Youngish Adult Literature

The 2000s (or the aughts, the 00s, whatever you want to call them) was a fantastic decade for Young Adult literature, and I read loads of it. The Hunger Games, Twilight, Battle Royale, those Shiver books, and basically everything by Louise Rennison, Sarah Dessen, and Laurie Halse Anderson. Not to mention classics like A Wrinkle in Time and The Outsiders. And these are just the books off the top of my head. I used to drive to the downtown library nearly every Saturday in college and pore through the YA sections in search of intriguing authors or new releases by my favorites. This was a big decade for dystopian fiction and good grief I loved it all.

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But...once I reached my early- to mid-twenties I felt myself aging out of YA a little. Just a little, but in a very real, clear way. I kept scouring the shelves but I started coming away with less and less besides my old favorites. I didn't relate to the teenage protagonists in those stories as well as I used to, which made me sad and frustrated. At the same time, I didn't quite feel ready to plunge into the world of Danielle Steel or other Women's Fiction. Yes, this was a completely false dichotomy but my early-twenties brain didn't see any other alternatives. I figured my reading choices were either teenage angst or full blown, smutty romance. (I may be doing Danielle Steel a gigantic disservice here, since I've still never read one of her books. I probably should. Are they even romance? I have no idea.)

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I found great authors like Philippa Gregory and Marian Keyes who wrote amazing books, with skill I aspired to emulate - even though I'm a notorious prude and don't see myself ever writing a sex scene. That doesn't mean I'd call my books "clean romance" - a term I find confusing since it can run the gamut from characters who express zero signs of physical desire except a single kiss at the very end (unrealistic), all the way to meaning no one in the book consumes alcohol or swears. "Sweet romance" also doesn't work. Many of the things that happen to my characters are decidedly unsweet. Every book I write will probably have a romantic plotline, but it's not the most important plotline. This is a critical distinction I keep front-of-mind when I'm planning my books.

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I wanted the best of both worlds: the hopes and passion and uncertainty of YA lit, but the complexity of the "grownup" books I'd come to love by Margaret Atwood, Michael Crichton, Arthur Golden, and loads of others. I had found a gap, and I set out to fill it.

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I wrote lots of bad novels in an attempt to fill this gap and create something that might appeal to other youngish adults like myself who felt a little neglected, but Kore's Field was the first that I thought might truly resonate with an audience - though when I first wrote it I had zero intent of publishing it and wanted to keep it all for myself. My next book - due for release in the spring of 2025 - also falls into this category.

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So now my task is to find those youngish adult readers and hopefully get these stories into their hands or on their Kindles. It's been a lot of fun writing for my twenty-something self and I look forward to hearing what readers think of what I write as well, whether they're young adults, youngish adults, or youngish adults at heart.