Rowell's debut novel, 2011's Attachments, is not considered YA it's a workplace romance set in a newsroom (Rowell used to be a columnist at the Omaha World-Herald). Rainbow Rowell didn't set out to write YA Here's what you need to know about her, her delightful books, and what those books say about the current state of YA. Rowell's success is interesting in the way it both reflects YA's recent history and challenges perceptions of the genre. They're simply writing from the viewpoint of teenagers, which is really the only useful definition left to describe YA fiction.

'Old' adults read as much - and possibly more - YA fiction than actual young adults, and authors like Rowell and Green (and many others) aren't writing down to appeal to younger audiences. These changes are often attributed to Green's massive success with The Fault in Our Stars and other books, but they also speak to the form's broader ascendency, to the point where 'young adult' is ceasing to be an effective label. Rowell's success is indicative of the changes mainstream young adult fiction has undergone in the past half-decade. Her voice is welcoming and inclusive she's primarily interested in interpersonal relationships, but she's also strongly influenced by genre writing and fan fiction, and has been vocal in her admiration for YA mega-franchises like the Harry Potter and Twilight books - both of which had a pronounced influence on Carry On. Rowell's success is indicative of the changes mainstream young adult fiction has undergone in the past half-decadeīut such nebulous (and, frankly, elitist) labels are not useful in explaining Rowell's appeal. That one-two-three punch confirms Rowell as one of the biggest names in so-called 'literary YA,' the term often applied to non-genre young adult writing that places a high value on style and craft. All of this means it's more difficult for a single author or series to dominate than it was just a few months ago - and yet that's exactly what Rowell has done. This Rowell triple take is especially notable in the wake of a recent restructuring of the Times's young adult list, which now separates paperbacks and hardcovers and splits children's books into 'young adult' and 'middle grade,' and combines individual books in a series (like Veronica Roth's perennially popular Divergent series) under one heading. Her newest, Carry On, just debuted at the top of the list, followed, respectively, by 2013's Eleanor & Park and Fangirl, the latter of which inspired Carry On.

1, 4, and 5 on the Times's October 25 list of Young Adult Hardcovers.

Rainbow Rowell is the author whose works ranked No. Last week's New York Times bestseller list of young adult titles was dominated by a single name - and for the first time in recent memory, that name wasn't 'John Green.'

Carry on rainbow rowell a03