Let’s Talk About…New Adult Literature

January 30, 20143 Comments

So I’ve decided to start a new segment. Called “Let’s Talk About…”

Its not going to be a weekly segment. We’ve learned pretty well that I’m TERRIBLE at keeping up with weekly segments, unhealthy although I’m ready to get back on board with blog writing. I really am.

That being said, welcome to the new segment. Basically this is a segment that I’ll write whenever I just feel like talking about something in the nerd world. It could be about cosplay. It could be about internet bullying. It could be about anything really.

The point of it is, I want to talk about it. I want to share my opinion and start a conversation on a subject that’s on my mind.

So the very first “Let’s Talk About…” is about the emergence of new adult literature and my opinion of it.

For those of you who may be unaware, new adult is a fairly recent term used to describe young adult literature thats for mature audiences. Think Jennifer L. Armentrout and Cora Carmack, as some famous ones.

When I first heard the term, I was skeptical of it, but I wasn’t too against it. The idea of a more mature young adult literature really appealed to me actually. I’m twenty-five years old, which means, technically, I’m not the intended age group of young adult literature.

Bear with me, I know that even though we are not the intended audience, adults are reading more and more YA literature. It just makes sense. That’s a whole ‘nother “Let’s Talk About….” so I won’t address that here. I just didn’t want you all jumping down my throats.

Moving on, the idea of a book that would be written in that sort of young adult style but be more mature really appealed to me. I honestly think what I write tends to more “new adult”. Now I always just assumed it was “mature young adult” because I didn’t know that there was an actual term for it. My characters tend to have more sex than characters do in YA, and I don’t cushion it, I give you the full scene. They deal with more adult issues, like going to college, growing up after high school, getting jobs and having adult relationships. That sort of thing. They don’t hold their language back. That was the kind of idea that I had about new adult literature.

Now, the more involved I get into middle grade, young adult and new adult literature with this blog, the more I’m disappointed at what new adult essentially is becoming, and I’m not pleased with it.

I took a screen shot of the “new adult” page on Net Galley. Net Galley, for those of you who don’t know, is a website where you can go (mostly as a blogger or reviewer) to request upcoming novels for review before their release-digital ARCs, basically. I went to the “new adult” page to sort of give you an idea of what it is.

What does it look like to you? Really take a look at it.

Yeah, it all looks like romance novels right?

Disclaimer before I begin: I have nothing against romance novels. I’m not a fan of them, but if that’s your cup of tea, the more power to you.

But the fact is: I didn’t think the whole point of “new adult” was just young adult with sex. Because that’s what it seems like. Most new adult books I’ve seen have racy covers, with half-clothed people. It seems less plot heavy, less character driven. It also seems there aren’t a lot of care taken in the new adult genre for actual good books and talented writers. It doesn’t seem to matter if its actually good, just thought its a bit more racy than actual good literature.

And that sort of thing really bothers me. Obviously I have no problem with sex in novels. I write sex into my novels. Sex is an important part about being an emerging adult. But I want more new adult about the idea of being…well a new adult.

Like Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell for instance. I would consider it YA with a hint of NA. The only reason its not full NA is that you definitely could be younger and read it. But I enjoy the newness of the story. I enjoy reading about a girl in college, struggling on being away from home and navigating a new world. Its refreshing to get a different world from high school. We see Cath go from a teenager to an adult in college, and I love that kind of story.

So what I really think new adult should be is emerging adult stories. People from the ages of 18-25ish, coming into the world. Going to college, traveling, getting jobs, all the sort of stuff that I’m going through now, and have been going through since leaving high school. Throw some more serious themes in there, throw some sex in there, and maybe some foul language. That’s okay, that’s realistic. I want to see those kinds of stories in new adult. I could really get behind the idea of new adult, if that’s what it represented.

Instead, I find myself with a group of books that basically seem to YA with sex. A lot of sex. And a lot of it is definitely not well written. This is incredibly disappointing and really puts a bad name on those of who want to write quality new adult literature that has more to it than just sex.

I’m hoping in the future, that there will be more quality new adult literature and that hopefully there won’t be a negative connotation when you write new adult. A lot of NA authors tend to be self-published because most publishers don’t accept it. They have seen the same sort of things I’m seeing: books that aren’t really well-written, with a ton of sex. They really should be going in the romance section.

I have read good NA though. I think Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl could be considered NA. I’ve heard good things about Cora Carmack’s books, but I haven’t had a chance to dive into them yet. Tammara Webber’s Between the Lines series and her standalone, Easy, are definitely NA and I absolutely love those books.

I think there could be really great stuff in the new adult genre but I must admit that, for the most part, I tend to avoid it. Its starting to sort of lump together, in a mess and its really hard to find the quality ones in the mess of pretty bad ones.

I have a lot of hope for the genre but until I really start seeing some good stuff, and on actual shelves, instead of all the self-published stuff, than I really think I”ll get into the ‘genre’. Until then, I am just disappointed that the potential of it is just not being utilized. Young adult has a hard enough time being taken seriously as real, quality literature and the emergence of new adult literature doesn’t seem to be helping because of the lack of quality in it. I hope this changes soon, and that publishers start printing really good, well written new adult lit soon.

What do you think? Share in the comments!

Remember, everyone is open to their opinion. You may not necessarily agree, and that’s okay. But we show respect, and we discuss things, we don’t argue, ridicule or treat people with disrespect because of differing opinions. Thank you!

WWW Wednesday

January 29, 2014January 28, 20144 Comments

Disclaimer before I begin: I wanted to apologize for being so absent lately. I know that I haven’t been so on top of things and I’m going to try to be better at it. I just started a new semester (with a TON of reading; I’m taking a YA literature class), search and I was working two jobs (now down to just one), sales and I got overwhelmed and busy there for a bit.

I also was (maybe still am) going through a serious reading slump. Nothing that I’ve been picking up lately has been interesting or engaging to me at all, not even old favorites. I just finished a book a few days ago, so I’m hoping I’m over this.

Moving on though, to this week’s WWW Wednesday!

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Should Be Reading.

The three W’s are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll be reading next?

What are you currently reading?

I just got this in the mail from my Secret Valentine (Thank you Amber from GrownUpFanGal!) and I’m eager to read it. I’ve heard from lots of people that they liked, and a ton of my followers on instagram said this was the series that got them into dystopian so that’s exciting. Hopefully I have time for it very soon.

I totally remember reading this as a kid but I literally have no memory of it. I know that sounds funny but its true. I remember there being sisters, and maybe some weddings or something but that’s it. This is the first novel I’m reading for my YA literature class, so it counts ;)

What did you just recently finish reading?

This book kept popping up on my radar, because it shares the same title as a favorite of mine by Tammara Webber. I decided I ought to dive in and read it, so I did. The review is coming soon :) Hopefully VERY soon.

What do you think you’ll be reading next?

Well I’m hoping since I’m reading the first book, this means I’ll read the second. It only makes the most logical sense. My reading slump has been pretty awful now.

This is the next on my syllabus for young adult literature so its definitely one that will be coming up very soon!

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What are you reading now? Share in the comments!

Fictional Crush of the Week-Sirius Black from the Harry Potter Series

January 25, 20141 Comment

Character Name:

Sirius Black

Book or Series They Appear In:

The Harry Potter Series

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, hospital Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Author/Creator:

J.K. Rowling

Played By:

Gary Oldman

Who They Are:

Sirius Black is a one of the important minor characters of the Harry Potter series. At first he is thought of as a serial killer, and the man responsible for Harry’s parents’ deaths. We learn that this is not true and that he was a best friend to them, and he was framed for their murder. He’s a bit of a bad boy, kind of reckless and always in need for adventure but he’s loyal and brave and extremely committed. He was loyal to his friends, James Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, and eventually, Lily Evans, and those in the Order of the Phoenix. When he comes into Harry’s life, he does everything he can to be a good godfather to Harry. He risks his life, his arrest to be there for him and keep him safe. He’s an incredible wizard, and insanely clever and talented.

Why I Am Crushing On Them:

Respect for Gary Oldman, who is a VERY good looking man, but he’s not quite the Sirius Black that I had pictured. I pictured a sort of younger, sexier man. Sorry if that offends anyone but I did. Sirius Black was the good looking one of the Marauders. So I pictured someone younger, and he had that sort of bad boy image and the humor. Love you Gary, but you’re not what I picture haha.

That being said, Sirius is the bad boy. He’s the one who was framed for a crime he didn’t commit, spent years in Azkaban, and survived. He is constantly on the run, afraid of being caught for the crime that Pettigrew committed, and yet all he can think of is the safety of his godson and the task of defeating Lord Voldemort and making the wizarding world safe. He doesn’t think about himself, and Sirius can be kind of a selfish person at times, and when it comes down to it, he really cares about the people that loves.

Plus Sirius is just a sexy, badass. He’s a great wizard, and he has that sort of rock star quality. He has that long dark hair, and he’s kind of a rebel, in his own family. He could have been a Slytherin, a Death Eater, on the wrong side but he has a good heart and he goes for the right side. He is a fantastic, talented wizard and he can change into a dog as an Animagus. He is able to do this as a fifth year student, and he and his friends create one of the COOLEST objects in the HP world, the Marauder’s Map.

I also think people should give Sirius more credit than they do. Yes, he was cruel to Kreacher. Yes, he sometimes treated Harry like he was James reincarnate. He was in the same sort of situation like Draco Malfoy and he could have ended up in that same sort of situation but he doesn’t. He doesn’t blindly follow and sure, his life is full of ups and downs, but in the end, he was a good person. He was an incredibly good person and I admit him a ton for getting past his familial past.

Notable Quotes:

“Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a professor.”

“Yes, but the world isn’t split into good people and Death Eaters.”

“We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.”

“You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us?”

“Sirius was lounging in his chair at his ease, tilting it back on two legs. He was very good-looking, his dark hair fell into his eyes with a sort of casual elegance neither James’s nor Harry’s could ever have achieved, and a girl sitting behind him was eyeing him hopefully, though he didn’t seem to have noticed.”

“If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

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I hope you enjoyed this week’s Fictional Crush of the Week!

Tune in next week for more :)

Tuesday Top Ten-Movies to Look Forward to in 2014

January 21, 2014January 21, 20144 Comments

Hello everybody! How are we doing this week? We’re now a few weeks into the year, approved and a new year brings so much: new year, pills new goals, new you, new books, new movies!

I get excited every year around new year because I think…oh all those movies I’ve been waiting for are now closer than ever!

There are a TON of great movies hitting the theaters this year, and I’m excited for them. Here are my top ten:

10. The Giver

August 15th

I’m not going to lie, this movie makes me incredibly nervous. I love this book. This book was the first dystopian novel that I ever really read and that was when I was twelve years old. This novel has definitely stuck with me, and I’m hoping that when it hits the big screen, it’ll be as beautifully filmed as it was written. The fact that there are all these big names makes me nervous because none of the people who are being cast seem to fit what I’ve imagined. I’m also not happy that Taylor Swift has any part of this movie. I mean, I can’t even handle my disappointment in that. But I’m holding out hope that despite that, and despite the most random of an ensemble cast, it’ll be the script from a beautiful book that makes this a great movie.

9. Maleficent

May 30th

It seems to be the hippest thing now to do fairy tale retellings now. And I’m totally okay with that. I love Disney movies, and have loved them since I was a kid. All these retellings just make it so that I can enjoy those favorite stories again and again as an adult, in a new way. I’m not an Angelina Jolie fan, honestly, she kind of bothers me. I was telling my friend that if she wasn’t such a good mom (or at least she appears to be), I would probably really dislike her. However, I think she’s an absolutely perfect pick to play the scary Sleeping Beauty villain and I think it’ll be a great movie. It already looks super great, and I’m really really really looking forward to it. The teaser trailer is just enough to make me want to watch.

8. Love Rosie

No Release Date…Yet

I literally have such little knowledge on this movie, its ridiculous. I know that its based off a book, but most movies are, so that wasn’t hard to conclude. But it has two of my favorite people in the world in the movie: Lily Collins and Sam Claflin. Both of whom I’ve met too! Which I just thought of and totally made me happy. But this was being filmed around the promotion time for City of Bones so it came on my radar and I’m excited to see it. There is no real release date for it because I think its super indie but I definitely want to see it, and hopefully read it, as well. I think Lily Collins is a great actress who hasn’t quite caught her break yet, and I adore Sam, who ROCKED Finnick in Catching Fire. Its bound to be a good movie, in my head.

7. X-Men: Days of Future Past

May 23rd

I wasn’t a huge fan of the “original” XMen trilogy. The first one was decent and the other two were just a yawn. They just didn’t impress me much. So when the prequel came out, I honestly didn’t have a huge desire to see that at all. Eventually I did watch it and I was blown away. I think the prequel was infinitely better than the original trilogy and I loved the cast immensely: James Mcavoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, January Jones and so on. I loved it so much. I would say they made one mistake in casting someone else for Banshee instead of sticking with their original choice of Robbie Sheehan. But that’s just because I’m biased and love Robbie. But because that first movie was absolutely incredible, I am DEFINITELY looking forward to the sequel. I think its going to be just as good, maybe better, and they got rid of Rogue and I’m SO okay with that.

6. The Maze Runner

September 19th

I really am looking forward to seeing this movie for several reasons. First off, I adore Dylan O’Brien. I wish that Teen Wolf would have grabbed me more than it did because he is SO great. So being able to see him as the main character of TMR is something I’m very excited about it. I’m also excited because it really was a good book. James Dashner is a great writer, and The Maze Runner is an incredible novel. Its also a really weird, bizarre novel, which leads to another reason I’m looking forward to seeing this movie: maybe things will make a little more sense to me when I can actually see them. Maybe seeing the maze and the Grievers and all that. I also think that its a very action-y book so it’ll work really well on the big screen. Thomas and his fellow Runners are constantly risking their lives to find a way out and I think that will translate SUPER well onto film.

5. The Fault in Our Stars

June 6th

Despite the fact that the fans of The Fault in Our Stars is kind of starting to get on my nerves and I’m starting to push more indie, unknown or underrated authors now, instead of just always John Green, I am looking forward to this movie. I enjoy John Green’s books and I did really like TFiOS a lot so I’m eager to see this movie. I also have a soft spot for Ansel, and I swear, it has nothing to do with his abs ;) I’m also excited because Ansel and Shailene will play brother and sister in another highly anticipated movie this year (look below!) and so I’m eager to see how they do both of them. They obviously have a chemistry on screen enough to be in two different movies together. I wish my favorites of John Green, like An Abundance of Katherines or Will Grayson, Will Grayson, on the big screen but there’s no way it’ll ever happen. So this is the next best thing. Let’s see how well they translated this book to the work of film.

4. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

November 21st

Duh. I mean, do I really need to go into detail with this? When I first saw The Hunger Games, I definitely enjoyed it. Its a great movie, but it wasn’t…perfect, you know? There were things wrong with it, and I liked it but it wasn’t a huge favorite. When I saw Catching Fire though, it blew my mind. Its not perfect because a movie will hardly ever be as perfect as the book but it was pretty damn close. I wanted to stand up and tackle Francis Lawrence and all the brains behind CF with hugs and kisses because it was SO SO good. I was only partly looking forward to CF because HG was just okay. Now I’m dying to see Mockingjay because I have high hopes for it. I honestly think its going to be just amazing, and the casting they have been doing for it is great and I want to do fan camp again. The whole Catching Fire experience pulled me so much back into The Hunger Games world and I’m dying to see the first part of the finale. I still don’t know why its split into two parts but whatever. Let’s just enjoy it.

3. Vampire Academy

February 7th

This is only a few weeks away which makes me incredibly excited. I just read the books within the last six months but they have quickly become favorites of mine. The title and the idea of it sounded awful but Richelle Mead blew me away. Its an incredible series so I can’t wait to see it on the big screen. I’m so freakin excited. Plus I have huge crushes on both Zoey Deutch and Danila Kozlovsky and I want to see their chemistry as Rose and Dimitri. I am a bit nervous because it seems very “mean girls” but then I see a clip or a still of Zoey kicking ass and I get excited all over again. She’s super beautiful and perfect for the casting of Rose and I think its going to be a really fun movie. And I hope to get my butt down to the premiere so I can fangirl again and again over Zoey and Danila.

2. The Hobbit: There and Back Again

December 17th

I wasn’t overly impressed with The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug but I still feel like I need to go back and re-read the book and then rewatch the movie so I can really see whether I like it or not. It just didn’t effect me as much as the first one did. That one was just so amazing to me, the fight scenes and the elves, and Rivendell and the riddle scene with Gollum. Agh. But I’m hoping with the conclusion, it’ll comes together nicely. The end of The Hobbit is great, and a whole lot goes down so I’m ready to see that. I’m ready to see Smaug destroy the town, and I’m ready for Bard and I’m ready for Thorin to kind of go crazy and I’m ready for Bilbo to become an even bigger badass than he already was. I have some seriously high hopes for this movie (I mean, it is number 2 on the list) so I hope I am not disappointed.

1. Divergent

March 21st

I can hardly contain my excitement for this movie. When they first started casting for it, I admit, I was nervous. I was not a fan of Shailene Woodley. All I had ever seen her in was The Secret Life of An American Teenager and…no, just no. But the more I saw her transformation into Tris, the more I felt comfortable with her as Tris. Then I saw The Spectacular Now with my boyfriend at a special screening and it was SO good, and she really impressed me. She did such a great job. That, combined with the casting of Theo James as Four, made me more excited about the movie. I mean, have you seen Theo James. I need a bucket of cold water to the face every time I see him. Since then, we’ve gotten a TON of stills, really amazing trailers and I am just so excited for this movie. Once I saw the first full length trailer, I really thought, “wow, this could be good”. I love these books, I feel like I’m one of a small group that absolutely loved the ending and I can’t wait to see my favorite Divergent characters come to life in March. And to hopefully be at that premiere because, come on, its Divergent!

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So there you have it! My Top Ten Most Anticipated Movies of 2014! Check in next week to see my top Ten reasons why I want to be an author :)

What are some movies that you are looking forward to in 2014? Share in the comments!