The NA genre is a tricky one in that no one really has a concrete definition for it. Does it encompass everything and anything that involves hopeless twenty-somethings? Is it just about that period of time after one graduates from the clearly-distinguished YA genre?

I do think that the NA genre encompasses much, much more than a defined age group. Hell, there are some 17-year olds who act like they are in their mid-fourties, and vice-versa. Kids straight out of high school might find themselves in similar situations as those who are 22 and freshly graduated from university life. Age is nothing but a number, especially in cases such as these.

In my obnoxious opinion, NA defines that period of time when you’re starting to learn more about your inner voice, your interests and your ambitions–when you’re starting to grow into yourself as a person. This can happen when someone is seventeen or thirty-five.

NA is not just a marketing gimmick but a sound, emerging genre that is just much more prevalent today due to the tumultuous states of the economy and society as a whole. It’s not just an age group or state of mind–it’s a lifestyle, as cheesy as that sounds. And, just because an author uses NA-aged characters, it doesn’t automatically classify the work as NA. I believe that this is a main reason why the genre is getting such a bad rap–many authors are indeed using it as a marketing tool to create sales.

Readers such as myself are actively seeking NA titles out because we want to hear tales about other people who are also going through this transitional phase in life. Sadly, a lot of the authors are yearning to appeal to the NA audience but they really miss the whole point of what the genre is. We don’t want to read about cliches that are constantly touched upon in the parade of New York Times articles about ‘Generation Screwed’. We want to read about real conflicts and feelings! The thoughts that cross members of our generation’s minds are funny, ridiculous, depressing, terrifying and exciting. I want to read these thoughts, get into these characters’ minds and experience what they’re going through WITH them.

We don’t want to read cliched stories about people who are the same age as us, just for the sake of the characters being the same age as us. Elderly people don’t actively seek out only books about elderly people. Teachers don’t only read books about teachers who wear plaid skirts, use yellow #2 pencils and carry around shiny red apples. Why doesn’t that click for the new adult genre as well?