A Genre the World Needs

Teenagers have captured the media’s attention. Think about it: how many movies, books, shows focus on high school? How many focus on university? On life right after university?

Look, I’m not going to throw out any accusations about why this is done—money, an inability to relinquish the desire for eternal youth—doesn’t matter. Not in the context of this post, at least. Here’s what matters to me: should this be done?

No.

The age of the 20s needs more attention and more diversity in coverage. It’s a transformative time of life, so it’s not like we’re lacking in materials over here. We’ve got university students and we’ve got kids with bank accounts that fifty-year-olds would be jealous of. We’ve got young married couples and we’ve got people who refuse to be in a relationship. There’s plenty of stories to be told.

And we need them.

We’re going from living under our parent’s rule to living under our own. Who was once a kid in a family becomes an adult in society. Some of us even try to start our own families—and how on earth is that done? None of us really know.

I, myself, am in my 20s. I’m the not single but not settled down type. AKA the person in a committed relationship who can’t establish roots in a community yet because the people in that relationship don’t know where schooling, work, life will take them.

It’s an awkward time of life. It’s different from the body transforming awkward that happens in middle school, and it’s different from the social transforming awkward that happens in high school. It’s the life transforming kind of awkward.

Of course, the media focuses on the first two types of awkwards, but let’s not forget this: while people in their teens might not feel like they fit in at their school, people in their twenties can end up feeling like they don’t fit in wherever they live. You could feel like a misplacement in a city, not just a building.

I’ll use myself as an example. I live in a college town. I’m married and graduated. Yet, because my husband and I are waiting to see where we get into grad school, I’m still here. Everywhere I go, there’s single people and students. Sometimes I see people past the age of thirty. Hardly ever do I see someone under the age of twenty. And children? It’s like those don’t exist here.

I feel completely misplaced. I’m not seeking dates, and I’m not studying anything. Not to mention, I like children and the idea of raising a family, so it’d be nice to have some examples around town. But there aren’t many.

So where’s my coming-of-age? Where’s my world I can escape to and find a place in? Storytellers, this one should be easy! You don’t even have to kill off the parents to give us independence. We’re already living on our own. Not to mention, it’s not too hard to find conflict for a person in their 20s.

Is it that our conflict is too sad to put in a book? Financial hardship, constant ramen meals, friends getting divorced after a year of marriage, other friends single and unsatisfied with it. And on top of that, many of us have homework.

Maybe. But it’d be an interesting read nonetheless.

Perhaps I can’t change much in the literary world right now, but if I ever have the chance, this will be a goal of mine: create a genre for adults in their 20s. Post-high school fiction.

It might seem unlikely, but it is certainly possible.

Did you know the YA genre didn’t used to exist? That’s right. Back in the day, librarians only had adult fiction and children’s books. Teens weren’t even a distinct demographic until WWII. However, a few books like The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton fed the fire for teen reading. Give it a few decades of YA books being published and judges finally relenting and giving those books awards and BAM! We got a new genre.

So there can be one for adults in their 20s as well—although it will likely have a catchier name. Young adult would have fit well, since we are technically the young adults, but we can let that one go. New Adult was an idea, but I’ve learned that has a bad rep in the professional literary world.

Aside from this genre being nameless, I believe we already have books paving the way for it—especially if you include 18–19 year olds who are past high school. Just take a look at Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell or Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. All we need to do is earn the attention of the librarians, the booksellers, or the award-givers.

Let’s admit it. We enjoy reading YA fiction, but we aren’t teens. We have our own problems, our own stories, and we deserve a place on the shelf. Surely most people would not complain about having another genre to enjoy. Especially when 18–29-year-olds have the highest percentage of readers in their age group.

If you’re with me on this, comment down below. Let’s start our Inter-Adult, Entradult, New Adult—whatever you may call it—army.