Discussion: Are YA Books Becoming Too NA?

A few years ago, indie authors saw a large gap in the publishing world. The young adult market was flooded with Twilight wannabes and Hunger Games knockoffs while the adult market continued to produce tomes of literature geared toward the serious adult reader. Yet nobody was writing books for that crossover stage between the two.

In order to fill this gap, authors started writing New Adult, or NA, novels. New Adult started off being mostly contemporary romance novels with the fast pace and simpler writing style of Young Adult, but with explicit content often seen in adult novels.

Since these books didn’t belong in the YA category or the adult category, authors faced an uphill battle to publication. Naturally, many authors turned to self-publication and we began to see their new work that way. After many runaway bestsellers published by indie authors, the big publishing houses started to take notice. Slowly, the New Adult category gained recognition and a permanent slot in the publishing world.

I love watching trends in young adult books and following the ebb and flow of different genres and themes. I’ve noticed a few things about New Adult books.

Are YA Books Becoming Too New Adult?

New Adult is infiltrating the Young Adult category

There’s been debate over whether to shelve NA books in the teen section or the adult section. I’ve seen both, but with the popularity of NA, I’ve noticed content that used to be found exclusively in adult novels is now filtering down to Young Adult books. YA has started dealing with heavier issues and allowing more explicit content in their books than ever before. F-bombs and detailed sex scenes are now acceptable in YA. In fact, many books labeled as YA contain just as much “adult” content as adult books do.

For example, Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas contains a very long, very explicit love scene in it. I always categorized that series as Young Adult, but the detailed love scene placed it squarely in the New Adult category. Other books, like Kill All Happies by Rachel Cohn, contain no sex but are heavy with f-bombs.

There’s not always a difference between NA and YA books

Many big publishing houses are spitting out sweeping, epic books under their children’s imprints (like The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead) geared toward adult YA readers. Books like And I Darken by Kiersten White are lengthy and violent. By the time we get to Now I Rise, the second book in the series, the characters are well into adulthood, the violence is amped up, and there is a semi-descriptive love scene. Yet the series is published, marketed, and categorized as Young Adult.

Many adults read YA, so publishers gear books toward them

Young adult books are labeled as for ages 12-18. However, many adults (myself included) love reading YA. But adults can handle—and even want—more graphic content than the teens these books were originally intended for. Since most young adult books are being read, reviewed, and raved about by adults, it only makes sense that authors and publishers would start producing YA books for their adult fans.

YA readers don’t want “grown-up” books

If adults want to read “grown-up” content, why don’t they just read a book written for adults? That’s because adult books are too long, too slow, and have too many descriptions to keep YA readers interested. Young Adult and New Adult books are shorter, have a faster pace, and have a smaller cast of characters. Plots aren’t as complex, and everything that happens moves the story forward. Adult readers of YA books love these fast-paced, obsession-worthy, swoony books they grew to love as teenagers. As adults, they want similar stories—with more adult content.

NA books are not for children

It’s a weird thing, to see books for adults disguised as books for teenagers. Young adult books are for kids ages 12-18 and are published by imprints clearly labeled for children. But like I mentioned earlier, a growing number of books labeled as Young Adult may not be appropriate for teens. As a parent, I worry that adult love for YA is overshadowing the needs of teenagers and jeopardizing YA as we know it.

My concern is that kids don’t go from reading middle-grade books like The Land of Stories to reading A Court of Thorns and Roses overnight. We still need books to bridge the gap, books for kids who aren’t emotionally ready for (or are uncomfortable reading) graphic content. If kids don’t have good, age-appropriate material to read, they stop reading.

We need a way to distinguish NA from YA books

I’m not complaining about NA leaking into YA. There used to be a big gap that’s now getting filled. I’ve read and enjoyed many young adult books that I would never hand to a twelve-year-old. However, as my daughter gets closer to her teen years, I wish I had a way of knowing whether a book is age-appropriate or not—other than reading it myself, first. If authors and publishers want to produce YA for adult readers, that’s perfectly fine with me. But we need a way of distinguishing if a book is truly intended for teen readers or the massive numbers of adults that read Young Adult books. I almost wish publishers would split their age recommendations for YA into 12-14 and 15-18, to help parents and their teens better navigate this new reading landscape.

What do you think? Have you noticed this trend in YA books?