| Sharon Kane is a professor in the School of Education at the State University of New York at Oswego. She is the author of Literacy and Learning in the Content Areas: Enhancing Knowledge in the Disciplines (2019, Routledge) and Integrating Literature in the Disciplines (2020, Routledge). She is presently writing Teaching and Reading New Adult Literature in High School and College, also for Routledge. You can find more posts from Sharon by visiting the contributors page. |  Sharon Kane |
Navigating New Beginnings with “New Adult” Literature by Sharon Kane
Early in 2014, I saw a call for proposals from Dr. Steven Bickmore for the inaugural LSU Young Adult Literature Conference & Seminar. I had become interested in the relatively new category of “New Adult” (NA) literature, aimed at an audience of readers aged (roughly) seventeen to mid-twenties, so I pitched the idea to Steve.
That June, I spent a week with some wonderful authors, professors, librarians, grad students, and teachers. I taught a 5-day workshop where we studied aspects of New Adult literature. Our anchor text was Karen Joy Fowler’s We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves.
Rosemary, a college student in her early twenties, narrates a story covering multiple topics that can be further explored, including family relationships, activism, ethics, and animal rights. It’s rich in terms of interdisciplinary connections; it could be used in psychology, education, biology, and criminal justice courses, among others.
Early in the week, we explored novels set during the senior year of high school, as characters are deciding what to do post-graduation, and preparing to make the often scary transition to college or work. We looked at Laurie Halse Anderson’s Catalyst, and The Impossible Knife of Memory, both featuring characters who are dealing with life (and death) issues that make the college application process difficult.
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That same morning, I offered a text set consisting of books where characters with terminal illnesses are facing the probability that they will not have the opportunity for post-graduation life at all. These included Francisco X. Stork’s The Last Summer of the Death Warriors, Chris Crutcher’s Deadline, and John Green’s The Fault in our Stars.
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It happened that the movie based on Green’s novel was released while we were at LSU. A highlight of the conference week for me was wearing my book-related blue t-shirt, with its iconic cloud bubble, “OK?” “OK.” while attending the premier with colleagues in the YAL field. Does anyone else remember Steve standing up in the theatre before the performance and giving that great speech? Please comment below!
My workshop at LSU included investigating books about college, as well as books where characters had started careers or were figuring out the answer to that ubiquitous question kids hear from adults throughout their whole childhood, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Marcelo in the Real World, by Francisco X. Stork, worked well for this, as did Catherine Gilbert Murdock’s Dairy Queen, Walter Dean Myers’ Sunrise over Fallujah, and Jimmy Gownley’s graphic novel memoir The Dumbest Idea Ever! We covered a lot of territory.
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Fast forward to my life in early 2020. College administrators, looking for ways to engage entering freshmen and help them feel a part of the SUNY Oswego campus community, invited faculty members to create “First Year Signature Courses” to meet that goal. I had taught upper division Education majors, as well as graduate students, for decades; but I designed a course on New Adult Literature, and looked forward to teaching NA books to young readers who are in the target audience for that category. I envisioned using a book club format, with lots of student choice and rich literary discussion.
Well, it turned out I had to implement my new course pandemic-style. My 19 freshmen were scattered throughout an auditorium that had a capacity of 240, with most seats roped off. I couldn’t ask them to touch books or papers during class. Masks covered our faces, and I had to use a microphone. But still, we found ways to become a community through the New Adult books we read; the literature worked its magic.
Well, it turned out I had to implement my new course pandemic-style. My 19 freshmen were scattered throughout an auditorium that had a capacity of 240, with most seats roped off. I couldn’t ask them to touch books or papers during class. Masks covered our faces, and I had to use a microphone. But still, we found ways to become a community through the New Adult books we read; the literature worked its magic.
I chose to start with Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, since the story begins on Cath’s first day of college. Many of my students identified with her anxieties about getting to know her roommate and eating in the cafeteria. The novel takes us through freshman year with Cath and her twin sister Wren, offering opportunities for discussions on dating; academic honesty; abuse of alcohol; relating to parents in new ways; writing college papers; and constructing one’s identity.
The following week we backed up to investigate different paths people take on their way to landing at a particular college. There are many novels dealing with the college admissions/decisions process, along with finding ways to pay for college, including Piper Perish, by Kayla Cagan ; Charming as a Verb, by Ben Philippe; and Admission, by Julie Buxbaum. My students listened to each other’s stories relating how they chose SUNY Oswego, and our community began to bond.
The following week we backed up to investigate different paths people take on their way to landing at a particular college. There are many novels dealing with the college admissions/decisions process, along with finding ways to pay for college, including Piper Perish, by Kayla Cagan ; Charming as a Verb, by Ben Philippe; and Admission, by Julie Buxbaum. My students listened to each other’s stories relating how they chose SUNY Oswego, and our community began to bond.
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 | The third week we read Nina LaCour’s We Are Okay, which takes place during the semester break following Marin’s first semester of college. Readers learn early on that Marin is in deep emotional pain. Her story gave us a chance to talk about mental health issues, and I showed the class resources available from the Counseling Center and various other ways they could concentrate on their health and wellness. Anxiety was high, especially since the COVID-related restrictions on campus (no visiting other dorms, extreme limitations on gatherings, etc.) and the fact that most of their classes were remote led to feelings of isolation. We continued to talk and read about mental health issues for the rest of the semester. |
During subsequent weeks, students read books they chose from lists I presented related to themes. I had planned to devote a week to “Relationships and Romance,” and had deliberately picked options that would offer racial and ethnic diversity. After I gave book talks for Love from A to Z, by S.K. Ali; When Dimple Met Rishi, by Sandhya Menon; Butterfly Yellow, by Thanghhà Lai; and Loving vs. Virginia, by Patricia Hruby Powell, a few students pointed out that none of the options focused on relationships with LGBTQ+ characters. Oh, dear. We rectified that by adding another Romance/Relationship Week, featuring We Contain Multitudes, by Sarah Henstra; Juliet Takes a Breath, by Gabby Rivera; Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Sáenz; Robin Benway’s Far from the Tree; and The Black Flamingo, by Dean Atta. Some students chose to read nonfiction, such as A Queer History of the United States for Young People, written by Michael Bronski and adapted by Richie Chevat; or Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, by Susan Kuklin. (I plan to devote two weeks to the Romance/Relationships theme again next year, but I will intersperse the books so that each week offers a chance to get to know LGBTQ+ characters.)
Students in the class had chosen majors from all over the college, or were undecided, so they enjoyed reading NA literature that involved career exploration. Choices included With the Fire on High, by Elizabeth Acevedo; Proud: My Fight for an Unlikely American Dream, by Ibtihaj Muhammad; Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines, by Jeanne Walker Harvey; Lab Girl, by Hope Jahren; and Robots (Adventures in STEAM), by Izzi Howell.
I wanted to end the course with another whole class read; I selected Laurie Halse Anderson’s memoir-in-verse, Shout. This empowering book helped us revisit many of the topics and themes we had encountered in our months together: identity, relationships, careers, passions, resilience, social justice, activism, personal growth, and love. By the end of the course, there was much evidence that many students were leaving both surprised at what they had been able to accomplish, and with plans to read books for pleasure over semester break.
I am spending my summer writing a book called Reading and Writing New Adult Literature in High School and College, which, if all goes well, will be published by Routledge next year. Good books are being released every month that are appropriate for my chapters on senior year of high school; college; careers; relationships; and civic responsibilities and activism. I’ve written book talks for novels including You Should See me in a Crown, by Leah Johnson; Leonard and Hungry Paul, by Rónán Hession; American Betiya, by Anuradha D. Rajurkar; Jo & Laurie, by Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz; and We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire, by Joy McCullough. There will also be new nonfiction, such as Sigh, Gone: A Misfit’s Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit in by Phuc Tran: Sylvie, by Sylvie Kantorovitz; Notes from a Young Black Chef, Adapted for Young Adults, by Kwame Onwuachi with Joshua David Stein; Rolling Warrior, by Judith Heumann and Kristen Joiner; and Tasty Adulting: All Your Faves, All Grown Up.
How will I ever decide which to use when I teach my First Year Signature Course in the fall? I don’t know, but it’s a delightful problem to have. I welcome suggestions of your favorite NA titles in the Comments. Here’s to new beginnings!
Until next week.
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