Book Talk: Are the lines between New Adult/Adult starting to blur???

Hey everyone! And welcome to another edition of Book Talk.

*I want to state this is a discussion. It is a open question to talk about.  I have always loved reading NA and a big promoter of it. It’s a book topic I have been wanting to talk about for a long time. That is all. Please do not take any of this the wrong way.*

(Although I have a feeling someone will).

About a week ago, I got this comment on my blog:

“The lines between adult and new adult is starting to blur. I would have sworn every single one of these titles/covers correspond to an adult book.”

  About 3 years ago, the New Adult genre has started to gain popularity and has continued to grow ever since. First off, what exactly is New Adult? What I gather amongst the internet is that New Adult is a genre targeted at college aged peeps. The characters ages ranges from 18-24 year old, most in college or just learning about life.

When I got that comment, it got me thinking that they are right. In the beginning, I read A LOT of New Adult. I loved the genre and could see it going places. Lately, I strayed away from it because it repeats the same story line and they are A LOT of sex scenes. Not something vague but FULL ON SEX scenes. And honestly, I get tired of reading the same story, the same sex scene. Nothing is even unique anymore for most books.

Now, don’t get me wrong. There are a few hidden gems that I simply adored because the plots are different. For me, I’m all about the story. I love going in and looking back in the history of the character. I love seeing their emotions soar up and down, and have problems that really make them think and fight for what they believe in. I guess that is why I always go back Young Adult. Unpreditcable teens never making up their mind but always finding a way.

Let’s take a stroll down the road of New Adult.

Here are some covers of books that started off as self-published and move up to become a published author at the start of the New Adult era.

All of these books are either in college or leaving high school on their way to college at the time of the story.

Now here are some other New Adult books that are hitting the market now.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not in any way bashing these books. In-fact, I have read most of these books and enjoyed them myself. I think the problem with the blurring is that most NA books starts with the main characters leaving college or just finishing and going onto more adult scenarios. Scenarios such as explicit sex scenes, work life, marriage, etc.

Is that really college life?  Is working an internship at the office and having sex with your (insert who you want here) college? Technically your not in college anymore. For me, if the gal/guy is having some hot sex with her/his boss, co-worker, friend in full on detail, it has step over the line of NA and into Adult books. Where do you draw the line?

I went on twitter and ask the question: Do you think the lines between NA/Adult are starting to blurr and why? Let’s see what other bloggers/authors think about:

@dannymarksya: “I think the line was already blurry going in. From the late teens to adult there’s such a wide variety of maturity levels.” “Some NA characters act much older than “adult” and vice versa!”

@BookishThings: “I think some of them can be.  There are some NA titles that could be classified as erotica almost, but I also think that the NA age group is a time of exploration in many things. Idk if that helps or not.”

@cupcakegirly:  “I do. To me NA is 19-24. Last “NA” I read, the guy was almost 29. He’s had a few years to figure out this adult thing. :)”

@ExLibris_Kate: “Agree with this! Love the New York Leopards series, but it is *not* NA. The dudes are 25+.”

@char_fam:” Blurry. Depends on tone/plot/character motivations. I think you can have two books w/ the same MC, and it could go either way.”

@ashposton: “Easier way for Adult authors to get a marketing brand since NA is so new. It helps them get out of the sloshy backwash.”

@juliecookies: “not really. YA/NA are different age groups and different problems, though there are some mature YA that have similar problems. I think adult books are people who are more established in life and NA are people just starting to figure it all out. But there are books being put in the NA category simply because it is popular right now, not because it is about new adults.”

  With the rapid growth of NA, books are exploding left and right. And the diversity ranges for everyone. There is something that any reader can pick up and enjoy. Everyone is at a different reading level and some might be more mature than others. Even if the book is marketed at New Adult and isn’t,  as a reader I will most likely pick it up and read it.

What do you think about this? Do you think the lines are blurry? Why?

Happy Reading!