Though written for teens, the mass appeal of
Harry Potter,
Twilight, and
The Hunger Games has spawned
a new fiction genre among publishers. Called “new adult,” a fresh breed of adolescent lit embraced by readers twice as old as the characters within it is emerging. It’s too early to say if any will reach the level of global phenomenon, but several titles already are garnering buzz as hot properties.
The Raven Boys: Boarding school-set mythology seems to be resonating well with readers (see: Hogwarts), and author
Maggie Stiefvator’s new novel,
The Raven Boys, is no exception. Published last month by Scholastic, the title is a
blockbuster-in-the-making. The book, the first of a four-book series, tells the story of Blue, a 16-year-old girl who is warned by her psychic family that she will cause her true love to die. (Sound
familiar?) Naturally, the cursed teen falls in with a gang of wealthy prep school boys and love-struck trouble ensues. New Line
has already picked up the film rights, though a screenwriter has yet to be named.
Black City: Author
Elizabeth Richards knows a few things about making a fictional alternate universe compelling to audiences. She spent her early professional life reviewing video games, then turned to travel writing and running a teen girl website. Her forthcoming debut novel,
Black City, is a realization of the insights she’s accumulated over her career. The highly anticipated first book of the
Black City Chronicles is a post-apocalyptic tale of two 16-year-olds—one human, the other a “Darkling”—and their
Romeo and Juliet-esque love story. The book will be released next month, but Screen Gems has already
struck a deal to develop it into a feature film.
