Children's books
−6%
CHF15.– was CHF15.90
Nordic Clans 1: Mein Herz, so verloren und stolz
German, Asuka Lionera, 2024
New Adult: Why the future of reading looks like selfie walls and BookTok
20.10.2025
Translation: machine translated
Pictures: Anna Sandner
Selfie walls, coloured edges and queues of fans: At the Frankfurt Book Fair, New Adult shows what young reading looks like today - a trend that is not only sweeping up book publishers.
What do you imagine when you think of the Frankfurt Book Fair? Probably serious faces, langweilige literary debates and perhaps a few alte renowned authors. Far from it in the year 2025. They may still be sitting there, the serious, top-class authors discussing literature, but others seem to be more present this year: young women, their arms full of colour-cut books, elf ears and always ready for the next TikTok selfie in front of the photo wall of flower tendrils. New Adult is the keyword that makes publishers' hearts beat faster.
What is behind the trend genre «New Adult»?
After «Young Adult» - i.e. stories for readers aged between 12 and 18 that are about friendship, first love and growing up - comes the more adult sequel: «New Adult».
Here, life no longer takes place in the classroom, but at university, in the first job or in one's own flat. The focus is on self-discovery, friendship, love - and usually a good shot of «spicy juice». The genre ranges from emotionally charged dark romance stories to romance worlds in which magic and passion merge, to college novels that capture the chaos between exam stress, parties and big feelings. The genre is primarily discovered via BookTok, where emotions and book tips reach millions of clicks.
What was once ridiculed as shallow entertainment has long since become a billion-dollar market - with fan events, signing queue marathons and publishers that can hardly reprint as fast as people read.
More than just books: a Community conquers the trade fair
The really remarkable thing about the NA boom is not just the content, but what surrounds it. It is a fandom that was previously known primarily in the music, film or gaming scene - or, to stick with printed material, comics of all kinds. The Frankfurt Book Fair has recognised this and is dedicating a separate hall to the spectacle, transforming it into a huge Community zone.
Fans posed for photos between neon lettering, flower garlands and «Tropes-Walls» - and queued for selfies with stars such as Stella Tack, Bianca Iosivoni and Ava Reed.
The «BookTok effect»: digitally discovered, analogue loved
The fascinating thing about this trend is that it is a huge plea in favour of the printed book. Although the recommendations and hype are generated entirely digitally on platforms such as TikTok, fans ultimately want one thing: to hold a real book in their hands. With a beautiful cover, maybe even with a coloured book edge.
The huge piles of books in the arms of the young visitors definitely show that the enthusiasm for reading is enormous. The book market, which has been looking for a rejuvenating cure for years? It has found it here. While AI texts are being debated elsewhere, New Adult shows that the simplest formula is, remains and still works - stories that trigger emotions.
Curious now? Here are current bestsellers from the New Adult community
Children's books
CHF15.–
Ravensburger Lakestone Campus, Band 1: What We Fear (Band 1 der New-Adult-Reihe von SPIEGEL-Bestsellerautorin
German, Alexandra Flint, 2024
Fiction
CHF21.70
The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King (Crowns of Nyaxia 2)
German, Carissa Broadbent, 2024
How do you feel about this? Is New Adult the salvation of reading or just a lot of hype? Write it in the comments!
Header image: Anna Sandner
Anna Sandner
Senior Editor
Anna.Sandner@galaxus.deScience editor and biologist. I love animals and am fascinated by plants, their abilities and everything you can do with them. That's why my favourite place is always the outdoors - somewhere in nature, preferably in my wild garden.
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