If you’re anything like me, then you might be a YA reader who’s trying to read more adult books. Recently (that being over the past like, 1 and a half ish years) I’ve been trying to branch out and read more adult books. That isn’t because I don’t like YA, but it is because I felt there was lots of books and topics in adult literature I wanted to explore more, and also because the age of some YA characters (especially in younger YA) isn’t really relatable to me at this point.
But one thing I really struggled with in trying to read more adult is knowing which books to read. There didn’t seem to be much of a transition space between YA and adult (don’t even get me started on the demise of NA) and so it was hard to find adult books that weren’t ‘too adult’ in a way.
So I decided to make a post today of adult books I feel are really readable if you’re used to reading young adult. These books are ones I’ve read that I found were good crossover books between adult and young adult! Lets get into it.
The Fifth Season by N.K Jemisin
What is it about?: The Fifth Season in a high fantasy where the world experiences semi-regular apocalyptic events called “Seasons”. At the beginning of the book, another apocalyptic event has occurred by this one is looking worse than the others. We follow three main narrators, Essun, who’s looking for her daughter, Damaya, a young magic user taken to be trained at a Orogene school and Syenite, a woman half way through Orogene school who’s sent on mission with Alabastar, one of the most powerful magic users in the world.
Why did I choose it?: Even though this as an adult!antasy, I found it pretty accessible. Although Essun is an adult, Syenite and Damaya are both younger and most of the book is from Syenite’s point of view. Although the worldbuilding was quite complex, it still had lots of familiar fantasy touchstones that also appear in YA so it wasn’t too hard to follow. Also, this is just one of those fantasies ALL fantasy fans should read because it’s THAT GOOD.
The Poppy War by R.F Kuang
What is it about?: The Poppy War follows Rin, an orphan and peasant living in the south of the Nikara empire. Desperate to escape her abusive adoptive mothers home, she takes the Keju test and joins military school in the North. From there, Rin is thrust into a war involving, gods, shamans and the vicious Federation of Mugen from across the sea.
Why did I choose it?: This book is definitely adult because of it’s violence and graphic content but the actual characters are all of YA age. Rin is a young adult and so are her friends. On top of that, lots of the plot, such as the military training school and the war plot felt familiar and the writing also felt quite similar to how a YA book is written. If this book wasn’t to violent it could easily be YA. I think that is why so many people on YA twitter (including me) love it so much. That being said, do check the tws as there are a lot, and I listed them in my review.
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E Schwab
What is it about?: In this series, four parallel worlds exist, and the only thing they have in common is that each world has a capital city called London. Every London has the same geography, but beside that they’re dissimilar. We follow Kell, from Red London, a world where magic is abundant. Kell is an Antari, meaning he can travel between the worlds. While travelling to Grey London, our world where magic has died, he meets Lila Bard, a thief who steals a valuable object from him. From here, the two become embroiled in a scheme that threatens to release dark magic into the world, destroying both Kell and Lila’s homes.
Why did I choose it?: V.E Schwab’s adults read so much like YA to me. I think it’s because V.E Schwab is really conscious about the fact her readers cross genres/age ranges so she tries to keep things accessible to everyone. The themes of this book are very similar to many YA books. Family issues, having to assume a leadership role, messing with dark magic and first romance are all on play here which makes it super easy to read for a YA audience.
The City of Brass by S.A Chakraborty
What is it about?: On the streets of 18th century Ciaro lives Nahri, a girl who tricks people for a living and doesn’t believe in magic. Her life is turned upside down when she accidentally summons a djinn and is thrust into the magical world.
Why did I choose it?: At first when I started reading this I actually thought it WAS a YA! It reminds me a lot of An Ember in the Ashes just in terms of the djinn and the atmosphere of the story? But it also reminds me of And I Darken for the historical elements and the tone of the writing. This book has a lot of familiar YA touchstones and Nahri is pretty young which also makes it accessible as a crossover fantasy title. Although this has a lot of historical fiction elements it also has fantasy and magic and con work which makes it so fun and easy to read even though it’s adult.
Peter Darling by Austin Chant
What is it about?: Ten years after the events of Peter Pan, Peter returns to Neverland, unable to live life as Wendy Darling any longer. When he arrives, he finds the war with the pirates has taken a deadly turn and that the Lost Boys have also grown up. On top of this, Peter finds himself suddenly attracted to his old rival, Captain Hook, and unsure of the dynamic they now have.
Why did I choose it?: As mentioned above, V.E Schwab does genre hopping & wide audience appeal so well. Even though Victor and Eli are adults, their story starts in college which situated them in the familiar for me. The tropes and idea of the superhero story that this book plays on is also really familiar, so it didn’t really matter how old the characters were. It was more about the themes and the story then necessarily having to relate to the characters and their experiences/struggles.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
What is it about?: In an idyllic school in the rural English country side, Kathy, Ruth and Tommy first became friends. Now aged 31, Kathy reflects back on her time as Hailsham and the relationship between her, Ruth and Tommy. Slowly, Never Let Me Go reveals a unexpected and haunting series of events.
Why did I choose it?: This is both a dystopian & contemporary (it’s kind of hard to define within a genre) but it’s definitely an accessible read either way. For one, most of it is told in reflections by Kathy of when the characters were kids and teenagers, and most of the problems they face in later life feel more like a YA dystopian than an adult contemporary. This is such an interesting mystery but I definitely recommend going into it with as little knowledge as possible!
UFO In Her Eyes by Xiaolu Guo
What is it about?: When Chinese woman Kwok Yun spots a UFO while bike riding, her life changes forever. As a result of the event, the government sends two agents from the National Security and Intelligence Agency to ask Kwok Yun and the other people in her village a few questions about the event, including what the UFO looked like, why Kwok Yun was near it’s crash site, and who the western man she helped after the event was.
Why did I choose it?: In some ways this book is like Illuminae and that is such a popular YA book. It’s all told in interviews/documents and observations and therefore is really interesting to read. Although the subtext of this book very much involves examining the Chinese government and the experiences of rural Chinese people, it’s still an enjoyable read without all that too and it’s extremely funny. Also, Kwok Yun is quite young and a bit of an outsider which makes her a similar character to many YA protagonists.
Vicious by V.E Schwab
What is it about?: Vicious follows Eli Cardale and Victor Vale, two brilliant men who ended up roommates in college. The two decide to write their thesis on ExtraOrdinaries, or EO’s, a group of people who, by urban legend, have unique super abilities. When their research moved from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Now, ten years later, Victor has broken out of prison with one goal, to find his old foe Eli, and to kill him.
Why did I choose it?: As mentioned above, V.E Schwab does genre hopping & wide audience appeal so well. Even though Victor and Eli are adults, their story starts in college which situated them in the familiar for me. The tropes and idea of the superhero story that this book plays on is also really familiar, so it didn’t really matter how old the characters were. It was more about the themes and the story then necessarily having to relate to the characters and their experiences/struggles. Although this definitely has prominent sci-fi / fantasy elements I counted it as a contemporary because the world itself is still mostly unaware of the superpowers within the world.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
What is it about?: Richard Papen starts at an elite boarding school and ends up joining an exclusive class studying the classics. Under the influence of their charismatic teacher, the students of the class start to experiment beyond the bounds of normal morality, drawing Richard into a web of lies, deceit and violence that profoundly changes him.
Why did I choose it?: This is considered a modern classic and pretty much everyone loved it. I love it too. The college setting is really great as a transitional setting between YA highschools and adult family living arrangements. The characters are also at a great in between age for people who are in that in between age like me! The setting up of the plot, with the dark academia and elite, ominous boarding school is also used a lot in YA so that felt familiar too which was great because it gave familiarity even though this reads more adult in tone and pacing.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
What is it about?: This is a retelling of The Iliad focussing on the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus. It delves a lot into each of their backstories and explores how they met and eventually fell in love, and how the war and siege on Troy impacted their relationship.
Why did I choose it?: This is super popular among YA readers anyway even though it’s adult so it is an obvious choice. Both Patroclus and Achilles a quite young in this and it is a coming of age novel which therefore has a lot of familiar / similar themes to YA novels.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
What is it about?: Rosemary is a human, who has always dreamed of travelling space. So she jumps at the oppurtunity to join the Wayfarers, a diverse group of humans and aliens alike whose job it is to punch holes in space to be used as highways to travel space. The Wayfarers are hired to create a jump portal to the newest member to join the ‘Galactic Community’ Toremi, and so begins a slow, but introspective journey across space, where the crew members reflect on themselves and their place in the universe.
Why did I choose it?: This is an adult book but there isn’t really anything that makes it feel firmly situated in that age range. Although the characters are a little older, it’s not really of that much importance to the story. Mostly this is just about space, and cultures and learning to respect people and it’s super interesting. It’s really accessible as both an adult for YA readers, and also a sci-fi for non sci-fi readers.
So there we go!
I hope some of these recommendations were helpful for you if you’re looking, like me, to try and read more adult. These are some books I both loved AND thought were great crossover books. I have a Goodreads shelf of adult books if you wanted to look at some more adult books I’ve read/plan to read!
5: A banned book
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