Why I'm (Mostly) Giving Up on New Adult

  Hey, y'all! I know some of you are major New Adult fans. I so badly want to be in that group. The covers on a lot of NA books are beautiful. But they're also deceiving. My heart has been broken too many times by NA. My patience has been tested too many times by NA. And my eyes can't stand to roll one more time.

  Here's a few reasons why I'm giving up on New Adult.

Abusive relationships. This is the biggest issue for me whenever it comes to New Adult. I know not every NA novel features an abusive couple, but far too many do. And I hardly see anyone speak out about it. Aside from a few one and two star reviews mentioning it, no one really brings it up. Why?! I've read men and women doing deplorable things to each other in NA and authors and readers alike romanticizing it. As someone who's been there and done that, I am horrified whenever I stumble upon abuse in books. One book in particular really unsettled me. It featured the boyfriend kidnapping the woman, leaving bruises on her, and stalking her. Am I supposed to think it's okay that the author mentions over and over how "hot and sexy" he is? Would it be okay if the guy wasn't attractive? No. It's gross.

Immaturity. The one thing that grinds my gears about people who hate on Young Adult is that the characters are immature. Hello, they're teenagers. They're not supposed to be the pentacle of maturity. (Even though most of them actually ARE.) But I'm so blown away with how immature New Adult characters come off as. I've read far too many NA novels where everything would be solved if the couple would act grown up and actually discuss their issues. Instead they do all these passive aggressive things instead of dealing with their problems. And oh my god. If I have to read one more New Adult heroine criticizing another woman, I will explode. Not only is it immature, it also sends off a huge vibe of insecurity. No thanks.

Repeating plots. The last NA book I tried to read is by a hugely popular author. It was the first book of hers that I attempted to read, and by how much people gush about her, I had pretty high hopes. They were slashed by the second chapter whenever I realized that I had read this same exact plot THREE times already in other NA books. Sure, this author had written her book first. But since I had already read it, why bother? I went hunting for spoilers of the book just to make sure my hunch was right. It was. What's the point of writing a book if you aren't going to flex your creativity and write your own story? 

credit
What do you guys think?
Am I being a negative Nancy? Or do you have your own issues with New Adult?
Wanna prove me wrong? Suggest some NA novels in the comments!

5 comments:

  1. A Date with the Devil! - It's the one I started writing when you were still my PA!! <3

    ReplyDelete
  2. Girl preach! I stopped reading a lot of NA books for the same reasons. I did read and love a few, but there's SO many repeated characters and plots. And I'm in that age bracket and we are not all that immature, by any stretch. This will probably sound bad but I don't mind abuse/abusive characters in my book if they serve a point, but I feel like a lot of NA books have it thrown in just for added measure.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is exactly why I couldn't get into NA to begin with. I'm a YA fan and an adult fan, but NA as a sub-genre bothers me deeply.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm not really surprised by your post, I love the NA genre but I actually hate most of the books. You have every right to give up on it. At times, I have wanted to give up on it as well but I have discovered a few gems that make me stay :) I hope you check these out for yourself soon!

    Unravel by Calia Read
    Mud Vein by Tarryn Fisher(it's not what the premise seems)
    Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
    Becoming Rain by K.A Tucker
    Deeper by Robin York
    Vain by Fisher Amelie
    The Deal by Elle Kennedy( the concept might seem cliche but it's a beautiful book)
    An indecent Proposal by J.C Reed

    Benish| Feminist Reflections

    ReplyDelete
  5. I feel like the NA genre took off and has just become TOO mainstream. It is what is selling so many authors are busting out the NA stories. I hate how repetitive they have become!

    I love finding those that are not just romance - and it seems like the other genres are starting to take off.

    So no, I don't think you are being a negative Nancy! I agree with you 100%

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...