WEEK 12 PROMPT RESPONSE (Young Adult/ New Adult Literature)

 

Understanding the Appeal of Young Adult Literature for Adults 

In order for librarians to serve adults looking for their next YA read it’s important to understand what appeal these books have for adults. This is difficult because YA is not a genre, but a category of books, and a category that is, by definition, first and foremost for 12–18-year-olds. With the rise (or acknowledgement) of YA books’ popularity among adults this distinction blurred. According to Kelly Jensen for BookRiot (2019):

“YA, especially over the last decade, has been called a genre over and over...YA books as a genre are fast-paced, intended for quick consumption, often come as a series or come with some kind of media tie-in (in recent years, adaptations are a big part of this), and most importantly, feature a person who is “a young person” as a main character.” 

However, the age of a protagonist is not an established appeal factor. Saricks (2009) identified the “chief factors that affect our reading pleasure” as pacing, tone, and mood (p. 25). Adults looking for a great read in YA want a fast pace, and quite possibly, a shorter book that better fits into an overly busy lifestyle. The tone and mood of YA novels reflect the high-drama and emotionally intense world of teenagers. Even if the situation is relatively mundane- a first date, a big test- these books deliver it with deeply felt meaning that could read differently to adults rather than teenagers- entertaining and enjoyable rather than emotionally personal, by virtue of their distance from this time of life. For adults these books appear to qualify as escapist reading while this might not be the case for teenagers. Although YA books often confront serious issues like drug abuse, mental health issues, rape, or murder these books are also generally hopeful. After all, they focus on young people with whole lives ahead of them and youthful resiliency. 

“New Adult” also rides a confused line between category and genre. As a category, NA is targeted at 18-25 year-olds, with protagonists in this age range. Support for this category usually focuses on the argument that representation of this age group in literature is otherwise lacking, specifically, the millennial and subsequent generations’ experience of this time in life (although historical fiction with protagonists this age can also be classified as NA). What seems most important is the emphasis on transition, a coming-of-age story that happens after society recognizes a person as legally “of age” already. Considered as a genre, this frame and storyline are the most important appeal factors for NA readers. In contrast to YA, the mood of these books is more sensuous, or steamy, while the angst and emotional drama still run high. 

Plenty of literature written for adults also shares these appeal factors: the fast-paced, hopeful, emotional storyline featuring a transitional phase of life. If an adult seems to be describing a YA or NA book without using those terms a reader’s advisor may ask what age protagonist the patron likes to read. Advisors may offer both adult and YA or NA suggestions when they hear these appeals described but I do think it’s necessary to acknowledge the category is YA if offered to an adult who didn’t specifically ask for it. Likewise, advisors should offer teenagers suggestions of books in the general (adult) fiction section that meet their desired appeals, in which case the advisor would also point out that the book is categorized adult. 

I do not see any compelling reason to separate out New Adult books into their own section. Although this is a category defined by an age group, and libraries routinely shelve other books by age group, it’s not actually new that books about early twenty-somethings exist, as Katie Baker and Vi La Bianca acknowledged citing books like The Sorrow of Young Werther, Girl Interrupted and almost all of Jane Austen. It’s also not an issue of providing readers access to the correct difficulty of reading level or “age-appropriate” material. Even if “new” these adults can presumably read at the adult level and won’t be corrupted by sex scenes. If libraries made such a move would fiction about retired adults move to its own section next? Micro-managing a collection this way is restrictive and unnecessary, it pigeonholes both readers and writers. Reader’s advisors are there to help those in need of finding a specific type of book and the opportunity to talk books with members of our community is not something to pass up by promoting niche understandings of literature. 

The Problem with Adults in YA 

Reader’s advisors should canvas the offerings in YA and NA like they would other (actual) genres in order to be able to offer RA service across age groups. It’s important for librarians to be aware of the trend of adults reading YA as a genre in order to serve this need, but also to acknowledge the ways the trend changes the category of YA for teens. As I discussed in S571, Materials for Youth, the 2014 Printz award winning book Midwinterblood features only one minor teenage character who never speaks and always carries a stuffed animal- so not your average relatable teen. What does it say that the award for excellence in young adult literature went to a book with adult protagonists? Teen book blogger Vickey Who Reads argued that YA is overlooking the teens who are supposed to be the category's audience in part because teenagers don’t have the financial clout to up pre-orders, buy books instead of going to the library, or to leave Amazon reviews. The online reviews that YA books receive, when written by adults, also influence the category from a perspective the books were not (or shouldn’t have been if categorized YA) intended for. Vicky Who Reads noted an increase in books with teenage protagonists acting like adults, she wrote: 

"I find this is both because adult publishing doesn’t want YA-style stories–character relationships and lots of entertainment value. But adults do want to read these types of books, and they show it by influencing the YA category. So, we end up with lots of upper YA books featuring young adult characters that are acting older and older, but they’re still the same age."(emphasis in original) 

Reader’s advisors may soon have a hard time finding books that 12-14 years-olds can relate to and enjoy. Adults can read YA all day long but I don’t think this should change the fact that YA is not for adults. 

This is not to say that librarians should discourage adults from reading in the YA category, but it is important to recognize YA as a category and not a genre with exclusive appeal characteristics. Reader’s advisors may take the appeals of what adult readers mean when they confuse YA with a specific genre and apply them to books with adult protagonists, offering suggestions across sections in the library. The real impact of this trend for RA librarians may be in how we suggest YA titles to young adults. Librarians will need to be aware that publisher categorization of books as YA may not be reliable, or equal relatable books for teens, and will need to do their reading and reviewing of YA literature with both adult and young adult perspectives in mind. 

 

References:

Baker, K. (2012, Nov. 25). 'New adult' fiction is now an official literary genre because marketers want us to buy things. Jezebel. https://jezebel.com/new-adult-fiction-is-now-an-official-literary-genre-bec-5960942.

Bianca, V.L. (2017, Nov. 28) "The terrifying in-between": What are new adult books and why should the publishing community care? https://medium.com/@Vi_LaBianca/the-terrifying-in-between-what-are-new-adult-books-and-why-should-the-publishing-community-care-ab727ebc6c5.

Jensen, Kelly.(2019, Mar. 29). Do teens get pushed out of YA books when it’s called a genre? BookRiot. https://bookriot.com/ya-is-not-a-genre/.

Saricks, J. (2009, Oct. 1). At leisure with Joyce Saricks: The rule of three. Booklist, 106(3), 25.

Vicky. (2018, Nov. 1). The many ways YA books and the community isolates teens. Vicky Who Reads: A YA book blog. https://vickywhoreads.wordpress.com/2018/11/01/how-ya-isolates- teens/.