Young Adult lit has bombarded the marketplace, and as soon as it hits the shelves, it’s gone.

And I’m one of the ones buying it. Something about YA–the bravery, the spunk, the banter, the demand to be heard, the passion–draws me in. Divergent, Matched, The Hunger Games, Delirium, The Mindjack Trilogy, Flat-out Love. There are scores of excellent books.

Boyfriend-Who-Is-My-Husband and I host a gathering of Young Adults in our home every other Saturday. New books are always a part of the conversation. We pass them around, discuss the characters who make us cheer, the bad guys we understand more than we’d like to admit.

But I hear this often: There are no characters our age. Most of the books out there are about high schoolers or adults. It would be cool to read about people struggling like we are to hold on to their faith in college. Or trying to make their way in the work force. You know? That moment when we all woke up and realized our degree doesn’t guarantee us anything but debt.

The answer: there are books out there. They’ve arrived on the scene with fanfare. “It was a gap that was plugged by TV – Hollyoaks, Skins, New Girl and now, of course, Girls. The NA books occupy that territory – and lots are very racy, in the wake of Fifty Shades… It’s a natural progression from Young Adult books and a natural progression to older characters who, you know, get up to more things,” says Sarah Lambert, editorial director of Quercus Children’s Books in this article.

Listen, I can’t recommend most of these books to young adults who trust me. Yes, I have a shelf-full of ABA titles that I loan out on a regular basis. Yes, I’m on Goodreads recommending and reviewing the books I listed above. But the books littering the downward trail? The ones who follow the “natural progression” and “get up to more things”? Racy things? I can’t recommend those to the young people who are trying to swim upstream in a culture that tells them “If it feels good, do it.” They have a hard enough time as it is.

No. They need a lifeline and a tug upstream.

Life choices. Fledgling independence. Loneliness. Insecurity. New apartments. Lack of integrity in the workplace. Fellow students who mock your faith. Friends who give up. Friends who give in. Abortion. Date rape. (Yes, I’m still talking about issues young people from Christian families face).

Mistakes. Left and right and left again. Mistakes.

Kids try to do things right and they get burned.

Or maybe they don’t own their faith enough to stand on it at all.

Maybe they just feel alone.

I remember all that well.

And I spend a lot of nights crying with young people who are facing it now.

When I feel like I need to have a louder voice, I write. I write books that I can offer to college students and new adults without hesitation. They’ve got enough conflict and drama, enough raw realism that they resonate. But in my novels, the Grit Meets Grace.

I’m pursuing my dream agent right now, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll keep at it. I see this need for more authors like Kristin Billerbeck, Erynn Mangum, Jenny B. Jones, (all of whose books I love) and fellow aspiring author Laurie Tomlinson as an opportunity for the CBA. We can fill the shelves, too. This demographic has fallen through the cracks one too many times, and they’re ready to make noise about it. As they’re clamoring for books, let’s have something to put in their hands.

It’s time for new adult inspirational fiction where grit meets grace.

Let me hear you. What’s your favorite YA or NA title? Do you have any other authors to recommend?