Suggestions Moving from YA or older Teen Books to Adult Books

[Anonymous]

DD almost 16. Ready to move from older teen fiction and YA to adult section of the book store. She picked Colleen Hoover, 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Same as it Ever Was, Crawdad, etc. She didn't love any of them. But, when you do a search for ideas, it sends you to classics or more serious fiction like Song of Achilles that I know she is not going to enjoy either. Any suggestions for not too light but not too heavy fiction for a teen moving to adult books?

[Anonymous]

What kind of YA/teen books did she enjoy?

[Anonymous]

Jodi Picoult is perfect for this.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]What kind of YA/teen books did she enjoy?[/quote]

This! What genres/types of books does she like?

[Anonymous]

Judy Blume "Summer Sisters"

[Anonymous]

Any Jane Austen, any Jules Verne, 1984, Animal Farm, Walden, Possession by A.S. Byatt, We the Living by Ayn Rand, history books about the Greeks, Romans, Middle Ages and Renaissance

[Anonymous]

Nothing to See Here
Remarkably Bright Creatures
Little Fire Everywhere
The Secret History
Station Eleven
Educated

[Anonymous]

Mysteries were my bridge between kid and adult books. I started with Agatha Christie books and moved on from there. I think genre fiction is good for this, because authors tend to write a lot of books that are similar in tone.

If you post some of her favorite YA books, movies, and shows, you’ll get better recommendations. Otherwise, it’s really just a shot in the dark.

[Anonymous]

I genuinely don’t think Song of Achilles is too serious or difficult for her to enjoy— she might actually be the perfect age for it. It’s well written but pretty accessible.

[Anonymous]

This is very much just a question of what she wants to read— Colleen Hoover isn’t a jump “up” from Suzanne Collins.

Maybe she’d like a romance like Red White and Royal Blue, or Emily Henry?

I do think Pride and Prejudice is a good option. Or some mysteries.

[Anonymous]

Katherine Center would be great.

And ask a librarian or bookseller. They'll have great ideas.

CoHo glamourizes domestic abuse, so I'm glad she didn't like that garbage. The new crop of suspense thriller books for women have some questionable tactics and tropes.

[Anonymous]

Agree with PP that some of those adult books mentioned aren’t really a step up from YA. There’s some truly great YA and some truly awful adult books (and you named a couple of them, in my opinion).

She may like Jennifer Saint, who writes books on different female Greek myth characters— “Elektra,” “Ariadne,” “Atalanta,” and now I see she has “Hera” coming out. A lot of girls and women are really into Greek mythology right now! I think these books are possibly slightly more accessible than “Song of Achilles” or “Circe.” (Though I think she’d be fine reading either of these, too- I’m a big believer in kids/teens stretching themselves with reading)

[Anonymous]

They have to grow out of it themselves I think.

[Anonymous]

Why the rush to move out of YA?

[Anonymous]

At her age I really liked a bunch of the James Michener books. Take her to the library and let her see the options. I remember digging into The Source, Chesapeake, and Space. Maybe a few others, too?

DD is 16 and just loved The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah. She also loved Circe in the spring. (I’m a big reader but haven’t actually read either.)

Another option is thrillers. DD and I both liked Wrong Place Wrong Time, by Gillian McAllister.
And maybe she’d like The Measure, by Nikki Erlick.

Finally, David Baldacci books are pure plot and move quickly. Easy reads!