This post was last updated on August 24th, 2024 at 04:04 pm
The primary difference between YA or NA meaning (Young Adult or New Adult) is the age of the readers the books are intended for. Young Adult books are geared toward teens between the ages of 12 – 18. Sometimes, the intended audience is readers ages 15 – 19, depending on a novel’s theme and various factors. New Adult books are written for those over the age of 18 and up to age 29.
The term “New Adult” is also relatively new. It was coined in 2009 by St. Martin’s Press. They wanted something similar to young adult fiction but for “older” young adults. These books could be written for and marketed to adults.
Naturally, there’s a bit of crossover in YA or NA meaning since some books could easily fall into either category. That was one of the reasons why the New Adult category was created. Some books, of course, do not fall into the YA category because of their more adult themes. New Adult novels can delve into issues such as career and life choices. They may also cover discovering one’s sexuality, alcohol or drug addiction, and other topics excluded from young adult literature.
This post is about the differences in YA or NA meaning.
YA or NA Meaning
YA or NA Meaning: What Makes a Book YA?
A book is considered a “young adult” (YA) novel if it’s written for readers aged 12 – 18. The story’s protagonist will be within that age range but often between the ages of 14 to 18. Young adult novels give the reader more emotionally and subjectively advanced stories than middle-grade themes. The author writes using an appropriate reading level. They keep the subject matter within reason: mild violence and no sex or “off-screen” sex. Again, since the gap between a reader aged 12 and one aged 18 is such a big one, this whole area gets a little murky.
Some books contain no swearing, while others drop a bomb or two every other page. Naturally, there have been authors writing YA who have pushed the boundaries of what’s considered acceptable for this genre. Others try to keep it as clean and wholesome as possible. When it comes to YA meaning in books, it could be summarized as books written for teens.
What is YA Fantasy?
YA fantasy is a type of fiction written for readers aged 12 – 18 that involves elements not found in the real world. This includes things such as magic, time travel, shape-shifting, future worlds, and the like. Like other types of young adult fiction, YA fantasy meaning covers a wide range of themes. The umbrella definition is “a genre with magical elements written for teens.” Like other types of young adult literature, it’s a genre that blurs the line between YA or NA meaning. Many adults love to read YA fantasy, too!
Young Adult Books Set in Wales
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children Book 1) by Ransom Riggs
From the blurb:
A mysterious island.
An abandoned orphanage.
A strange collection of very curious photographs.
It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children are more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive. A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.
Crossroads in Time (The After Cilmeri Series Book 5) by Sarah Woodbury
From the blurb:
Three years have passed since the events chronicled in Prince of Time …
Anna has made a place for herself in thirteenth-century Wales as a wife, mother, and healer. David has taken more of the kingdom’s rule on his shoulders, even as his relationship with Lili has caused friction with his father, King Llywelyn. The King wants his son to seek a political marriage that will benefit his country—and possibly place the crown of England on David’s head—while all David wants is to be happy with the woman he loves.
England and Wales have shared a border and an uneasy peace for three long years.
And that peace is about to be broken …
The Owl Service by Alan Garner
From the blurb:
From the author of the Booker Prize-shortlisted Treacle Walker
The much-loved classic, finally in ebook.
Winner of both the Guardian Award and the Carnegie Medal, this is an all-time classic, combining mystery, adventure, history, and a complex set of human relationships.
It all begins with the scratching in the ceiling. From the moment Alison discovers the dinner service in the attic, with its curious pattern of floral owls, a chain of events is set in progress that is to affect everybody’s lives.
Relentlessly, Alison, her step-brother Roger, and Welsh boy Gwyn are drawn into the replay of a tragic Welsh legend—a modern drama played out against a background of ancient jealousies. As the tension mounts, it becomes apparent that only by accepting and facing the situation can it be resolved.
Over Sea, Under Stone (The Dark Is Rising Book 1) by Susan Cooper
From the blurb:
Three siblings embark on an epic quest for a mythic grail in this first installment of Susan Cooper’s epic and award-winning The Dark Is Rising Sequence, now with a brand-new look!
All through time, the two great forces of Light and Dark have battled for control of the world. Now, after centuries of balance, the Dark is summoning its terrifying forces to rise once more…and three children find themselves caught in the conflict.
The Drew siblings—Simon, Jane, and Barney—are on a family holiday in Cornwall when they discover an ancient map in the attic of the house they are sharing with their Great Uncle Merry. They know immediately that the map is special but have no way of knowing how much. For the map leads to a grail: a vital weapon for the Light’s fight against evil. In taking on the quest to find the grail, the Drews will have to race against the sinister human beings who serve the dreadful power of the dark—an adventure that puts their own lives in grave peril.
Carries War by Nina Bawden (Paperback)
From the blurb:
Albert, Carrie, and young Nick are war-time evacuees whose lives get so tangled up with the people they’ve come to live among that the war and their real families seem to belong to another world. Carrie and Nick are billeted in Wales with old Mr Evans, who is so mean and cold, and his timid mouse of a sister, Lou, who suddenly starts having secrets.
Their friend Albert is luckier, living in Druid’s Bottom with warm-hearted Hepzibah Green and the strange Mister Johnny, who can talk to animals but not to human beings. Carrie and Nick visit him there whenever they can for Hepzibah makes life exciting and enticing with her stories and delicious cooking. Gradually they begin to feel more at ease in their war-time home, but then, in trying to heal the rift between Mr Evans and his estranged sister, and save Druid’s Bottom, Carrie does a terrible thing which is to haunt her for years to come.
Carrie revisits Wales as an adult and tells the story to her own children.
YA or NA Meaning: What Are New Adult Books?
What constitutes a New Adult book is still developing. After all, it’s still a fairly new genre. As we covered above, the term was coined in 2009 by St. Martin’s Press. The publishing house wanted a genre of fiction that was similar to young adult fiction but could be marketed as adult. An easy way to remember the meaning is that New Adult books feature adults who are newly adults. They’re grown, they’re legally adults, but they’re still young. The New Adult genre features protagonists aged 18 – 29. As you can see, there could easily be some overlap here. That’s why creating this new category was probably a smart move on the publishing houses’ part.
Below, you’ll find a list of 4 New Adult fiction books set in Wales that span various genres.
New Adult Books Set in Wales
Sleeper’s Castle: An epic historical romance from the Sunday Times bestseller that will leave you breathless! by Barbara Erskine
From the blurb:
Two women, centuries apart. Linked in a place haunted by its history…
Separated by more than six hundred years of history, two women are drawn together by Sleeper’s Castle, a house steeped in memory and magic. This is an epic tale of forbidden love, cruel revenge, and a war that time can’t forget.
Grieving and lost, Miranda has moved to Hay to escape, and slowly she feels herself coming to life in the solitude of the mountains. But her vivid dreams at Sleeper’s Castle introduce her to Catrin, a young woman whose gift for foretelling the future embroiled her in a bloody revolt against English rule—many centuries ago.
An unbreakable connection is forged across history. Catrin is reaching out . . . and only Miranda can help. But time is running out…
Sunday Times bestselling author Barbara Erskine returns to Hay in the year that marks the 30th anniversary of her sensational debut bestseller, Lady of Hay.
The Calling of the Raven by Jenny Lloyd
From the blurb:
The Calling of the Raven is the sequel to the acclaimed novel, Leap the Wild Water, and continues Megan’s quest for acceptance, autonomy, and unconditional love. Megan is resolved to tell Eli of the affair she had before they married and of her illegitimate daughter, Fortune, which her brother, Morgan, and Mam stole from her to save the family from shame. Before Megan has a chance to tell Eli, her plans are scuppered by a chance meeting with her old lover; the ne’er-do-well, Iago.
Megan’s life again takes a turn for the worse and there seems to be no mending the damage Iago has caused. Meanwhile, the new milkmaid arrives. Her name is Branwen, beautiful raven, though Megan can see no beauty in her at all, and it transpires that Branwen is no stranger to Eli. Once Branwen gets her foot in the door, there is no shifting her. The events which follow take Megan to the edges of insanity and her liberty and life are threatened.
The Winter Witch: A Novel by Paula Brackston
From the blurb:
In her small early nineteenth-century Welsh town, there is no one quite like Morgana. She is small and quick and pretty enough to attract a suitor, but there are things that set her apart from other girls. Though her mind is sharp, she has not spoken since she was a young girl. Her silence is a mystery, as well as her magic—the household objects that seem to move at her command, the bad luck that visits those who do her ill. Concerned for her safety, her mother is anxious to see Morgana married, and Cai Jenkins, the widowed drover from the far hills who knows nothing of the rumors that swirl around her, seems the best choice.
After her wedding, Morgana is heartbroken at leaving her mother, and wary of this man, whom she does not know, and who will take her away to begin a new life. But she soon falls in love with Cai’s farm and the wild mountains that surround it. Here, where frail humans are at the mercy of the elements, she thrives, her wild nature and her magic blossoming. Cai works to understand the beautiful, half-tamed creature he has chosen for a bride, and slowly, he begins to win Morgana’s affections.
It’s not long, however, before her strangeness begins to be remarked upon in her new village. A dark force is at work there—a person who will stop at nothing to turn the townspeople against Morgana, even at the expense of those closest to her. Forced to defend her home, her man, and herself from all comers, Morgana must learn to harness her power, or she will lose everything in this beautifully written, enchanting novel.
The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies
From the blurb:
Young Esther Evans has lived her whole life within the confines of her remote mountain village. The daughter of a fiercely nationalistic sheep farmer, Esther yearns for a taste of the wider world that reaches her only through broadcasts on the BBC. Then, in the wake of D-day, the world comes to her in the form of a German POW camp set up on the outskirts of Esther’s village.
The arrival of the Germans in the camp is a source of intense curiosity in the local pub, where Esther pulls pints for both her neighbors and the unwelcome British guards. One summer evening, she follows a group of schoolboys to the camp boundary. As the boys heckle the prisoners across the barbed wire fence, one soldier seems to stand apart. He is Karsten Simmering, a German corporal, only eighteen, a young man of tormented conscience struggling to maintain his honor and humanity. To Esther’s astonishment, Karsten calls out to her.
These two young people from worlds apart will be drawn into a perilous romance that calls into personal question the meaning of love, family, loyalty, and national identity. The consequences of their relationship resonate through the lives of a vividly imagined cast of characters: the drunken BBC comedian who befriends Esther, Esther’s stubborn father, and the resentful young British “evacuee” who lives on the farm-even the German-Jewish interrogator investigating the most notorious German prisoner in Wales, Rudolf Hess.
This post was all about the differences in YA or NA meaning.
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