half these books, the guy is possessive and abusive.  I call this "predictable".  Only a couple have really stood out to me (Wait For You, Losing It).

While I question why this is a genre in itself, my biggest issue is that my experiences with NA have all been the same.  I haven't read anything that has strayed from this model (I have one book on my Kobo that claims to be dystopian NA that I haven't read yet).  But if we switch it up and have dystopian, post-apocalyptic or paranormal undertones, is it still NA?  Or is it YA with characters that are 2-5 years older?

There are too many questions about this genre still for it to feel legitimate.

But the real question: Will I continue to read NA titles?  The answer is yes.

If the plot sounds interesting then I won't not read it simply because I have an issue with NA as a genre.  I've enjoyed many (but definately not all) of the NA books I've read.  A couple weeks ago I featured Frigid by Jennifer L. Armentrout as my Waiting on Wednesday post.  I love her writing.  So there.

What are your thoughts on NA?  Do we even still care, or has this topic been worn out?  Leave me a comment or a link to your post on NA.  I'm still curious about what people think.

Much love, Samantha