Best Books in the New Adult Genre

The New Adult is a new-ish literary category that has been in the vocabulary for roughly a decade. It is considered to be a level up from the Young Adult genre and includes themes that are usually too mature for that genre. It also features protagonists who are past high-school age and is usually based in colleges and universities though that’s not required.

Following that definition, the genre is thus flexible to include a variety of different stories ranging from magical realism to dystopian reverse harem. So these are the best books that represent this genre.

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Since this is a Murakami book, I would like to give readers a heads up: he writes women and sex weird. Like he has never met women or had sex. However, he is the frontrunner in the magical realism genre and is a master of short storytelling.

Norwegian Wood is not the best Murakami book by any means but it is the best coming-of-age book he’s written. While turning down the magical elements he’s usually known for, he tells a story about pain and loss in this book. The book does a great job of creating a sense of dread. From the beginning, you know this will not end well. And the awareness of that feeling makes you sympathize with the main character as both of you can see the potential tragedy and can’t do anything to stop it.

This is not a plot-driven book and instead is rather a conglomeration of important events that happened to the main characters during a specific period. Those events helped mould him into who he is in the present. Another heads up, the book also has an ambiguous ending which is a point of contention among his readers. He is more of an “it’s about the journey not the ending” kind of writer and if that bugs you, you might as well skip this one.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

This book follows Cath, who is starting college with her twin. She is an anxious introvert who writes fanfiction in her free time. In contrast to her, her twin, Wren, is more outgoing and extroverted and she feels overshadowed by her. As the story progresses, we see Cath come out of her shell.

The book deals with issues of loneliness, self-discovery and social anxiety. While there is nothing wrong with the portrait of such issues in the book, it does not go into depth to explore those issues either.

“Happily ever after, or even just together ever after, is not cheesy,” Wren said. “It’s the noblest, like, the most courageous thing two people can shoot for.”

Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl

 Cath is not a very likeable character, but she is someone who would remind yourself of your own cringy self at that age. And this relatability makes the book work. The book captures the feeling of freedom that comes with starting college and how terrifying that freedom can sometimes feel. This book is a comfortable read because of the warmth and humour that Rowell puts into her writing.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

The book follows January Scaller, a young girl living in a mansion as a ward of a wealthy collector. Her story starts very grounded in reality, but she then finds a strange book that talks about doors that lead to other worlds. The fantastical elements unfold slowly as she realizes her story is entwined with the story of the book.

You have to admit, the title itself is evocative and conjures up a sense of adventure. And this book is a grand adventure made better by how great Harrow’s prose is. 

Destiny is a pretty story we tell ourselves. Lurking beneath it there are only people, and the terrible choices we make.

Alix E. Harrow, The Ten Thousand Doors of January

Considering the period and the context of the book, a lot of tough questions and moral dilemmas arise but the book does not explore these themes in depth. Instead, what the book does is tell an engaging and heart-warming story. Ultimately, this book is an adventure tale for grown-ups.

Beach Read by Emily Henry

The main characters of this book are college graduates already on their career paths. The book involves a lot of passages that talk about the times the main characters spent in college. That’s probably why this book is in this genre (I don’t make the rules man).  

This is a romance book where the main characters start as rivals in their college days. At the present, they are both authors who are both stuck in a rut. So they decide to try writing books in each other’s genres instead.

The key selling point of the book is the banter between the two characters which was amazing. It was such a good idea to make the protagonists writers because their dialogues are sarcastic, smart and witty. Alongside being entertaining, the book manages to cover difficult topics including grief, loneliness, and friendships.

“And that was the moment I realized: when the world felt dark and scary, love could whisk you off to go dancing; laughter could take some of the pain away; beauty could punch holes in your fear. I decided then that my life would be full of all three.”

Emily Henry, Beach Read

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

This is the first book in The Winternight Trilogy. Based in medieval Russia, this book is a lush magical fantasy that has the feel of old fairy tales. This book does such a great job of introducing northern European mythology and Slavic folklore to life.

Vasilisa, the protagonist of the book, lives in a village surrounded by Russian wilderness with cold, harsh winters. Her world has magical creatures ranging from house spirits, faes, and rusalkas. True to the fairy tale nature, the book also includes an evil stepmother and a villain as a dark god. The story also deals with the spread of Christianity as it tries to push out and persecute the old gods that the local people worship.

This is not a fast-paced book, but it does a great job of drawing you in, because of how intriguing the premise is.

“I do not understand “damned.” You are. And because you are, you can walk where you will, into peace, oblivion, or pits of fire, but you will always choose.”

Katherine Arden , The Bear and the Nightingale

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

This is a book about a group of unlikeable characters that you can’t stand. But you continue reading the book because of how great the writing is.

In the vein of The Great Gatsby, Richard, a minor character narrates the book. Our narrator is trying to fit in with a group of rich and sophisticated classics major when dun dun dun.., something bad happens and it turns into a sort of inverted murder mystery.

“Some things are too terrible to grasp at once. Other things – naked, sputtering, indelible in their horror – are too terrible to really grasp ever at all. It is only later, in solitude, in memory that the realization dawns: when the ashes are cold; when the mourners have departed; when one looks around and finds oneself – quite to one’s surprise – in an entirely different world.”

Donna Tartt, The Secret History

Despite being horrible people, the classics group were very interesting people. This sort of feels like a cautionary tale in some ways – about the risk of putting people on a pedestal and also about becoming so enamoured with your intellect that you think you are above the law.