Bitchin' Blog Posts
Do you read YA?
by SB Sarah | by SB Sarah | April 12, 2011 | Tuesday at 9:04 pm | 120 Comments
While I was at RT and at various parties or dinners in the evening, the topic of adult readers of YA came up frequently. Some authors and readers questioned whether adult books were being packaged and sold in the YA section in hopes of attracting the attention of adult YA readers who shopped there. I can tell you there were a TON of authors talking about their upcoming YA novels. The crowded high-school-hallway turnout of the Teen Alley at the book signing and the number of young readers I saw roaming the booksigning looking for books to read (I was clear on the other side of the room from Teen Alley, so any young readers who I saw had made the trek across the crowds to the other side of the ballroom) indicates to me that YA remains popular with young readers - but what about these adult readers of YA? Are you one of them?
I totally am. I love YA romance for a host of reasons, and while I’m pretty picky about what I read, I love contemporary YA that’s not paranormal or dystopian most especially, because I love the tension and struggle provided by having emotions that are foreign and new and sometimes overwhelming. I know in the previous comment thread following my review of The Luckiest Girl, some readers mentioned preferring YA romances that didn’t end in a HEA for the hero and heroine because it’s not believable for them to see two protagonists embarking on a coupled future at such a young age. I personally don’t have that problem with suspending my disbelief though I totally understand the perspective of those who do. I met my husband in high school and we were together from freshman year of college onward, though we didn’t get married until we were 25 and he’d gotten that supah sexxay graduate degree he was after (rwor). So I understand the “Hold all calls, we have a winner!” feeling at a young age, and appreciate when an author pulls it off and makes it seem that no matter how the characters grow, they’re going to grow more awesomer together.
But I want to ask you, via the poll below: are you an adult reader of YA?
What do you like about it? What do you dislike? What books rock your world? Why YA, or why not?
Filed: General Bitching, Random Musings
Tagged: ya, rt, romance, readers, poll, paranormal, contemporary
Pam said on 04.12.11 at 09:42 PM • [link]
I read a lot of YA. I love the coming of age themes and the problems that teens face today are a bit different from when I was young. I am 31 and my blog revolves around YA. This may be because I work with teens and I partner with a children’s store but I think there is a lot to be said for the new YA LIT.
Kati said on 04.12.11 at 09:45 PM • [link]
Anna & the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins blew me away. I’ve read it about three times. I think that the author has the perfect tone for a high school senior. Snotty and smart, and totally vulnerable. Plus, it’s high school. Set in Paris. What’s not to love? I’ve already pre-ordered her next book.
I also adore Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely series. The books are gritty and dark, and adult in tone, but I gave them to my then 14YO niece and she loved them. I think maybe she thought she was getting away with something, not realizing that they are written for the YA audience.
I think YA is only getting better and better as time goes along.
Leslie Ahuvah said on 04.12.11 at 09:46 PM • [link]
I got re-hooked on YA while I was working in foster care ... I had a house full of teenage girls, and when they got ahold of a YA book that spoke to them, it was as though everything was OK. For at least a day or two. Inspired me to go back and read my favorites. The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix ... le sigh.
Cassandra said on 04.12.11 at 09:46 PM • [link]
Second star to the right, and straight on till morning! I will never be too old to read YA.
Ceilidh said on 04.12.11 at 09:46 PM • [link]
Yep, I read YA, I love YA and one of these days I will finish my YA book, honestly! *shifty eyes*
I don’t mind romances in YA; if it’s done well it can be fantastic and just as good, if not better, than in adult romances, but so many YA books let the romance overwhelm them, not to mention how derivative many of them are. There are some diamonds in the rough and I know the genre’s big on trends and such, but the same old stuff gets boring very quickly. I’m also very annoyed by the romances where it’s so all consuming that it wipes the characters free of personality, common sense and intelligence. Then again, I’m no fan of that sort of obsessive romance in any age group of literature, but in YA it just feels especially squicky to have a teenage girl completely devote herself to some ‘mysterious bad boy’, especially when the development between the two is so weak. I also hate love triangles in YA but that’s a whole other rant!
I’m interested to see what trend’s next; we’ve had paranormal then dystopia, so my money’s on Greek mythology.
RJones said on 04.12.11 at 09:48 PM • [link]
I don’t.
I don’t like teenagers. I didn’t when I was a teenager myself.
Though, I’ll admit, my feelings are more a prejudice than anything. I love and still re-read Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar series, which I think is probably sold as young adult now.
But still… teenagers? Ew, icky.
Cheryl Rainfield said on 04.12.11 at 09:49 PM • [link]
I am definitely an avid reader of YA! I also write YA—but I think I write it because I’m drawn to it. One of the things I love about YA novels is that they usually don’t have huge chunks of description or things that slow the writing down—things that, er, bore me or that I skim. Another thing I love is that YA books seem to so often delve into the emotional life of a character in a deep way, and often challenge various forms of oppression, or encourage being kind with each other. Not in a preachy way, just…a way that feels good (at least to me) to read. Of course, not all YA books are like that, and there are different things I like about each. I especially love fantasy and realistic YA novels.
SheaLuna said on 04.12.11 at 09:53 PM • [link]
I don’t read a LOT of YA, but I read some. I pretty much only read paranormal or dystopian YA. :-)
Mostly I just enjoy the stories. Honestly, sometimes the stories in today’s YA are infinitely better than those in “grown up” books. I find the characters are often better developed and more realistic and the plots are more interesting. The authors seem more willing to take risks, be silly and write outside the box.
I also read old skool YA for reasons of nostalgia. When I was around 12 I read the first couple of books in John Christopher’s The Tripods series. For years that story kept nagging at me until I bought the entire set about two years ago. I’ve read them through more than once and I love them just as much now as I did then.
The only downside, for me, of YA is that it’s naturally lacking in adult romance and relationships. If somehow the awesomeness of the YA story could be combined with the adultness (Is that a word?) of my usual fare, it’d be the perfect combo.
Ridley said on 04.12.11 at 09:58 PM • [link]
I really have no interest in reading YA novels. The teenage years were something to overcome, not revisit. Immersing myself in the angst, shortsightedness, arrogance and hormones of those years breaks me out in hives. No thank you.
I’m much more interested in stories about adults dealing in our crazy world. I’d be more interested in 20-22 year old protagonists than I would be in 14-16 year old ones. I want to read about maturity, not rebellion.
Larissa Ione said on 04.12.11 at 10:01 PM • [link]
Tough one. I struggled with the yes or no, because I’m picky about the YA I read. I’ve tried a handful of contemporary YA novels and just couldn’t get into them. On the other hand, I enjoy dark, gritty paranormal YA, especially of the dystopian kind.
I think it’s because teenage angst annoys me. I didn’t like BEING a teenager, so I don’t want to read about it. Contemporary YA takes me back to a time of my life I just want to forget. Besides, I have a teenager now, and he provides enough angst as it is. :)
Paranormal YA works much better for me because it’s more fantastical, and the more removed from recognizable life, the better, which is why dystopian YA works for me. The characters tend to act older, thanks to having to grow up faster, and the life or death stakes keep me reading.
I probably just made no sense whatsoever…
Carrie S said on 04.12.11 at 10:18 PM • [link]
The trend I’ve noticed at bookstore/library is to shelve any materials with characters between the ages of 12 - 25 as YA. So, if I didn’t read YA, I wouldn’t read Great Expectations, Catcher in the Rye, Huckleberry Finn. I’d also be missing out on Holly Black, Virginia Euwer Wolff (no relation to the Virginia Woolf), Phillip Pullman, etc etc. I’ve found Terry Pratchett shelved under YA and also Tolkien and Jane Austen. I’d say I look more to YA for coming of age stories and fantasy than for romance, but to skip the whole section of the store because it’s YA would cause me to miss as much great stuff as I was missing back when I used to waltz right past Romance because I had no idea how great it could be. Of course I’m really picky about what YA I read, but I’m picky about what I read in all the other genres as well. Sadly, no one genre has a monopoly on crap.
language53 - there are more than 53 great ways to use language - why by snobby about any of them?
Meredith said on 04.12.11 at 10:22 PM • [link]
I read YA, and I teach and study about children’s media, but I’m picky. I also swear that someday I’ll write my paper about bigger (self-identified “fat”) protagonists in YA, because there are a lot of good books out right now that cover this (and don’t always end in diets, which is nice). I also go back to Lackey’s Valdemar and A Wrinkle in Time (and Anne of Green Gables, and Little Women, and every other book I loved as a kid).
Carrie S said on 04.12.11 at 10:24 PM • [link]
Ooops, my comment should say “why be snobby” not “why by snobby”. Being snobby about typos is totally acceptable.
kellye said on 04.12.11 at 10:24 PM • [link]
I love to read and write YA, and hope that all of those writers who have newly turned to the genre are doing so for the right reasons (it’s the story that speaks to them loudest, that they most want to write) and not because the genre’s hot and selling, and—HarHAR—they think writing for teens is easier than other kinds of writing.
Generally, I don’t read traditional adult romances, but I love romance in YA, and think it’s an important part of teens’ lives (even if they’re just thinking about why they aren’t interested in anyone OR if their “love” is unrequited, which is not funny in real life but should be in YA.) I love reading and writing YA because it captures that glorious, awful in-between time before adulthood. Also, teens are passionate—not just about love and sex.
I read widely, but my first love is contemporary YA. Some of my favorites that include romance are: The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson, Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan, Perfect Chemistry by Simon Elkeles, Marcello in the Real Word by Francisco X. Stork, Razzle by Ellen Wittlinger, My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann-Weyr, Vegan, Virgin, Valentine by Carolyn Mackler, All-American Girl by Mag Cabot . . . I could go on and on & am probably forgetting some of my faves.
Beyond contemporary, I really enjoyed Wendy Delsol’s Stork (the first in a trilogy), Peeta vs. Gale in the Hunger Games Trilogy, and Ally Condie’s Matched. (Now that I think about it, Matched has a triangle, too…but I’m not over them yet).
Generally, I don’t like YA with needy, wimpy protagonists (who almost always are girls) whose only goal/interest is the perfect boy (bad or not). Sometimes I’m okay with it if that’s part of the character’s emotional and plot journey (so it changes at the end). If the love interest supplies all the answers, is THE end all, I’m not so interested.
Sarah W said on 04.12.11 at 10:27 PM • [link]
I read everything: YA, Chick Lit, Mom Lit, Old A, picture books, fanfic, you name it.
YA, which is a relatively recent market, is finally starting to hit its stride with plenty of well-written, intelligent stories from which to choose.
I only wish multicultural and “alternative lifestyle” romances would hurry up and do the same—there just aren’t enough of either to be able to choose.
Ashley said on 04.12.11 at 10:29 PM • [link]
I did not enjoy high school—I’m glad it’s over and I don’t have to go back. So I don’t read contemp YA. But I do love fantasy/magic YA. Patricia McKillip, Diana Wynne Jones, Patricia Wrede, Garth Nix all have a light but skilled hand with romance. Also early pairings seem more likely to me in the (typically) non-modern fantasy settings.
/rant/ What I hate is when a good book gets castrated to make it “kid-friendly”. I was surprised to see Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonflight in the YA section, so flipped to the first sex scene (which I remembered so vividly from my first reading at age 12). In the original the hero muses that the emotional resonance of the dragons mating was so strong, it may as well have been rape, and he’d tried to be a considerate lover since. In the bowdlerized version, it says something like “He’d tried to be a good friend to her since the dragons mated.” I was so pissed off—that relationship was powerful to me at an age where no one would talk to me about sex. If people don’t want their kids reading about sex, fine, don’t let them, but they shouldn’t alter the text of a book for marketing purposes. *Deep breath* /end rant/
That said, one of the reasons I like YA so much is the delicacy with which the authors deal with attraction. There’s less jumping into bed and more emotion and tension. Small gestures or conversations become packed with meaning. The relationship is the point and the focus, sexual attraction just a facet. Which is more mature than a lot of “adult” romance, to my mind.
Kathleen said on 04.12.11 at 10:29 PM • [link]
I read a lot of YA but almost all are SciFi/Fantasy.
Why? I think some of the most exciting books that are being published are YA. Ex: Shiver, Hunger Games, Ship Breaker, Sabriel, When You Reach Me. Why would I pass up on reading great books just because of the label?
Also, honestly, my second reason is b/c YA is easier to read. Sometimes that is a let down b/c the story/tension ends up being too simplistic (Across the Universe I am looking in your direction), but I appreciate being able to read a book quickly. In comparison, I’ve been plowing my way through The Way of Kings, and actually had to return it to the library before I was done.
jayhjay said on 04.12.11 at 10:33 PM • [link]
I don’t read too much YA b/c honestly I like books with a lot of heat which isn’t really appropriate in YA fare. But I will say I read and loved the Hunger Games trilogy.
sweetfa said on 04.12.11 at 10:37 PM • [link]
Euw, no!
The angst, arrogance and above all the acne that I can’t help imagining in anyone under about 22. Peculiar teenage ideas about hygiene. Incompetent intercourse. The ignorance of contraception and stupidity about consequences. Sorry, but I find grown-ups much more interesting. Plus, being a good generation or two past my teens, I think I’d feel a bit creepy reading about…ugh, I don’t even want to go there.
Having said that, I do like historicals, and I’m wondering if that’s partly because the social restrictions in these often mimic the sort of social pressures modern teens have to cope with. But without the acne, etc…
Isabel C. said on 04.12.11 at 10:41 PM • [link]
I definitely do read YA, for the reasons other people have mentioned. Yeah, sometimes teenagers do idiotic things—but I haven’t noticed a shortage of idiot main characters in adult fiction lately. (Or classically. CATHY AND HEATHCLIFF, my GOD.)
As a 28-year-old who’s been through a few guys and still doesn’t feel like settling down any time soon, I *should* find it hard to identify when the fifteen-year-old protagonist ends up with a romantic HEA. I generally don’t, though: I think it’s one of those things I have less trouble with in fiction.
That said, the less explicit the long-termness of the HEA is, the easier a time I have with it. If the book fades on the hero and heroine hooking up, I can believe that they won’t go all Brenda and Eddie four years later, the same way I can believe that the flaming wreckage of the Death Star Mark II didn’t destroy all life on Endor, somehow. If one of them starts thinking about marriage and kids and so forth, I have a much harder time.
Supernatural stuff helps too: if he’s already battling the forces of evil at night and she hangs out with ghosts on the weekends, then sure, okay, I can also buy a together-forever-at-sixteen thing. They’re a lot less likely to get bored with each other than most couples, that’s for sure.
And I really have a soft spot for YA novels that do acknowledge how most people don’t end up with the first person to catch their eye. Terry Pratchett’s particularly awesome that way.
really89—yeah, I know I’m a curmudgeon.
Emily said on 04.12.11 at 10:48 PM • [link]
I did not enjoy my teen years. But it makes me protective and defensive of teenagers. I think it is a really tough time.
I like young adult. But as I said before I don’t like young adult romances. In the movies, over the past oh twenty years or so film critics like Roger Ebert have noted that more and more movies feature teenagers up to darker things and more daring and dashing things than adults. Teens in movies seem to have more sex than adults. Is this trend a good thing?
As I get older I realize I want to see people at any age have a good time. I don’t want to see teens growing up too fast unless there is some sort of issue at stake, ie. teen prostitution or drug smuggling.
That being said I happy to read about young adults, and I don’t even care if they fall in love. As long they are safe and not too serious. I am also a sucker when it comes to stories of people who meet when they are kids or high school students and fall in love later.
For me a teenage girl, making it to the end of high school ready to take on college/ the world, or becoming confident and learning to navigate through high school orlearning to deal with her family/friends situation is all good. Self-Empowerment, Self confidence, and learning to be yourself IS Happily Ever After!
(Even without a guy>)
TracyP said on 04.12.11 at 10:49 PM • [link]
Me too.
The Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead is considered YA, so it pays to be open to reading all kinds of books. Her other series are much more adult, but I probably never would have discovered them without being open to YA books. It’s just hard to find an author I really like in YA. Some are written where the teen is so self-absorbed and angsty (yeah, like real life) that I can’t stand them as a main character. I feel no sympathy for them. It’s a delicate balance for me.
g_lavo said on 04.12.11 at 10:55 PM • [link]
I don’t read YA for two reasons. One, I get frustrated with the angst and the drama that is totally appropriate for high school but annoying from an adult perspective. I guess I have forgotten how difficult it was to grow up and I don’t really want to be reminded.
Two, I like my romances to involve sex but I do NOT want to read about teenagers having sex. The mom in me is horrified at the potential repercussions.
I haven’t tried a YA recently though. Maybe it’s time to give it another shot…..
SamG said on 04.12.11 at 10:56 PM • [link]
I read the some of the YA books my daughter brings home. I like knowing what she’s reading, and quite often, I like the stories as well as she does.
Sam
Maya Sapiurka said on 04.12.11 at 11:07 PM • [link]
I definitely still read YA. Granted, I’m on the younger side of adulthood, but I still absolutely love going back and rereading all my favorite YA books I grew up with. Most of them are fantasy/sci-fi (Patricia Wrede, Diana Wynne Jones RIP, Madeline L’Engle, Tamora Pierce, Eva Ibbostson), but I also own all of Louise Rennison’s Georgia Nicholson series. They’re funny as hell and they’re some of the only books that my little sister and I BOTH love to read. It was wonderful to be able to share a book and book language with each other.
tl;dr, Love YA, always will
TinyNinja said on 04.12.11 at 11:11 PM • [link]
I read YA from, oh, third through eighth grades. Started exploring Vonnegut, Irving, and Victorian era authors around fourth, fifth grade, so by the time I hit high school most YA was firmly in the “baby” category for me, as it was for most of my friends.
Not that I’m particularly exceptional, I just think that Blume, Klein, etc., meant their books to be a preview of “upcoming attractions” so to speak, rather than something to be read when you are the same age as the character.
I’ll occasionally read a YA for the nostalgia factor, but not because I love the genre. I’ve found that even the best YAs are only slightly above “Mrs. Piggle Wiggle” in terms of reading difficulty, story, etc.
And, to be honest, the adults I’ve met who read YA in public have reminded me strongly of Stephen King’s “Annie Wilkes.” Ick, blech, blarg, and pfui.
kellye said on 04.12.11 at 11:13 PM • [link]
Just have to say: I am loving the comments here! Someone once said (and I’m sorry that I can’t remember who): People who write for children (and I’d add teens) do so because they want to correct their horrible childhoods—or relive a happy one.
Ashley, I was shocked by your anecdote about Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonflight. I’m not familiar with the book, but I’ve never heard of a publisher changing the content to fit for a younger audience. That is awful.
I agree that lots of teens are reading adult books w/ adult content, and it’s been that way forever. I remember someone passing around “The Happy Hooker” on the school bus, with the “good parts” marked, and also picking up “Once is Not Enough” from my grandmother’s bookshelf at about 12.
Also, although sex in YA is controversial (as is sex just about anywhere, unfortunately, imho), I do think that it’s appropriate in certain stories and teens themselves often are the ones who decide what they’re ready for in their reading.
Finally, I also had to laugh about the comment from the Mom who doesn’t want to think about teens having sex. As the mother of a 14 yo, I agree. When I’m reading and writing YA, though, I feel 16, so it doesn’t seem creepy at all. Though, now that I think about it…. LOL.
kellye said on 04.12.11 at 11:21 PM • [link]
TinyNinja,
There’s a big YA world out there. It could be that you’ve read mostly middle grade or younger YA. It’s hard to tell from the authors you list. But I wouldn’t call Marcus Zuszak, Robert Cormier, M.T. Anderson and Laurie Halse Anderson, to name just four, writers of “baby books.”
Like adult lit, YA includes a range of subgenres. Not trying to be a hater! Just wanted you to know you might be missing some good reads.
Best,
kellye
Cindy said on 04.12.11 at 11:22 PM • [link]
TheTwilight series has turned me off the idea of YA for probably several more years. The angst and agony was more than I could stomach. Plus I’m a couple of generations past this crop of YA and don’t really want to re-visit that age bracket.
Milena said on 04.12.11 at 11:23 PM • [link]
I read very little YA, and only SF/F. Pratchett, Pullman, stuff that’s more SF/F than YA in my mind.
And while I liked my real-life teenage years, I didn’t like YA even then; most of it seemed uninteresting to me. I will skim my daughter’s books, but I hardly ever get pulled in enough to actually read it.
Tamara Hogan said on 04.12.11 at 11:24 PM • [link]
I read very little YA. I prefer reading about the challenges experienced by fully adult characters with a little more life experience on board.
Back in the day, before YA existed as a subgenre, I remember going from the Little House, Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden series directly to the adult library stacks, checking out any book I wanted, no questions asked. There was simply no other option for precocious readers like me. I loved reading adult books, I handled reading adult books, I wasn’t damaged by reading adult books, including books with violence and graphic sexual content. I generally think kids and teenagers can handle more complex subject matter than their parents might give them credit for - or that their parents might be comfortable with.
Maybe this is a generational parenting difference? Not only didn’t YA exist when I was young, I don’t remember my parents, or any of my friends’ parents, being at all attuned to WHAT I was reading - they were excited THAT I was reading.
Lisa richards said on 04.12.11 at 11:29 PM • [link]
I read a fair amount of YA fiction, primarily the paranormal or dystopian. I started reading it mainly to stay in touch with what my daughter read but have continued on because it is awesome. YA writers tend to get to the point a lot quicker (face it teens are not real patient) and as long as the romance isn’t to angsty, I enjoy it. When I was a teen we had very little written for us, it was Nancy Drew and then straight to Stephen King, so I get a kick out of seeing all this great fiction. PC Cast, Rowling, Myer, Mead are only a few of the writers I read. A lot of adult writers have a YA book out now and I love comparing their adult and YA fiction.
LizC said on 04.12.11 at 11:34 PM • [link]
Looking at my YA shelf it overwhelmingly skews towards the sci-fi/fantasy realm.
When I was a kid I read much more of the YA like Judy Blume and Lurlene McDaniel that was about kids slightly older than I was because they were going through the same things I was or might be in the future. Each Judy Blume was like a template for what I might have to deal with if I wasn’t already.
Now that I’m a grown-up and have made it through the icky teenage years I don’t have much of a desire to read about the trials and tribulations of the average teenager. There’s something about the recent spate of sci-fi/fantasy YA novels that I love because they’re about teenagers but they’re not dealing with the typical “does that boy like me?” it’s “does that boy like me? Can’t deal with it right now because I have to battle an evil monster”. So I get the YA goodness without having to really relive my teenage years because I never had to fight evil sea monsters.
HelenMac said on 04.12.11 at 11:41 PM • [link]
One more from the ‘I don’t read a lot of YA, but when I do, it is mostly the paranormal/dystopian flavoured stuff’ crowd.
I felt I grew out of YA books early on, like before I grew out of being a YA! I was reading plain old adult novels (yes, that kind, too) before I was even a young teenager, and didn’t find YA ... I think challenging may be the word I’m looking for here…enough. Maybe I was reading the wrong ones. Maybe I felt like they didn’t really apply to me and my life: both American and British secondary school settings felt a little too foreign to really resonate with me (in Hong Kong), and being the well read, well travelled, well mannered, well behaved, jolly hockey sticks, non-rebellious dutiful daughter that I was, ‘troubled youth’ YA, like Melvin Burgess’ (?) Junk and various other drug/teen pregnancy themed books didn’t speak to me, they were so far removed from my experience. (I was the kind of girl whose friends’ parents would comment on what a lovely young lady I was and why couldn’t they be more like me….OH HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED, LOLOLOLOL!).
Not that Regency Romances were particulalrly analagous to my tweenage years, but I read them by the shedload, along with every M&B, JAK, Julie Garwood, and Susan Johnson I could get my hands on.
I rediscoved YA a few years ago - I think it may even have been a review here that prompted me to buy Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, and with that, it seemed like a whole new world of fiction had been opened up to me - where were these books when I was a tween/teen?!
This has been rambling and stream of conciousness, and I don’t think it really explains why I enjoy reading YA as an adult (although, at 26, still a relatively young one, I hope!). It may be really trite, but I think it may be something to do with the fact that now that I am a proper adult with a proper job and grown up responsibilities and so on, the escapism YA offers, into a world where even though your life may be complicated by such things as being in love with a boy who is a wolf for the whole winter or an angel who gave up heaven because of you, or just simply the life altering experience of being in love with a boy for the first time at all (especially if you’re a boy too! oh, gay YA, I love you so!), or if the complications aren’t relationship based at all (although, you may have noticed that I’m one of the ones who is pro- romance in YA, both HEA and HFN) but stem out of crime solving/parental issues/mathletics/inheriting a fortune/travelling with friends/etc, is a welcome change from the mundane complications of my life, boring things like rent, appraisals, key performance indicators, credit card bills, and so on.
...wow, I’m in a rambling mood tonight. Apologies to anyone who actually attemped to read that comment!
Isabel C. said on 04.12.11 at 11:41 PM • [link]
Lisa C: Heh—my local library has Carrie shelved under YA.
I like the getting-to-the-point too, and the fact that YA has traditionally been more sympathetic to fantasy and sf subplots than “traditional literature”. Also happy endings, Beth freakin’ March aside.
Tamara: My parents never really minded either. My mom tried to institute a no-romance-novels policy for a bit—explicit content blah blah blah—but among other things for which I love the woman, she was none-too-vigilant about checking under my bed or in the back of my sock drawer, so the whole thing just added some excitement to my ten-year-old life.
I tend to agree on what kids can handle. I started reading King at elevenish and am arguably fine now, whereas the books that have possibly scarred me for life, or at least given me periodic nightmares, were classified as YA: those damn Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books with the GAAAAH WHAT THE HELL IS THAT illustrations. Yiiiiipe.
AgTigress said on 04.12.11 at 11:47 PM • [link]
‘YA’ literature did not exist in my youth (today is my 70th birthday, so my youth was a long time ago); one read children’s books until one wanted to read adult books, and that was that. Adolescence is the process of becoming adult: at any point within it, there will be different proportions of childlike preferences and adult ones within each individual, and many youngsters could and did read adult literature at 10 or 11 years old. Others didn’t get round to it till they were well into their teens. Books for younger children do have to be written and presented differently from those written for adults, with simpler language and to some extent simplified concepts. There is no such dividing line between a story aimed at, say, a 15-year-old and an adult. The main reason I can think of for the creation of the label, apart from publishers’ marketing strategies, is that since the 1960s, it has been possible to publish graphically sexual material, so there are many books in the ‘adult’ fiction market that some adults might regard as unsuitable for younger readers. That’s about the only adult/adolescent distinction I can see, though as so many teenagers are sexually active these days (unlike their predecessors in the 1950s), I’m not too sure it really holds water.
So I find the whole ‘Young Adult’ concept rather strange, and I am not sure that the definitions make a lot of sense; some of the previous posts and their examples confirm that. The poll so far shows 82% of the adult readers here happily reading YA novels. If that is so, then logic declares that these novels are not tailored specifically for adolescents: they are for people old enough to want to read them, whether that age happens to be 12 or 32. I don’t see that the ages of the central characters or the nature of the setting has much to do with the age of the target readership.
AmberG said on 04.12.11 at 11:47 PM • [link]
When I was a kid, I hated YA books. They were too thin, too childish, too… simple, is the best word I can think of. I spent most of my childhood reading mom’s books, and so when I was forced to read YA books, they drove me crazy.
Now that i’m an adult, I love them, because I relate more. When I was a teenager, boys were boring. Girls were catty and dumb. Teenage drama was other people’s problem. I was a major loner, and books about girls who go out with friends and party and date boys, that was totally not interesting to me.
Now i’m older, and i’m in the middle. I’m an adult, so I like books about adults. But since I didn’t really start acting like a teenager until I was nearly not one, I don’t have a lot of experiences that it’s taken for granted that adults have (like dating or driving or whatever), I never did any of that. So as an adult, I pretty much relate more to YA than anything targeted at my age group.
With adults, they go out, they have dates at diners, they have sex, the emotions are tempered by past dates and past relationships, I can get into that, but I can’t relate to it. I’m a more innocent sort, believe it or not. YA feeds that need to really understand what the main characters are feeling.
Anonymousie said on 04.12.11 at 11:47 PM • [link]
No, no, and no. Like someone else said, it skeeves me out a little how many adult women I see (and it’s always women) reading YA novels. It always makes me wonder what’s wrong with our culture that these readers prefer to read about kids the age of their own children rather than about adults like them.
Some of the women I know who read YA romance have told me flat out it’s because they can’t find any good romances without a ton of sex in them anymore—the only thing left is category Presents, and they don’t read those. If they want single title, they have to read YA.
Personally, I hated high school with every bone in my body. I have no desire ever to go back, even within the relative safety of a book where I know there will be a HEA.
Someone else mentioned fantasy/sci-fi YA, with Mercedes Lackey as an example. I read that as a teen, but I doubt it really qualifies as YA, at least the ones I read. I think there’s a fair amount of fantasy that begins with teenaged protagonists, but those characters are rarely “real” teens, so it doesn’t bother me to read about them—their problems, issues and relationships aren’t those of normal kids.
Lynne Connolly said on 04.12.11 at 11:51 PM • [link]
I don’t read it. I had a terrible time in my teens, and no way do I want to go back, or read about it.
Teenagers are pretty uninteresting to me, unless they’re my own. I’ve never felt any connection with them, even when I was one. I just endured, and learned, and looked forward to being a bit older.
Sorry! To all teenagers out there - it does get better, I promise!
Tasha said on 04.12.11 at 11:58 PM • [link]
One of the things I love about YA is the absence of visible worldbuilding. YA authors and audiences seem to be willing to go for the ride with an open mind, so you don’t get the same long-winded explanations of how and why things are different. They just are, and the story goes on from there.
Teresa N said on 04.13.11 at 12:13 AM • [link]
Definitely some of the appeal of YA is that it’s usually a quicker read. A lot of good sff novels are still shelved under YA and include themes I would not call childish, and they actually get to the point in less than 600 pages (unlike “hard” adult sff).
I actually didn’t care much for YA when I was a teenager, but now that I’m in my midtwenties I find it a bit relaxing. I’m still really picky about my protagonists (no cliquey high school dramas please), but there is definitely some good stuff out there.
Like another commentor, I really enjoyed “Anna and the French Kiss”. As much as I enjoy ‘adult’ romances, sometimes they get to the sexxoring too quick for my tastes. I enjoy a healthy relationship before it becomes a healthy sexual relationship, and sometimes YA does that better IMO.
R.g. said on 04.13.11 at 12:23 AM • [link]
I’m an adult but enjoy YA fantasy/sci-fi lit almost exclusively. When I was a kid I read everything in the school library, but that changed in high school - my preferences really narrowed when I discovered Diana Wynne Jones’s amazing books. For a while I did try a lot of adult fiction, mostly fantasy, but finally I gave up because I found the books so disgusting and disheartening. Plus, I’m an English major, so enduring six years of whiny, depressing classics didn’t help.
I like YA because, when it’s well-written, it’s interesting and happy, whereas adult fiction is boring, depressing, and full of annoying obligatory sex. Two exceptions are Orson Scott Card and Juliet Marillier - Card is a brilliant writer no matter what he turns his hand to, even though there are only a handful of his actual books that I like; and Marillier’s fiction could pass as YA if it was marketed differently.
Lisa K said on 04.13.11 at 12:31 AM • [link]
I don’t read much YA unless it’s written by a paranormal author I really like…
Too often it reminds me of high school and navigating high school was tough enough without having to relive it again with characters in a book! LOL
At least if there’s a paranormal element it makes the YA experience different enough from real life that I can escape into the story.
Coming of age YA is all right, like Something WIcked Thie Way Comes, but romantic YA is often so angst-ridden I’d rather not! LOL
Lisa :)
SB Sarah said on 04.13.11 at 12:34 AM • [link]
Hey! Happy birthday @AgTigress!! Many happy returns on the day (and good books too!)
Back to your regularly scheduled YA discussion.
Wait- one more thing:
@Teresa N: “I enjoy a healthy relationship before it becomes a healthy sexual relationship, and sometimes YA does that better IMO.”
That really resonated with me. I am going to think about that for a while.
Teresa N said on 04.13.11 at 12:47 AM • [link]
Glad I could add to the discussion. Thanks for bringing this topic up :)
Kaye said on 04.13.11 at 12:52 AM • [link]
I love YA and haven’t always been comfortable admitting that to other people, even though there’s no good reason for my reluctance.
I heart LM Montgomery with a love undiminished by time and am always asking my students what they’re reading or if they have any good recommendations, which is how I was turned on to Westerfeld, Dessen, Marr, and many other fabulous authors.
I really like the writing quality in the YA books of recent years.
Em said on 04.13.11 at 01:03 AM • [link]
I’m not sure I can answer this question properly. I mean, I’ve been reading adult fiction since I was about 13 and I still read YA and childrens books now that I’m 20. I think it’s more that if a story interests me I’ll read it regardless of genre or intented age bracket.
Seadanes said on 04.13.11 at 01:04 AM • [link]
I didn’t read YA when I was younger but I love it now. And I don’t mind when the hero/heroine end up together - my husband and I have been together since high school, married out of college and now, almost 20 years later, we are still HEA. :-)
I find that I like more of a variety of YA books than I do those geared toward adults, too, and I’m not sure why that is. But I’ve read YA sci-fi, paranormal, coming of age, etc. I can’t seem to get enough - just finished The Summer of Skinny Dipping, Timeless and The Clearing.
AgTigress said on 04.13.11 at 01:14 AM • [link]
Thank you, SB Sarah. :-) I wonder whether there will ever be a fiction genre specially for Old Adults, focusing on burning issues like Clearing out a Lifetime’s Clutter, and the heartaches and stress of moving into sheltered accommodation…
;-)
Virginia Llorca said on 04.13.11 at 01:15 AM • [link]
I don’t think it is a new genre. It is just wildly popular now. And more distinctly classified. I read all Rosamund duJardin. Wasn’t Anne of Green Gables, kinda?
Lady V said on 04.13.11 at 01:18 AM • [link]
First, definitely a reader of YA material and LOVE it. I don’t know if I would have if I wasn’t a librarian because I only became aware of it when I had to start ordering it and went, ‘Hmm, that sounds really good. I should read it when it comes in.’
I hear where some people posting are coming from on not being down with teens and not wanting to read about bad decisions, teen angst, etc. etc. I would agree, but would caveat with good writing will always win the day. I have put down YA books that were too teeny or the author was trying too hard to sound like a teen (P.C. and Kristen Cast, sorry..). But there are a ton of fabulous YA books out there where I have never rolled my eyes at the teen angst.
The best YA book I’ve read lately, and possibly this year so far, was ENTWINED by Heather Dixon. It’s based on the twelve dancing princesses fairytale and is drop-dead awesome. Go read it today.
P. Kirby said on 04.13.11 at 01:19 AM • [link]
I read quite a bit of YA, with my taste in YA skewing hard toward SF/F/H. The older I get, the shorter my attention span gets, and YA seems to be more likely to just get down to the story and not ramble on forever, especially with backstory, exposition, etc.
Christy said on 04.13.11 at 01:20 AM • [link]
I’ve been reading a lot of YA recently and, like any genre, there’s some great stuff out there and some pretty bad stuff. I did read the Twilight series, and while I flew through it, once I thought about it, there were a lot of things I had issues with; however, it didn’t turn me off of the YA genre. For every Twilight out there, there’s a Hunger Games which I felt was amazingly excellent. When a friend of mine who I’d recommended Hunger Games to went to find the second book she couldn’t because she was looking for it in the regular literture section.
I enjoy non dystopian/sci-fi YA as well, but what I enjoy about that is watching a flawed character grow and realize their flaws and their strengths. I can buy that not every character is going to be a strong role model, but I want my female YA leads to grow, learn and realize that they can become these strong women. I recently read one YA novel where the protagonist basically had non-committed sex to escape her real life, and while it was somewhat addressed (the guy assured her she wasn’t a “whore” (the author’s words not mine)) I feel like it wasn’t dealt with on a level that I was comfortable with. It’s interesting, because I’ll fully accept this behavior in an adult novel but am absolutely not ok with it in a YA novel. I don’t have children, but when I’m reading these books, I"m always thinking “would I want my kids reading this?” And I feel like when I was young, books were pretty influential, and I don’t know that that is the influence I’d want.
Ok, one last point, then I swear I’m done. I’ve noticed that the couple of non paranormal/sci-fi YA books I’ve had HUGE issues with are YA books that are written by novelists recently out of high school. They’re not bad writers, I just feel like they are trying to write a coming of age story before they’ve actually come of age. I don’t think that I could ever write a YA book because my high school years were fairly uneventful. I was a band geek with a small group of four close friends. I’m willing to bet that some of the commenters above who had tough teen years could turn out some fairly compelling YA books based on those experiences.
Pamelia said on 04.13.11 at 01:45 AM • [link]
I read YA. Not a ton, but I have enjoyed a lot of it (Harry Potter, The Bartimaeus books by Stroud, Holes by Sachar), but I don’t actively seek it out as much anymore as I do other genres (Urban Fantasy, Historical Romance, Paranormals, Fantasy, SciFi).
Lauren said on 04.13.11 at 02:09 AM • [link]
Hope this doesn’t post twice!
Like many others here, I read more SF/F YA than contemporary YA, but in recent years, that’s changed a bit. I stopped reading YA when I was still a child and moved on to adult books, but in my late 20s, I came back around to more contemporary YA. I just finished E. Lockhart’s “The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks” and thought she was the most kick-ass contemporary heroine I’ve read in ages. It’s not really a romance because Frankie won’t settle for a boy who doesn’t regard her as an equal, but I think that just makes the story that much better (and as YA, it’s more realistic to me that a 16 y.o. isn’t planning on marrying her high school boyfriend).
Frankie is an amazing role-model in the contemporary camp, rivaling the strong female characters in SF/F YA like Katniss (Hunger Games), Sabriel and Lirael (Abhorsen trilogy), Alanna and Daine (Lioness and Immortals quartets) and Harry (The Blue Sword). I will also always reread L.M. Montgomery - for the nostalgia, for the gorgeous prose, and for the stories.
I hear what some people are saying about the angst of teenagers and not wanting to revisit high school in fiction, but for me it totally depends on the book. Most of the time I love Meg Cabot, but in her Mediator series, Suze is so well drawn as a teenager that I was annoyed with her more often than not. I was also annoyed with Harry Potter in the 5th book, which is actually a result of the authors doing a great job at the characterization of teenagers - sometimes the protagonists are just a little too sensitive, self-obsessed and angsty. But it certainly is true to life!
I also must recommend the Forever Young Adult blog for anyone interested in rekindling their relationship with YA. Their attitude seems to be that if a YA book or movie is too angsty or ridiculous, it’s your adult prerogative to make a drinking game out of it!
Karen Smock said on 04.13.11 at 02:27 AM • [link]
This quote by Cory Doctorow from a Locus magazine feature http://www.locusmag.com/Features/2008/07/cory-doctorow-natures-daredevils.html
sums up why I like reading and writing YA:
I really enjoy contemporary YA like John Green’s Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines; Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak and Twisted;
E. Lockhart’s The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks; and Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.
And of course, Bitter Melon that I found through SB!
Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar is excellent, although hard to track down because it’s Australian.
Also the Dystopias are great including The Way I Live Now by Meg Rosoff, and the Tomorrow Series by John Marsden.
Love YA!
Bets said on 04.13.11 at 02:35 AM • [link]
I love YA fantasy. Just finished Sherwood Smith’s A Stranger to Command, the prequel to Crown Duel. Stayed up ‘til 6am reading. It wasn’t the classic that Crown Duel is, but I still love the author’s work.
But, my love of YA comes with a major caveat: I do not want to read about teenagers in high school. I didn’t when I was a teenager, and I don’t now. The angst-heavy social posturing featured in a lot of YA novels was completely irrelevant to my life at that point and it’s even more annoying as an adult. I relied on books to take me away from the high school snake pit, not shove me further into misery. So, if dragons, swords, or quests are involved—bring it! Sparkly Vampires Need Not Apply.
BrooklynShoeBabe said on 04.13.11 at 02:37 AM • [link]
I do read YA. It’s kind of a job requirement because I’m a YA librarian. However, before I went to library school, I read both YA and adult fiction. Aside from romance novels, all the fiction I tend to read have characters who have secrets and personality flaws and are awkward—all the traits of a teen.
Aziza said on 04.13.11 at 02:39 AM • [link]
Christy said: I don’t think that I could ever write a YA book because my high school years were fairly uneventful.
Quick summary of my high school years: boring. Not awful, but kind of dull. Not perfect either, but in general, tolerable. As for me personally, I didn’t break new ground, shift paradigms, or get into righteous fights with The Man. But sometimes when I tell people about certain everyday kinds of things my friends and I said or did back then, I think huhn, that was pretty cool. I then feel an urge to balance out my ‘interesting’ stories with the days upon days of being bored and squandering potential and blah blah blah.
I suppose my roundabout point is that sometimes Big Drama/Action isn’t everything. As a reader, would I be interested in a book by someone who may have had a similar high school experience? Maybe, tell me a little more about the story. Would I be interested in a book by someone who’s had a very different high school experience? Maybe, tell me a little more about the story. (Please.)
Carrie S said on 04.13.11 at 02:47 AM • [link]
I feel like a lot of people have a similar attitude towards YA that other have toward romance. There is so much diversity now in YA that it seems odd when people complain that it’s all about acne or it’s babyish. It’s like saying that romance novels are all about bodice ripping. There’s nothing wrong with preferring one genre to another but I do wish readers would take a walk through the YA section and see how many crazy things are there. A” Tree Grows in Brooklyn” shows up in YA all the time and is also often counted as adult’s favorite books, and there many more examples that other people have already brought up. Hope this message isn’t too pissy - apparently I’m very protective of YA! Which I didn’t even know until this thread! While I’m at it, not all sci fi is about spaceships and not all “literature” is about middle aged angst. Now I am going to drink some nice soothing tea before I become all overset!
Chelsea said on 04.13.11 at 02:52 AM • [link]
The thing is, I read very little YA when I was in the target age group. The reason for that was that I read for escapism, and so reading about other teens and their drama didn’t cut it as well as reading about adults with adult problems. Plus I hated my teen years for the most part.
These days I’ve been reading some YA here and there, mostly of the paranormal variety. I am now far enough removed from the highschool setting to find it interesting in fiction. And I find that I like teen romance. I met my now husband in my late teens, so I absolutely believe those relationships can have happy endings.
Christy said on 04.13.11 at 02:55 AM • [link]
That’s a really fair point. I recently started a blog, which I characterized as fairly self-centered (the content, not blogging in general) and my friend told me that it depended on the story you have to tell. A story about finding jeans could be just that, a dull story about finding jeans, or it could end up being a funny, heartbreaking story about a mission to find jeans. I agreed with him, told him I’d probably never write a post about finding jeans, then two weeks later wrote a blog post about a pair of shoes I found. To be perfectly honest, I’ve never tried my hand at YA. High school was only 13 years ago, but even then I always felt like I didn’t “get” teenagers and felt like I “fit in” more with adults, though lord knows I acted like a teenager (at least if you ask my mom).
EbonyMcKenna said on 04.13.11 at 03:17 AM • [link]
I love reading YA and I love writing it.
I love contemporary, paranormal, historical, you name it.
The emotions are so raw and new to the characters. It’s a wonderfully experimental time.
LizW65 said on 04.13.11 at 03:52 AM • [link]
If its a good story, I’ll read it. I could care less about the age of the protagonist. ‘Nuff said.
Jenn H said on 04.13.11 at 03:57 AM • [link]
Do I read YA? My answer is an absolute yes - not because it’s my job (I’m a middle school teacher-librarian, and head of a reading committee for a provincial book award for Grade 7 - 12 authors), but because I love it and I love the opportunities it gives to my readers.
I too hated high school - I was never so relieved in my life as I was the day after graduation. However, I LOVE reading about middle and high school - perhaps to cleanse the palate of my own experiences :-) To help me endure the process of high school, I dived into my love of all kinds of books growing up, and many of those old favourites are now classified as YA according to my local booksellers.
YA fiction is amazing - when written well, it encapsulates the best that fiction has to offer in a well-told story with engrossing characters and situations that are all-too-relatable. The stories told are those that contain some of the greatest themes in literature - love, loss, freedom, the quest for self-awareness or self-appreciation, or even just the Quest. The writing can be simplistic, but I would argue that simple writing is sometimes the best way to tell a complicated story, especially for those who might be reluctant to open themselves up to a book in the first place. Watching my students become enamoured of a series and breathlessly appear at my door to ask for the next is one of the best parts of my job. What’s important to remember is that there are many levels of YA, just as there are many readers, and the breadth and depth of stories out there allows every reader to find their own niche.
As for the authors ... I have vivid and fond memories of Judy Blume, LM Montgomery, Gordon Korman, Terry Pratchett, John Wyndham and others, and eagerly pass on those recommendations to my own students. Now we have new and amazing authors to add to the list - Suzanne Collins, Cassandra Clare, Holly Black, Kelley Armstrong, Scott Westerfeld, Kenneth Oppel, Heather Brewster, Cory Doctorow, Sarah Dessen, Carrie Ryan, Lauren Oliver, Meg Cabot ... the list is endless and ever-changing and wonderful.
Can you tell I’m a little passionate about my subject? ;-)
Crystal said on 04.13.11 at 04:00 AM • [link]
I love quite a bit of YA. Harry Potter, Percy Jackson (and the new series he does with the Egyptian gods), the Mortal Instruments, and like everyone else in humanity, I love The Hunger Games (which incidentally, was the 5th most challenged book in the past year, since “sexually explicit” was listed as one of the reasons people challenged it, I can only assume that most of people challenging it had not read it). I like the struggles that seem to intrinsically come with being someone in that age group, plus (don’t hurt me), I sometimes find smexy stuff a little exhausting. I like it most of the time, but occasionally I could use a break. And at the end of day, there is some damn good YA. But sometimes publishers and critics seem a little condescending about it (which seems to be how they treat romance too, go fig).
Nadia said on 04.13.11 at 04:07 AM • [link]
It sounds like YA has improved in both quantity and quality from when I was the true target age. I’m another who went straight from Judy Blume to Jude Devereaux. My “YA” was no-sex, hands-above-the-waistline Silhouette Romances with early- twenty-something heroines.
I see these great reviews for YA books, but teen protagonists just don’t appeal at this time. And I like sex in my romances, but like others have said, not teen sex. But I’ve got girls who will be teenagers sooner than I want to think, and I may find myself picking up more YA as they do. First, when they are surly girls who won’t open up to Mom, maybe discussing their latest read will give us a conversation opener. Second, reading about the teen mindset might help a mom out who hasn’t been there in a long, long time.
Noelle said on 04.13.11 at 04:11 AM • [link]
I love YA…to a point. I read very little current YA books, but regularly re-read the ones I’ve held onto since childhood: Sunfire, Sweet Valley, Lurlene McDaniels, Fear Street, Zebra horror, L.M. Montgomery, Judy Bloom, Merivale Mall…the list goes on and on!
I haven’t ventured too much into the YA books being published today. I’m sure there are many good ones out there, but for some reason the interest isn’t there for me. Probably due to a preconceived (and likely incorrect) notion that all YA contains vampires and werewolves nowadays. :)
Kelly C. said on 04.13.11 at 04:17 AM • [link]
I didn’t read YA when I was a YA. I personally feel no need to re-live my youth nor pretend that I am. 30+ IS NOT the new 13.
BevQB said on 04.13.11 at 04:20 AM • [link]
Nope. Nuh-uh. No way. No YA EVER!
I have a house full of teens and I can escape them when reading. There’s no way I want to read about MORE of them! *shudder*
helen said on 04.13.11 at 04:41 AM • [link]
I LOVE YA. However, I think a lot of what is in the YA section now would have been in SCI/FI Fantasy a few years ago. It is in YA because that is where the sales are now, much easier to market a book as YA and have it sell than as sci-fi/fantasy and have it languish on the shelf.For example Wither, Ann Aguirre’s latest which I just read (and loved) today; Enclave, the Hunger Games, Across the Universe, etc…
Isabel C. said on 04.13.11 at 05:26 AM • [link]
Carrie S: I agree. Frankly, I’ve had the irksome-and-untrue stereotype in two of my favorite genres already—fantasy and romance—and having it in YA is not a big surprise, but does irk.
There’s nothing wrong with not enjoying a genre, but those who *do* enjoy it do so for all sorts of reasons, and dismissing them as social twonks intent on reliving wasted youth seems as uncool as dismissing all romance readers as frustrated housewives, or all fantasy/scifi fans as Cat Piss Man.
R.J. said on 04.13.11 at 05:30 AM • [link]
I read some YA. I feel like I skipped over YA when I was younger due to two things. 1) My local library was under the control of a Nazi librarian who did not believe in change and, thus, the YA section was three or four cylindrical, rotating bookshelves and the rest was stashed in the children’s section, and 2) I only read fantasy and historical fiction when I was in middle and high school, and the books I would pick out to buy were mainly from the Firebird imprint whose goal was to bring adult fantasy to YA audiences.
That said, I am trying to explore non-fantasy YA, but I have no desire to go back to high school, and I have difficulty finding books that are not set in school. This semester I am taking a lit class called Representing Adolescence and we have read some ok books. But this lack of teenaged characters was not a lack at all. As I almost wrote about in one of my papers for this class, Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar books feature teen aged main characters, but are clearly marketed for adults. I never thought about this when I was reading the books, but on a recent re-read, with this class on my mind, I came to this conclusion and I think it explains why I felt so little need to read YA fiction.
On the negative side of YA fiction, I am not a fan of first person narration because it limits the view and I can only take so much of being in a high-schooler’s head with only his or her personality; I also can only read a select number of “adult” authors who write in first person for the same reason of wanting to see other points of view. The only author I always enjoy reading who writes in first person is Kathy Reichs, and she makes Tempe Brennan into a really interesting character and explains technical stuff in a concise way and uses lots a dialogue, which is a much for me. Internal thoughts can get really tiring after a while. Besides the lack of dialogue in first person narration, I believe my love for third person comes from my love of fantasy where there are multiple plot-lines going on at the same time (think Robert Jordan and his 75+page prologues). If the author wants to have POV characters, he or she can do what Suzanne Brockmann does with her deep POV where a part of the story is told using the POV character’s words. This allows for the intimate feeling of first person narration, but also allows for multiple views and plot-lines.
ladysugarquill said on 04.13.11 at 05:57 AM • [link]
(What’s with things eating my comments today? :/)
Personally, I just read books. (In fact, I only learned the term “YA” with teh Internets.) The reason I’m on my twenties and still go to the “children/teens” section of the bookshop while looking for something to read is because “adult” books seem do damn boring. They all are either:
- Tom Clancy novels or the like. I haven’t read any, and books are too expensive for me to risk buying one that may be awful.
- Paulo Cohelo or classic Latin American authors. I read half of them for school, and while this may seem horribly unpatriotic since I’m a Latin American, I find them more boring than sucking on a nail :/
- Something about “independent woman trying to balance a career and love and lose weight in the process” or something (sort of like Sex and the City). Which, again, boring.
I don’t care about normal people with boring normal lives. I like stories with heroes, villains, quests to save the world, things like that. So while now I often take a look at the Sci-fi or Fantasy sections, I’ll stick with “teen’s” lit. It has as much substance, and it’s much more fun.
Now, that doesn’t mean I don’t read “adult” lit ever. The Dune books are not children’s books, nor are the Dragonrealm ones or the Night Watch saga I’m reading now. And I’ll read mostly anything that’s been recced enough. Still, most of my faves are YA.
Now that I mentioned Dune, there may be another reason I don’t care for age labels. I read those books when I was 13. They’re definitely adult books (and the sex scenes did make me go “ew” XD), but no one ever told me I should or couldn’t read something because it was for certain age. On the contrary, my parents wouldn’t let me watch “A Clockwork Orange”, but they were OK with me reading the book. And I love Dune as much as I do certain Mickey and Donald comics from my childhood. A good story is a good story, no matter how it’s told.
ladysugarquill said on 04.13.11 at 06:04 AM • [link]
@Anonymousie
Because it is “adults like us”, and therefore boring? If I want to read college-age relationship drama, I’d talk with my friends.
@R.g.
.
This. Exactly.
@Lauren
I am sorry, pet peeve time: Book 5 Harry wasn’t being angsty. Book 5 Harry was suffering from POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER. Due to, you know, being kidnaped and tortured and witnessing a murder and having to fight for his life. At 14. I looked up the symptoms on the DSM-IV - it’s a perfect match.
Reading the comments, maybe my “problem” is that I loved high-school. With all its bad things, I was happier than I’m now, so there are no sad angsty memories to drive me away.
And also, there’s the fact that (related to the HP comment) I don’t believe in the concept of “teenage angst”. In all my life, I’ve only met ONE teenager who was the walking cliche (moody, angsty, nonsensically rebellious). I think is an invention of “adults” to avoid trying to understand young people. If your boyfriend cheats on you, it’s a life-changing drama the whole plot of a novel could revolve around (see “Eat, pray. love”); if your daughter’s does, it’s just “teenage angst”.
And yes, I am 34, but if that’s the standard, I’m proud to NOT consider myself an “adult”.
ladysugarquill said on 04.13.11 at 06:06 AM • [link]
And yes, I am 34,
I meant 24. *should not comment to things in the middle of the night ¬¬*
Evangeline Holland said on 04.13.11 at 06:12 AM • [link]
I don’t actively seek YA because dammit, I’m not that far away from my teen years that I want to look back at them through teenage characters. Plus, the latest YA releases just can’t compare to the books I loved as a pre-teen and teenager—especially Paula Danziger!
Jennifer said on 04.13.11 at 06:14 AM • [link]
I like a lot of the YA books out there now. It seems like many mainstream adult romance writers (or their publishers, from what some of the authors have said) are stuck in a setting/plot rut that makes nearly every book feel like reading deja vu. YA books just seem “fresh” with new plot ideas, various settings, and conflicts that differ from the same-old song-and-dance.
Some favorites:
The whole Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent - she has written these in such a way that I would be happy if the heroine ended up with *either* of the males interested in her. I’m always in one camp or another, but not here! These are soooo different from the adult paranormals today, too.
The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade - only the first one is out so far, but she’s planning a trilogy of them; I have no idea if these will even end up being romances, but they’re great fun. A stuck-up, perky cheerleader ends up dead, and the only one she can communicate with is the “loser” goth guy… neither of them are thrilled with the arrangement.
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher - definitely NOT a romance, but a very powerful read that will make you think about the impact your thoughts and actions could have on others
Forbidden by Tabitha Sazuma - yes, it’s incest, but you can literally feel the pain of the main characters. I’m not at all fond of the ending, but I’ll admit it “fits”.
Forget You and Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols - I loooove these books.
I will also freely admit to being a fan of iCarly, and a Sam and Freddie “shipper”... even though my teen years were already a distant memory a decade ago. :-)
Diana said on 04.13.11 at 06:18 AM • [link]
I am a adult reader of YA. My favorite young adult author and one of my favorite authors is Meg Cabot. I can always count on her books to put a smile on my face. I love reading about all those intense emotions that teens feel for the first time. I’ve always loved YA books and even as an adult, still enjoy reading them.
I also recommend the blog Forever Young Adult. Adults who love YA books come together, and the results are often funny and informative.
http://www.foreveryoungadult.com/
Cakes said on 04.13.11 at 06:49 AM • [link]
I love YA lit, but I’m picky too. I also married my high school sweetheart so, I don’t have an issue with HEA (cuz I got one!)
That being said, I’ve actually been having a hard time reading it lately b/c I have a YA son, and I can’t get out of the mother role as I read. It’s very distracting.
Aziza said on 04.13.11 at 07:21 AM • [link]
As I mentioned over in the comments on the review for The Luckiest Girl, the library catalog subject classification for Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading led me to Beyond Heaving Bosoms which led me (not really a romance book reader) to this site.
In regard to the post’s titular question: yes, I read YA books (and books about YA books).
Kate said on 04.13.11 at 09:25 AM • [link]
YA is a *big* genre, and I think it’s a little unfair to categorize every book starring an under-20 protagonist into the same section of the bookshelf and act like they’re supposed to be similar ... much like romance, huh? I read contemporary YA, and I’ve noticed, broadly speaking, two categories - books that are more like “chick lit” or Gossip-Girl stories, with superficial characters and plotlines focused around things like parties (with drinking! Le gasp!) and “mean girl” relational aggression. While some of these books can provide a guilty pleasure, I prefer books that are a little more serious without turning into Issue or Message Books. (I also suspect books about high-school royalty bother me because I certainly wasn’t popular at that age. I prefer heroines who are overachievers - I can relate to that - or “average” without being Mary Sues.)
An early commenter cited Anna and the French Kiss - excellent example. I also enjoyed:
Elizabeth Scott (though one of her books is more serious/intense)
Deb Caletti
Rosemary Clement-Moore, Prom Dates from Hell (kind of a parody of all this paranormal stuff)
David Levithan and Rachel Cohn, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
A.S. King, The Dust of 100 Dogs (kind of historical fiction? Not light and fluffy, either.)
More in the fantasy/SF area: Kristin Cashore, Graceling
Emily said on 04.13.11 at 09:59 AM • [link]
It’s ironic that I’m reading YA now, at 50. I never read it in Jr. high or high school. I went straight to the adult SF. I think part of it was how clean cut and moral the YA was back then. I read everything I could by Ursula Le Guin, the Women of Wonder short stories, and Ray Bradbury.
Now YA has much more depth and grey. Much of the interesting SF/F is in the YA section. Books that were marketed to adults 15 to 20 years ago are re-issued as YA books.
Of course I do come across some books and wonder why anyone would want to have their child read about such a doormat of a girl.
MaryK said on 04.13.11 at 10:31 AM • [link]
Yes, but not contemporary YA. About 90% of my reading is Romance, and I think I do have trouble believing in true love in high school. Though, I don’t read much contemporary adult Romance either. The contemp setting easily triggers my disbelief switch as well as my bored switch. I mostly (there are always exceptions) need my Romances to be larger than life so I go for Historical and Paranormal Romance and SF/F/UF with romantic elements. Another reason is that I don’t care for dystopian, coming-of-age or “message” novels and a lot of YAs fall into those categories. I do have some Contemporary YAs from the new YA wave on my TBR pile, but I approach them with caution.
The YAs I like tend to be the ones that transcend age ranges. Anybody of any age can read and re-read them. Two favorites that come to mind are McKinley’s Beauty and Jones’ Howl’s Moving Castle. I like YAs that feel very layered and seem almost to have a life of their own.
Literary Slut Kilian said on 04.13.11 at 01:57 PM • [link]
I neither seek out YA or avoid it. Good writing is good writing, and that’s what I like. I think sometimes the genre segregation rules are too rigid. I do reread a lot of books that I read when I was younger because I see so much more in them when I did the first time around and also because they remind me of an age when I had plenty of time to read and could spend it lavishly on whatever caught my eye. Now my reading time is so limited, I practically need a guarantee that the book will be worthwhile. I used to finish books compulsively, but now I’m more likely to stop reading and move on to something else if it seems to be a waste of my precious time.
Morphidae said on 04.13.11 at 02:50 PM • [link]
I also struggled with Yes or No. I like YA Fantasy and Science Fiction. But a big hell no for YA Romance especially high school romances. It was an awful time for me and I have no patience for the angst.
Jeannie said on 04.13.11 at 03:11 PM • [link]
Okay, broken record here. I’m a “no” vote because of the same reasons a lot of the others have posted: I’m past that stage in my life and I don’t want to go back. Having said that, I did try Twilight, mainly because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I managed to slog through it, and I KNOW that’s a terrible example of YA, and that there are MUCH better YA writers out there than Meyer.
I like my books with sex in them, adult sex, not teenage floundering. I read my first Harlequin when I was 15 and that was it, I was hooked forever on “adult” romances.
Funny thing is I have an 18 year-old son and his reading tastes are far more sophisticated than mine have ever been and they’ve been that way for a while. Not that he would be caught dead reading anything “romance-y” but I’ve tried to get him to read the Hunger Games Trilogy or some James Patterson YA’s and he won’t touch them.
Darlene Marshall said on 04.13.11 at 03:55 PM • [link]
I read YA when it receives recommendations from people whose opinion I respect. That’s how I found Maggie Stiefvater’s books, and I’ve enjoyed them.
Having said that, I don’t seek YA out. Along with some of the others here my attitude is I had enough angst in my own high school days, I don’t need to revisit it.
kellye said on 04.13.11 at 04:01 PM • [link]
@Isabel C.
Well said and made me smile.
What I love about books is that they are so different and can find their own readers. Some of the stuff mentioned here isn’t for me. That doesn’t mean it’s bad or less than or whatever. If you love it, good for you! Frankly, I’m surprised at some of the judgement I’m hearing . . . if I’m reading a book written in the pov of a 17 year old and the writer has done her job well, then I’m not thinking of myself as some 40-year-old perv grooving on a 17 year old boy. I’m THAT girl. Or I’m the boy wizard who lived. Or the bored, young housewife.
That’s the point of ALL books. In fact, literature is the only art form, where a person can “become” someone else and know what it’s like from the inside of his or her head/body. Is a YA romance really so different from, say, being kidnapped by the stern, sexy sheik or the shy widowed vet who just moved to town?
One thing for sure: Readers are passionate about their books, and that’s a good, good thing.
kellye said on 04.13.11 at 04:03 PM • [link]
@Isabel C. said: “There’s nothing wrong with not enjoying a genre, but those who *do* enjoy it do so for all sorts of reasons, and dismissing them as social twonks intent on reliving wasted youth seems as uncool as dismissing all romance readers as frustrated housewives, or all fantasy/scifi fans as Cat Piss Man.”
Well said and made me smile.
What I love about books is that they are so different and can find their own readers. Some of the stuff mentioned here isn’t for me. That doesn’t mean it’s bad or less than or whatever. If you love it, good for you! Frankly, I’m surprised at some of the judgement I’m hearing . . . if I’m reading a book written in the pov of a 17 year old and the writer has done her job well, then I’m not thinking of myself as some 40-year-old perv grooving on a 17 year old boy. I’m THAT girl. Or I’m the boy wizard who lived. Or the bored, young housewife.
That’s the point of ALL books. In fact, literature is the only art form, where a person can “become” someone else and know what it’s like from the inside of his or her head/body. Is a YA romance really so different from, say, being kidnapped by the stern, sexy sheik or the shy widowed vet who just moved to town?
One thing for sure: Readers are passionate about their books, and that’s a good, good thing.
kellye said on 04.13.11 at 04:07 PM • [link]
D’OH! The website told me twice that my post had an error, so I assumed it was the quote box thingy and removed it the third time.
Also, I realize I have a writing error. I don’t think the shy vet would be kidnapping someone… please forgive the bad writing (gasp!). Need more coffee.
Guess I’ll say: Is a YA romance really so different from, say, being kidnapped by the stern, sexy sheik or flirting with the shy widowed vet who just moved to town. (I realized “widowed” implies female. Let’s say this is a lovely lesbian romance.)
Getting the coffee…thanks for the great, spirited conversation.
kellye said on 04.13.11 at 04:10 PM • [link]
Yes, I had to look it up. Apparently the verb “widowed” can mean making a widow or widower. Still, I prefer the Lesbian vet scenario. And now I really am going to get some coffee and wish you all a delightful day.
Last post, promise. Well, probably.
Lindsay said on 04.13.11 at 05:02 PM • [link]
I am going to have to answer with a “no”, for the most part. Especially as far as romance titles go. Probably the main reason for this is although my teen years were pretty typical (filled with angst and frustration and obsessing about what people thought (even though I declared I didn’t), lots of growing and mistakes and giving my mother gray hairs, and thankfully, lots of fun and good memories as well), I’m only 23. Barely out of my teen years and I have no desire to return to those years at the moment. I’m just getting comfortable with this adult thing.
All those teenage emotions and trials and hormones are held dearly in my memories, but whenever I try to pick up a YA that’s been recommended to me, I can’t get past the first 2 or 3 chapters. I find myself rolling my eyes at the usual I’m-cooler-than-you attitude towards the adults, the awkward rebellion, the angst over problems that are huge to them and were huge to me, but not anymore. I find myself squirming with discomfort, fingers itching to reach for an “adult” novel. I feel bored, to be honest.
So, in short, no. I don’t read YA. Maybe someday I will. Maybe someday I should in case I start, heaven forbid, forgetting what it was like to be a teenager. Perhaps it’ll give me patience with future teenage children. But right now, no thank you.
I should add that some books that would probably be considered “YA” I do love. For instance, I re-read the Anne of Green Gables series last year and adore it still. Am going through the Chronicles of Narnia again and still love them. A couple of years ago I was helping my niece through Huckleberry Finn for school, and still laugh and cry. And of course I very much like the Harry Potter series. So I guess it depends…
Heather said on 04.13.11 at 05:23 PM • [link]
I wish you’d had a sometimes option.
I don’t generally actively seek out YA books, but if I hear about a good one (On the Jellico Road) or I find out an author I enjoy has a YA book (Kelley Armstrong) I’ll read them. Otherwise, not so much.
Virginia Llorca said on 04.13.11 at 05:42 PM • [link]
Glad to see Anne of Green Gables is alive and well. And I forgot all those Dragonriders of Pern books which the son is carrying on, so I guess, yeah , I do read YA. And if you ever need even a little taste of teenage angst, put David Archuleta’s ‘Crush’ on your iPod while on the treadmill.
Hell Cat said on 04.13.11 at 05:45 PM • [link]
I’m slowly rediscovering YA after not reading since…uh, I was, young. The thing I like most about them is the fact it’s not Talk Down situation. Characters are allowed to be complex, to be that lovely grey in morality. My favorite series is Wicked Lovely. It’s paranormal (faaaaeries) to me, yet it reminds me of a non-para world, too. Ash is growing up, along with her peers, and they’re realizing just how dangerous it is. Not because of politics, just that the pulls you feel at one time might not be the same even if you want it (Keenan). Or that growing up physically doesn’t mean you’re necessarily grown up mentally or emotionally without some scarring (Seth). Or that loving isn’t necessarily HEA, even if it’s hard to face (Donia). Or that straddling two cultures can consume who you are from both and force you to make some of the hardest decisions based on your needs (Ani).
There’s something really relate-able to that, I think. All those you feelings you can/may/will feel as you’re transitioning from young adult to grown adult, and it’s not necessarily something you feel in mandated years. Growing up isn’t set to a definitive time line. I think maybe that’s why some adults read it. We can be grown in body, but feel like there’s a little piece that needs to slide into place to give the full picture. At nearly 30, I have my own ghosts to squash and the YA often gives mes the opportunity to see more that I was missing at the time. To give some unintentional self-truths.
That’s the deep meaning. The shallow meaning comes down to the fact I don’t judge by genre, but by quality of material. Just because it’s in the YA section doesn’t make it any less valid that any Adult category.
And it seems like the romance portion of YA seems to be a bit more varied than the Adult section. Meaning that it’s not all HEA at each round up, where everyone lives in a perfect bubble (unless you’re a Wakefield) with the picket fence and perfectly merged, balanced family. It might break your heart to read it, but it’s a good primer to life out of high school, or early college. The changes you face later on in the real-life romance world and how complex it can be.
JamiSings said on 04.13.11 at 06:08 PM • [link]
I just like to read, period. Adult, YA - I even read the obviously directed at kids series Suddenly Supernatural, which is about a 13 year old girl who can see and talk to ghosts.
I’m fondest of the paranormal ones though, not the romance so much. I guess because I didn’t date in high school it just makes it harder for me to relate - and if I can’t relate to a book I don’t like it. It can be The Greatest Book Ever endored by God Him/Herself - if I can’t relate, I won’t like it.
I also like the Generation Dead series, even though I’m normally not into zombies.
Emily said on 04.13.11 at 07:06 PM • [link]
My favorite young adult books are the ones I read at a young age Harry Potter, Little Women, and L. M. Montgomery and Lovelace.
My feelings run as follows:
I think as my mom said “A good book is a good book is a good book.” a really good book is always good.
That being said it saddens me that people seem to like young adult, beause adult books aren’t good. People should be able to find good books in all genres.
I don’t want to read about young adult books where they have sex although I was a big fan of the Alice books by Phillis Renolds Naylor. Again it helps that this series before I was a young adult.
I have a lot of religious friends and so I do know women who read young adult as a way clinging to childhood and being afraid to deal with sex. These women have been told their whole lives that sexuality is wrong (unless they are married. and then they are expected to have kids right away.) I like young adult books, but I also feel bad to see people to see people use them the way some of my friends do.
Its kind of like the way people used to read rape novels (supposedly).
It seems like even as my friends get older; they are still trying to live up to their parents’ expectations and live with their parents’ censorship.
WandaSue said on 04.13.11 at 07:08 PM • [link]
I read lots of YA when I was in junior high. I didn’t read Beverly Cleary as much as the “Beany Malone” books by Lenora Mattingly Weber, and the novels by an author named Elisabeth Hamilton Friermood. Oh my, but I loved one particular book of hers so much—“The Luck of Daphne Tolliver”—that I spent over $70.00 to purchase it a few years back; a fine library copy, its clear plastic dust jacket still doing its job. A WWI story written in the late 1950’s, it still holds up—the emotions and hardships of war somehow still resonant and relevant during these times of Iraq and Afghanistan.
What is so amazing to me is that these “classic” YA novels were written in the 40’s and 50’s—ancient by the time I got to reading them as a “tween” and young teen. Yet they hold up for today stronger than steel. Proves that there is nothing new in the world—especially the angst, confusion, pain, and eventual joy of being a teen. And that no matter how old we get, we never forget ...
kkw said on 04.13.11 at 07:25 PM • [link]
YA has never called to me.
I have certainly read much better YA since, and I am frequently baffled by the disparate categorization - one person’s YA is another person’s adult, and a third person’s children’s literature - but anyone way you slice it there is plenty of YA out there that’s great. But…
I only read it when it is pressed upon me. I’m not sure why, in part I suppose simply because I am not the target demographic. Why would I read a kid’s book? I’m not a kid. Doesn’t mean the books aren’t good. Doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with adults who do read them. If I liked them that would strike me as an excellent reason to read them, it just so happens I don’t particularly.
As to why…taste is what it is, mostly. I read too quickly to enjoy short books. I dislike condescension, and anything didactic, which are hardly universal YA flaws but common enough to make me wary. I have no idea why anyone would choose to dumb down information for a child, but I couldn’t stand it then and now I don’t have to - I know they’re not all like that, but it’s a problem in all modern literature and more rampant where kids are concerned, so I shy away from YA. But it’s not like horror, the only genre I can’t abide, because I’m too chickenshit to cope. I like YA fine, but since it has never resonated with me, when I reread books for comfort, books that I’ve loved all my life, they won’t be YA.
MaryK said on 04.13.11 at 08:34 PM • [link]
YA is a weird genre in that it’s not topical. What distinguishes it from other genres is the age of its target audience. (Which is why there are so many older books being “rebranded” as YA. Somebody decided kids might like it and, presto, suddenly it’s a YA book.)
Some authors can write to the YA age group without simplifying everything and some can’t. Other than the contemporary aspect, that’s the biggest problem I’ve encountered with YA. I more or less abandoned reading it after my brush with it as a teen. All I ever came up with back then were silly characters I didn’t care about or depressing morality tales so I started actively avoiding YA. Now I’m finding that a lot of YA books I would’ve liked were hidden in topical genres like SF/F. (It didn’t help that all the YA and kids books at the library had those terrible primary color library bindings with no distinguishing features besides title and author.)
JenD said on 04.13.11 at 08:42 PM • [link]
I’m not a YA fan. Even when I was in the age bracket YA is marketed to- I always enjoyed adult novels more. When I was younger the YA I read were about teens I couldn’t relate to- the Sweet Vally High twins made me uncomfortable and grossed me out. (dating myself there) I enjoyed adults doing adult things, not kids trying to be adults.
Perhaps I like a little more way-hay-hay action in my books and a little less omg-who-am-I angst?
JamiSings said on 04.13.11 at 09:02 PM • [link]
That is something that annoys me. Seeing Sherlock Holmes suddenly branded as “young adult.”
Then there are those who think anything with magic is YA - therefore The Dresden Files gets labeled as YA. Which makes me face palm as the books are aimed at grown ups.
What’s next? The Dexter Morgan books put into Juvy-Fiction?
I like the classication by the children’s librarian where I work the best. “Anything with a teenage lead 16 or older is Older Teen. Anything between 13 and 15 is a Younger Teen. Sexual issues with a teenage lead is Older Teen.” (We don’t do Young Adult anymore. It’s all either Children’s, Younger Teen, or Older Teen.)
Chelsea said on 04.13.11 at 09:24 PM • [link]
That makes so much more sense then saying “Young Adult”. There is a big difference between the maturity level of a 13 year old at that of an 18 year old.
kellye said on 04.13.11 at 09:31 PM • [link]
@MaryK
I respectfully disagree. We discussed this a lot at Vermont College in the MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program. (Besides learning to write for children and teens, we read a TON, classics and new releases, and also were required to write literary criticism.)
My understanding is that YA, at its most basic, is about the teen experience as it happens. That is why best-sellers such as Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld or Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones are not considered YA even though they focus on a teen protagonist. The difference can be subtle or obvious, but YA does not include an element of adult perspective, a looking back from outside the teen experience. It follows a teen in the teen years.
Obviously, lots of teens read adult books, including Prep and The Lovely Bones, but that alone does not make them YA books.
@MaryK
I’m not sure what you mean about simplifying everything, although I suspect we’re back to the argument that so many have already made. If a reader craves quick, mindless fluff, there’s a teen book for that—and adult books. It’s not about the YA label.
I’m not trying to talk anyone into reading anything they don’t want to—but I am trying to make a case that there are excellent, literary-quality books out there that are labeled YA and read by teens and adults alike.
I’ve always loved what the late Robert Cormier said (I’m paraphrasing): I write for the smartest reader I can think of. That reader just happens to be 16.
kellye said on 04.13.11 at 09:51 PM • [link]
I should add (because apparently, that’s what I do here, now): There are always exceptions and rules are meant to be broken.
Read on!
MaryK said on 04.13.11 at 10:27 PM • [link]
@kellye
I don’t disagree with that, but I don’t think it’s reflected in the actual practice of what gets a YA label stuck on it. Much like publishers try to sneak onto the Romance shelves books that don’t reflect what readers expect to find there.
And it’s a good explanation for why a lot of YA doesn’t appeal to me. I’m not interested in the teen experience.
I’m not sure how to explain it. I can’t think of any examples and that’s probably not a good idea anyway. In my head, some books read in 2D and some in 3D. YA, at least the YA from my days, seems to have a larger proportion of 2D books. Or maybe it’s just that the pool of YA books is smaller. Plus, YA is lowish on my favorites list so my tolerance for mindless YA fluff is lower.
I certainly don’t dispute that. Those are the kind I like, though we might disagree on which ones are excellent. As a qualification “a teen in the teen years,” encompasses every other genre as long as the protagonist is experiencing the teen years. IMO, such a diversity of subject matter makes it harder to come up with mutually enjoyable books.
kellye said on 04.14.11 at 01:34 AM • [link]
MaryK, Thanks for your response. You’ve given me some interesting ideas to think about.
I do hear what you’re saying about the inherent problems associated with the range of YA subgenres. Mystery, scifi, historical, etc etc etc, they can all be YA. Strangely, this hasn’t been a problem for me and it has broadened my reading, which has done me a world of good.
Thanks for your elaboration on 2D/3D. I think that’s a great explanation! I just would hate for you or anybody else to judge all YA as 2D, especially if you haven’t read it in a long time. (It’s kind of funny that I’m feeling this way, like I want to defend YA’s honor or something. LOL.) On the other hand, I hear you loud and clear that you don’t want to read about teens, and that’s cool, too. Life’s too short to waste on bad books—or even not-right-for-you books.
(Though, as an experiment, we could swap a read…we’d tell each other what we’re interested in and try to suggest a favorite book for the other to read. Or not.)
I enjoy all kinds of books, but YA is my first love. You know what they say about your first . . .
Josie said on 04.14.11 at 03:24 AM • [link]
I prefer to read about adults. More specifically, adults who behave like adults.
I had always assumed that the readers of YA were mainly young teenagers, children in junior high. Guess I was wrong. Yet once more.
Hell Cat said on 04.14.11 at 04:52 AM • [link]
Wouldn’t that negate half the adult romance section, then? How many books are labeled adult romance when someone marries someone else within a week, usually a single parent with kids, but if a teen that it’d be too young to read? I mean, it’s a HQN staple plot line, especially the single parent falling head-over-heels within moments (be it the nanny, neighbor, rude cowboy, boss, whatever) while fighting the attraction before landing in bed two nights later. Not exactly mature adult material, more teenage hormone surge. A lot of young people in or just out of high-school get hitched, and some are already parents. It’s not like everyone is an airheaded bubble fish as a teen, young or old. Truly, I don’t see the difference in age range. I’ve known many people in real life that are two or three times my age and act half mine. But that doesn’t mean I ignore the teens who have real life problems.
I started Wondrous Strange (YA Romance, I think) and while the protag is a teen, she’s 17 and living on her own in NYC. Well, with a roommate, but the closest family is in the Catskills. She’s trying very hard to make it work with family secrets she didn’t know about. Urban Fantasy/Fantasy as a subgenre, but how many young people have attempted to live on their own that early? (I know of quite a few high school graduates that move out right away.) Instead of glossing over the experience, the book is simply addressing a life stage in more detail and how it’s not always easy, feeling homesick. But the reactions are mature, they’re sometimes naive, but they’re still mature. I haven’t discounted teenage reactions since my baby brother reached the age range about 8 years ago. Just because someone is young in age doesn’t mean they’re young in life experience.
infinitieh said on 04.14.11 at 06:06 AM • [link]
I switch between romances and YA or children’s books. Of course, when I was a teen, I didn’t read teen books but sci-fi/fantasy and mysteries - in the adult section. The reads I remember from when I was a teen tend to be ones like “The Catcher in the Rye”, “The Glass Menagerie”, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”, “Death of a Salesman” - all the angst but without a whole lot of teens (except for Catcher in the Rye).
I like YA books unless the teen angst gets ridiculously high (Melissa de la Cruz’s Blue Bloods or P. C. Cast’s House of Night, anyone?). Sometimes it’s just angst but way more fun and insightful than any teen I’ve ever known (Ruby Oliver series by E. Lockhart). Still, no more post-apocalyptic/dystopian reads for me (“Tender Morsels” or any zombie books by Carrie Ryan).
Lizzy said on 04.14.11 at 07:02 AM • [link]
I absolutely love YA fantasy/sci-fi. I pretty much only read YA when it comes to those two. I think they tend to have better worlds and more uniques stories. Some of my favorites are His Dark Materials, Sabriel, Graceling, and Tithe. It might be because I’m still in my early twenties so I’m not very far removed from the target audience. Some of the comments on this page have been down right nasty towards the very idea of reading YA and I find that very indicative of how too many adults treat teenagers. Most teens are not irrational bags of hormones. Many of the teenagers that I grew up with, myself included, were dealing with some big issues. Poverty, sexuality, death, addiction, unplanned pregnancy, abuse, and a host of other things that adults struggle with and have yet to find easy solutions to. It seems like too many of us grow up and forget what it was like to be young. Characters can be mature and well developed or shallow stereotypes, and I have read novels for all ages that have both types. Many of the adult women in romance novels behave in a fashion that even my 16 year old self would have found distasteful.
Ankaret said on 04.14.11 at 02:30 PM • [link]
I don’t read much YA. The only YA book I’ve read and enjoyed recently is Sharon Lee and Steve Miller’s Fledgling, and I probably wouldn’t have picked that up if I hadn’t enjoyed previous books by that writing team.
Like kkw, I’m turned off by didacticism, and also more often than not when someone gives me a YA book to read, I’m left feeling as if I’d eaten aerated bread - there’s not enough there to satisfy me. I’m sure there are books this doesn’t apply to, and I know there are light reads in all genres, but I just keep running into these two problems with YA often enough that it’s put me off the genre.
Also, I have enough friends who love YA and assume everyone else loves it too - I once made a post in my LiveJournal about how I don’t like YA books and someone recommended me YA books in the comments - that it’s put me off trying YA books, which I know is unfair.
Bottom line is, I like category romances better for a quick fix and fantasy doorstops better for a long read, and I find I can spend my monthly book budget just fine on them without looking into YA.
kellye said on 04.14.11 at 03:40 PM • [link]
@Lizzy: Well said!
@Ankaret: Didacticism (hard for me to say, harder to spell) is a major turn off for me, too.
This made me smile. I’m sure your friends meant well, and it’s funny that YA fanatics (yep, like me) think that those who don’t like YA just haven’t connected with the right one yet.
Ankaret said on 04.14.11 at 06:42 PM • [link]
@kellye: Aww, I’m sure they meant well! I love my YA-loving friends, it’s just that I have so many books in my TBR pile already that when people offer to add to it I wonder whether it’s some kind of dark plot to make my house explode from pressure of books inside. :)
kellye said on 04.14.11 at 09:12 PM • [link]
@Ankaret: That’s funny, and I hear you!
sweetsiouxsie said on 04.15.11 at 06:32 AM • [link]
Yes! I read some YA. Two favorites are Fifteen by Beverly Cleary and the Pink Dress.
JamiSings said on 04.15.11 at 07:20 PM • [link]
@Chelsea said on…
04.13.11 at 11:24 AM
I understand that’s why we relabeled them. Because the older teens were complaining that they were getting “Young Adult” stuff only to find it’s too childish for them.
Melissa said on 04.18.11 at 02:57 AM • [link]
I read tons of YA fiction, and while I do occasionally read adult novels as well, I think I’m starting to prefer YA to be honest. I love the contemporary YA novels whether they’re of the romance or edgy variety, but I also read a lot of paranormal and dystopian literature as well.
One book in particular that wowed me - and which might appeal to your readers - is Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford.
MaryK said on 05.12.11 at 05:49 AM • [link]
@kellye
For some reason it always takes me a while to get back to long comment threads.
I promise I don’t disdain all YA. :) I’m just extra cautious of it. I have several from the recent boom on my TBR pile (Sarah Rees Brennan, Elizabeth Bunce, Jennifer Echols, etc.) as well as a few established authors (Susan Cooper, Charles de Lint, Sherwood Smith, Patricia C. Wrede) I missed along the way.
Care to comment?
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