I’ve been reading New Adult of late, mainly because they bring freshness to the romance genre. Just like a first kiss, one’s first adult relationship swings between tentative and unsteady to primal and headstrong. Alessandra Thomas has scored big time in this touching story about finding one’s dreams while managing parental expectations.

Josephine “Joey” Daly promised her father she’d become a doctor–just like him–before he died. It is her life’s goal, financed by the special trust fund created in her father’s will. And, try as she can, she struggles mightily with the course-work.

Joey spends so many hours studying she may as well move her bed from her sorority house to Temple’s library–and still she’s barely making a B- average.

Organic Chemistry is killing her.

In Joey’s single fluff course, Introductory Business, she’s paired with Will “Hawk” Hawkins a scruffy, chronically-late, hot mess who is now 50% responsible for her grade. High-strung Joey is also frustrated by the cold-as-stone Dr. O’Donnell, a pediatric oncologist she’s shadowing, who counsels Joey to remain detached from patients–something Joey finds impossible to do.

Like most pre-med students, Joey sacrifices to get into med school, to be the perfect doctor, to help cancer patients–all plans she made with her father’s legacy in mind. Driven, Joey struggles on even as she discovers the reality of medicine isn’t what she imagined it to be.

Surprisingly, it is the taciturn Hawk–shouldering more responsibility than Joey can imagine–who embodies an open-minded approach to life. Growing close to Hawk, Joey finally experiences the joy of following her heart instead of her plans.

What is romance without conflict, right? Joey’s mom plays a role in sabotaging Joey’s new life plan, but Joey finds a path that her father would have applauded. And, that’s exactly what new adulthood is about–figuring out how in the world to become an adult.

What I admired about this story:

It’s accurate. How can I say that? In another life I was a pre-med student. And, in a life after that one, I taught physiology to med students and pre-med students. Here’s what I learned: All parents wants to say their child is a Doctor–and it’s a lofty ideal that many ascribe to–but becoming a physician is a long hard row to hoe.

In truth, I’ve known more people who happily got off the Pre-Med track than medical school students who completed their training. It’s a VERY difficult career, one I quickly learned would not fit my life goals. Unlike Joey I didn’t have a medical legacy to live up to, yet it still wasn’t easy to go home and tell The P’s about my change in plans.

SUBJECT TO CHANGE is an excellent New Adult romance that deals with real-world issues many college students face. The narrative is well-paced and the conflict vital without being overblown or melodramatic.

If you decide to check it out make sure to leave your thoughts on it in the comments.