A few years ago, New Adult became the big new trend in publishing – books about people in post high school, aged 18-25 or so. Originally, there was hope that this new category would be great for exploring those awkward years of becoming an adult, but it quickly became dominated by romances, falling into romance sub-categories over and over, before fading away.
However, the desire for books that explored that time had been noted and we’ve begun to see an uptick in YA books set after high school. Some are in that summer after graduation, while others look at the years beyond that. These books don’t always fit the traditional definition of YA books; YA books are generally about self-discovery and finding out how to identify oneself. These college-set books sometimes follow that, but sometimes they really are about growing into adulthood and sometimes they’re about both areas of development.
These narratives are important because there are so few books that explore that strange time of pseudo-adulthood that’s full of responsibilities but doesn’t feel like true adulthood. Many teens are approaching that time as the school year winds down across the country, so we thought we’d compile a list of books that are technically YA but cover the time in a person’s life that comes after graduation.
The Heir and the Spare by Emily Albright
Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt
Echo After Echo by Amy Rose Capetta
Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi
How to Love by Katie Cotugno
Gap Life by John Coy
I’ll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios
The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen
Something Like Normal by Trish Doller
The Season by Jonah Lisa Dyer and Stephen Dyer
Love Story by Jennifer Echols
The Loose Ends List by Carrie Firestone
The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick
Bunheads by Sophie Flack
I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman
I Was Here by Gayle Forman
Just One Day by Gayle Forman
A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall
Kiss the Morning Star by Elissa Janine Hoole
Hello, Sunshine by Leila Howland
Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann
That Thing We Call a Heart by Sheba Karim
Learning to Swear in America by Katie Kennedy
The Broken Hearts’ Society of Suite 17C by LeighAnn Kopans
First World Problems by LeighAnn Kopans
The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour
Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour
We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
Jane by April Lindner
Love, Lucy by April Lindner
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
I See London, I See France by Sarah Mylnowski
The Ivy by Lauren Kunze and Rina Onur
Wrecked by Maria Padian
Like Water by Rebecca Podos
Grace and the Fever by Zan Romanoff
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Hello, Goodbye, and Everything In Between by Jennifer E. Smith
Psych Major Syndrome by Alicia Thompson
Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld
A Season of Daring Greatly by Ellen Emerson White
She, Myself, and I by Emma Young
Roomies by Sara Zarr