The new adult genre focuses on that space between young adulthood and adulthood, which is where we stand as college students. The following novels are all about the freshman college experience, but anyone can benefit from the lessons in these pages. They’re awesome reads for your spare time between classes to help you get away from the stress of schoolwork.
Rikki by Abigail Strom
Abigail Strom’s Rikki is the first novel of the Hart University series, which tells the stories of college students and their relationships. Rikki tells the classic story of lifelong rivals falling in love, with all of the trials and tribulations in between. It really shows the dynamics of love, pain, and friendship in a realistic, believable way, showing that a love-hate relationship really can turn into true love.
What We Left Behind by Robin Talley
What We Left Behind, by Robin Talley, is an LGBTQ+ novel that focuses on two girls who have to rediscover themselves once they attend different colleges. Featuring a diverse cast of characters, both sexually and racially, What We Left Behind strives to differentiate itself from other new adult novels that usually focus on white, heterosexual relationships. Various gender and sexual orientations are explained and explored as one of the characters struggles to define herself. In addition to the LGBTQ+ aspect, the book also explores the concept of long-distance relationships and the struggles that come along with them. It’s a very interesting read, even for those who don’t identify as LGBTQ+.
Beautiful Disaster and Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire
Beautiful Disaster and Walking Disaster both tell the same story: that of Abby and Travis, two vastly different college students who meet and fall into a disastrous cycle of love and hate. Beautiful Disaster is from Abby’s point of view, and Walking Disaster is from Travis’. Reading both novels definitely provides a great look into each character’s mind and perspective of events. If you fall in love with these books, be sure to check out the companion series about Travis’ brothers!
