genre: new adult | Scribbles & Wanderlust

Tag: genre: new adult
- Book Review: “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by SJ Maas
  
  Posted at 6:05 am by Laura, on June 15, 2015
  
  A Court of Thorns and Roses by SJ Maas
  
  Publisher: Bloomsbury
  Published: May 2015
  Genre: young adult, fantasy, retelling
  ISBN: 9781619634442
  Goodreads: 4.36
  Rating: ★★★★★
  
  When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.
  
  As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.
  
  Feyre is a hunter by necessity. Her family depends on her to bring back meat for food and hide for money. But one snowy evening in the woods changes her future forever. The night after she kills a gigantic wolf, a beast arrives at her family’s cottage and drags her into the magical realm of the faeries, a place Feyre has been taught to fear her whole life. But once at the Spring Court, Feyre learns the beast is not a creature, but a High Lord, a faerie named Tamlin. Tamlin shows her compassion, brings her art and peace each day she dwells in Prythian. But an ancient magic haunts Tamlin and hinders his powers, and Feyre is swept up in a deadly game plaguing the faerie lands.
  
  Move over, folks, because I need a spot on the SJ Maas bandwagon. Though I own Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight, A Court of Thorns and Roses ranked higher on my priority list because, hello, Beauty and the Beast retelling! Instead of a beautiful girl obsessed with books swapping her father’s life for her own (and a whole mess of Stockholm Syndrome that I like to ignore), we’ve got an artistically talented and illiterate young woman who chose to spare her family’s slaughter by agreeing to cross into faerie lands for eternity. And the beast? He’s all terrifying when he storms into her home, but the second they cross into Prythian he’s not a person to fear. He’s nothing but kind to her, no masks (well, except for the one permanently glued to his face — part of the curse) or bickering dialogue.
  
  Tamlin and Feyre really have chemistry. Not love-at-first-sight chemistry, but a steady, growing attraction that is so deep as well as steamy. That’s what made her friendship with Lucien feel genuine, too. No love triangles here. And her connection later with Rhys? I don’t see a triangle on that end either, at least not reciprocated by Feyre, but it made me like Rhys’s character as well when he helped her during the torturous trials.
  
  Favorite scenes: the starlight pond, the gallery showing, Feyre’s sister Nesta’s reveal, Feyre’s fae maid Alis explaining the curse, the frightening mud scene in Amarantha’s mountain . . .
  
  I don’t know how to review this book without doing this
  
  There’s action, romance, adventure, faerie lore, retelling parallels, excellent characters, depth and plotting. It’s a book.
  
  Now, I’ve had this conversation with Morgan and Lindsey before, about how we can’t seem to cast characters as we’re reading but it makes sense in hindsight when we see an actor with those physical features. The characters are hazy, blurred. Well, Kelly solved all of these issues with her excellent ACOTAR casting. Not only do I approve of all those yummy men (especially Shuegs), I also approve of the roles they’d play.
  
  Posted in books, Reviews 2015 | 5 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: action/adventure, genre: fantasy, genre: new adult, genre: young adult, review
- Book Review: “I Was Here” by Gayle Forman (ARC)
  
  Posted at 7:45 am by Laura, on January 15, 2015
  
  I Was Here by Gayle Forman
  
  Publisher: Viking Juvenile
  Publishing Date: January 27
  Genre: young adult, contemporary, new adult
  ISBN: 9780451471475
  Goodreads: —
  Rating: ★★★★
  
  When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington. About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, who broke Meg’s heart. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open—until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question.
  
  Cody’s sick of the memorial services and candlelight vigils. These people didn’t know Meg, not like she did. They were two peas in a pod, unstoppable together. And now Meg’s gone — Meg, the sparkling girl full of life and energy, the girl who went and drank poison in a hotel room and planned every last detail of her death. Cody agrees to pack up Meg’s stuff at college, and discovers that Meg was hiding more than her death wish. Angry at the secrets and torn up with grief, Cody decides to sift through Meg’s email and internet history, hoping it can clue her in on her best friend’s final months. What she finds is more than she bargained for.
  
  This is not a YA book about suicide. This isn’t even a YA book about healing and forging beautiful friendships. It is a YA (what really needs to be the proper NA) book entirely about grief and coming to terms with difficult situations. Cody does form unlikely friendships and she does, in a way, heal, but she takes you on her journey through grief and all the distraught emotions that come with it.
  
  Cody and Meg’s bond is very clearly a strong one, filled with love and respect and trust. A small, unspoken rift occurred shortly after Meg left for college near Seattle and Cody stayed in their tiny “hick” town. But Cody’s absolutely sure it wouldn’t take a rift in their friendship to force Meg over the edge — she was too full of life. Meg had timed a good-bye email to be sent to her parents and to Cody shortly after she committed suicide, and Cody hopes she can find answers there. Snooping on Meg’s computer started off innocently enough, but when Cody finds a gap in Meg’s sent mail, she knows something was up. Privacy is a luxury not afforded for the dead, and the people Cody meets along the way that help her on her quest teeter between respecting a deceased friend’s privacy and appeasing their desire for relief.
  
  Like If I Stay, I was neither here nor there with the love story. It was something of a third or fourth interwoven plot line, one that still felt genuine but was not the drive. Cody’s determined to understand her friend’s death, struggling to keep a distance from Meg’s housemates and failing, and trying to figure out where she fits into Meg’s family now that their daughter is gone. While the love story bloomed naturally, with the expected difficulties and divided emotions, it’s definitely more of a side-plot. This novel is, first and foremost, about friendship.
  
  Forman managed to tackle yet another tough issue in modern young adult lives with taste and authenticity. Every character the reader happens upon is a genuine human, equally talented and flawed, loving and hateful. Grief is a very powerful emotional process, especially when someone so bright dies so very young. Well done, Forman.
  
  Thank you, Edelweiss, for providing this book from Viking for review!
  
  Posted in books, Reviews 2015 | 0 Comments | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, book review, books, genre: contemporary, genre: new adult, genre: young adult, goodreads, review
- Book Review: “Fangirl” by Rainbow Rowell
  
  Posted at 6:34 pm by Laura, on March 17, 2014
  
  Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
  
  Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
  Published: September 10, 2013
  Genre: young adult, new adult
  ISBN: 9781250030955
  Goodreads: 4.22
  Rating: ★★★★★
  
  Cath is a Simon Snow fan.
  
  Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan…. But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.
  
  Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fanfiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.
  
  Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.
  
  Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend; a fiction-writing professor who thinks fanfiction is the end of the civilized world; a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words…and she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.
  
  For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?
  
  Cath is a famous Simon Snow fan. At least, in the fandom. She’s written several fanfics about Simon Snow, and her latest mammoth creation is regarded as the final book in the series. But Cath is horrible in real life social situations. Her twin sister, Wren, is anxious to start college and experience all the new opportunities; Cath is terrified of meeting people. At first she likes that her roommate leaves her alone, but her ever-present friend Levi constantly tries to bring Cath out of her shell. She thought her Fiction Writing class would be phenomenal, but her professor scorns fanfiction. And to top it off, Cath’s father tends to experience extreme manic episodes, and this is the first time he would be on his own without his twin daughters. Cath begins college a terrified, anxious girl, entirely dependent on a fictional world to help her get by — and transitions into a more confident woman, a journey beautiful one to behold.
  
  I don’t even know where to begin with this review because this book spoke to me on so many levels! Maybe I should begin with the levels.
  
  As a fangirl . . . I was deeply ingrained in the Harry Potter fandom. From age 11-15 I was constantly checking forums for theories about the books and characters, reading fanfiction, participating in “ship” discussions — everything. I didn’t like to admit it to my friends because speaking about it made it seem stupid. But really, it was a joy playing around in JKR’s world. That’s exactly what Cath does with this HP knock-off world of Simon Snow (which, by the way, the blatant Harry Potter (and Twilight! Ha!) references cracked me up!). It’s so strange and liberating reading a book about something millions of people experienced secretly and openly. I loved how Cath’s fanfic had such a huge following — it reminded me of Cassandra Claire (note the spelling) and her Draco Trilogy. Anyone remember that? Man.
  
  As an anxious person . . . Cath has extreme social anxiety. While I can handle social situations fairly easily, it was such a relief to read about a character who truly does have difficulty interacting with people and day-to-day life. She over-thinks every scenario with any trip she needs to take. There’s a good portion of the beginning of the book where Cath is scared to go to the dining hall, and therefore doesn’t know where the dining hall is located. She’s not afraid of getting lost, but looking stupid: where to pick up a tray (if there is a tray), where to stand in line (if there are lines) for food, where to check out, where to sit, if it’s okay to sit alone (and how to sit alone and look normal, not lonely), etc. Reagan, her roommate, handles these situations so perfectly. She literally drags Cath everywhere with her, forcing her to experience college life without actually pressuring her to do anything.
  
  As someone hesitant about relationships . . . Sometimes the whole insta-love thing works, and it can be beautiful and magical and wonderful. But let’s be honest — more often than not, insta-love doesn’t happen, and someone is extremely nervous in the relationship (or pre-relationship). Cath, slowly but surely, begins to like Levi. She’s not sure how to handle it, considering she’s confused about the Reagan-Levi dynamic and she’s intimidated by the fact he’s a junior — and in college years, that’s like a decade older than her and a million times more experienced. And she handles these emotions like any anxious, nervous person would: she refuses to think about it and dwell on it. As the reader, you notice she likes him because she’s mentioning his habits, his quirks, his expressions: all signs of observational skills. What’s fantastic about this is that Levi isn’t traditionally handsome. He’s not some huge hunk of sculpted meat and brilliant brains and touching sensitivity — he’s a nice guy. It’s so beautiful. So beautiful, it makes me want to cry.
  
  The writing is phenomenal. I love Rowell’s style, and there’s something about her voice that makes every scene hilarious, terrifying, emotional, and heartfelt all at once. It’s raw and honest and real. I don’t know how else I can explain this magnificence of this book, and so I’ll close with saying I’m clutching this book to my chest and never letting go.
  
  Posted in books, Reviews 2014 | 2 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: contemporary, genre: fiction, genre: new adult, genre: young adult, goodreads, review
- New Adult — Needless or Necessary?
  
  Posted at 7:23 pm by Laura, on December 18, 2012
  
  With the rise of young adult (YA) fiction popularity, and the wide audience ranging from preteen to late twenties / early thirties (thank you, Hunger Games), publishers and marketers are thinking of creating a new sub-genre called new adult (NA for the purpose of this post).
  
  New Adult: Needless Marketing-Speak or Valued Sub-genre? — Publishers Weekly — Rachel Deahl & Judith Rosen
  
  While marketing directors say there is a need for NA, with an audience geared toward 18- to 23-year-olds, some wonder if it’s even necessary.
  
  “Even though the term is a relatively new one, the content has always been there in literature and movies,” explained Gina Wachtel, v-p and associate publisher at Random House. Wachtel, who is overseeing a slate of new digital imprints at Random House, among them a new adult one called Flirt, said these books feature characters who are at “the stage of figuring out who you really are—and all that goes with it.”
  
  Talk to editors about new adult and the first thing you will hear is that the term is fluid. While these titles will likely feature 18-year-old to 20-something protagonists, fixating on the age of a character misses the point. Lucia Macro, a v-p and executive editor at William Morrow, said the new adult tag speaks more to voice, style, and theme. Asked if the term was necessary, Macro said it’s useful as a marketing tool. “Whether people want to admit it or not, publishing is a lot about marketing, and when you’re marketing to people it’s necessary to have [the appropriate] terminology.” She then added: “In-house it helps people wrap their brain around a book, especially when you have maybe 10 seconds to explain it to them.”
  
  Some people believe the NA title will help censor content too mature for teens. While at the same time, NA can be marketed towards readers that share books across generations: mothers and daughters reading the same series or kinds of books, for example.
  
  Personally, I do think the NA concept is a neat idea, but completely unnecessary. There are some great self-discovery books in fiction (or “adult” fiction, if we have to use this sort of terminology), as people are constantly discovering who they are no matter what stage in life. There are thousands upon thousands of books that do not even contain sex in it, if that’s the concern. The teen and children sections are there to help parents guide their offspring to various titles that is suitable for their age-group. But once that child is out of the house, in college, they are an adult — they should be able to make their own decisions on reading material. Creating an entirely new section almost seems to separate the market even more.
  
  Division based on age, which is honestly what this boils down to, is unnecessary. I thoroughly enjoy books about children, teens, adults, even some protagonists that are in their 70s! It’s about the story.
  
  Posted in books, Link, publishing | 4 Comments | Tagged books, genre: new adult, genre: young adult, news, publishing
- Hello, I’m Laura!
  
  I'm a bookish bookworm and book hoarder. By day I'm a literary agent, and by night I'm forever rearranging my bookshelves. I could talk your ear off about Gothic literature, and in my past life people thought I'd become a professional musician. I have a fluffy black cat named Rossetti, I love to knit, tea is my drink of choice, British TV is the best, and I'm obsessed with popcorn. Welcome to Scribbles & Wanderlust! Grab your favorite hot beverage and let's chat books!
- Search the Blog
  
  Search for:
- Currently Reading
- Book Review Rating Key
  
  ★★★ — It’s good
  ★★★★ — It’s great
  ★★★★★ — OMG LOVE!!!
- Recent Posts