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Hi out there, Mainstream Internet. I know if you're reading my blog, you probably are not, actually, Mainstream Internet, but I'd like to address you anyway, theoretical people who aren't actually reading this, because it's come to my attention that you are NOT GETTING the basic point of one of the cornerstones of my career/occupation/vocation, YA Literature.
Okay, this has always been the case. But with both the Hunger Games trailer and Breaking Dawn, the Movie Part 1 coming out in one week, the comments keep popping up, out there in the Mainstream (ie, NOT blogs devoted to young people's lit in general) Cyberworld:
"Would an adult like this, or is it just one of those YA things?"
"I actually thought it was pretty good, for YA."
"You know, you have to give its faults SOME leeway, it IS YA."
"I stay away from YA. I read that other one everyone was talking about, and NEVER AGAIN."
"Of course it's got that ROMANCE aspect, because it's YA and has to appeal to THEM..."
"I didn't get the feeling it was YA at all while I was reading; you could enjoy it."
I don't particularly care whether you feel the individual work or YA in general is good or bad. What these comments really tell me, as a YA librarian, writer, and yes, very frequent reader, is YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
A YA book is one that attempts to capture a particular mindset-- that of someone caught between childhood and adulthood. The main characters will usually undergo, to some extent, some kind of Coming of Age.
Beyond that, anything goes.
If you read a YA book that you think is crap, that's not because it's YA. It's because it's crap. There's a lot of crappy YA fiction out there. There's also a lot of crappy adult fiction. TELL ME THAT'S NOT SO. But you don't hear people saying, "I read an adult book once, and it was crap, so all adult books are crap." Granted, I don't read much adult fiction. But this is because it DOES, usually, tend to be longer than YA and I don't have a lot of reading time, and I can't justify spending that much reading time on something I can't pretend is for my job. It is NOT because I have hated every dang Oprah's Book Club book I've been forced to read at some point in my life, and have therefore decided to write off adult fiction forever. Though I do admit I've written off everything Oprah claims to like.
YA is also not necessarily simplified compared to adult fiction. If anything it tends to be more tightly EDITED, less likely to wander away from the plot into the writer's own ego-trip bits that they just COULDN'T, COULDN'T cut out. But is there rich, vibrant worldbuilding to be found in YA? Yes. Deep concepts and philosophical questions? Yes. Beautiful turns-of-phrase and poetic stylistic choices? Yes. Can these qualities be found in EVERY YA book? Not at all. But can they be found in every ADULT book? Even less likely.
YA is also full of sex, drugs, violence, and strong language. It's also full of the complete lack thereof. Just like in adult fiction!
One thing you ARE more likely to find in the YA section than in the adult section is a blending of genres. Maybe this is why so many people think YA IS a genre in and of itself, and so all books with the designation should be lumped together. But not only can you find EVERY GENRE of books you would find in the adult section in YA, you can also find books that cheerfully, even ARTISTICALLY, defy genre expectations and mix genre together. There are a lot of exciting, daring literary things being done in YA. There's also a lot of bland, predictable things being done there, too. JUST LIKE IN THE ADULT SECTION!
And you know what's really amazing? Chances are if you don't like, say, adult fantasy, you also won't like YA fantasy. And THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT BEING YA! So if you read a YA book once that you didn't like, what does that prove? That you didn't like that book. Chances are there's a book you WILL like, maybe even LOVE, in the YA section, if you, say, trust the recommendation of a knowledgeable YA librarian or such.
And when you find such a book? No need to be embarrassed about it. No need to say, "I loved it, even though it's YA." YOU LOVED IT. No apology necessary. Do you apologize for reading James Patterson and Dan Brown? Should you? ...no. There's no need to apologize there, either. A Good Book is a Good Book and it's a Good Book because you GOT SOMETHING OUT OF IT. Don't let other people's opinions invalidate your own.
So, thank you for your time, Mainstream Internet. I hope you come again. And come with an open mind and a request for reading suggestions. I can point you to some great titles.
Okay, this has always been the case. But with both the Hunger Games trailer and Breaking Dawn, the Movie Part 1 coming out in one week, the comments keep popping up, out there in the Mainstream (ie, NOT blogs devoted to young people's lit in general) Cyberworld:
"Would an adult like this, or is it just one of those YA things?"
"I actually thought it was pretty good, for YA."
"You know, you have to give its faults SOME leeway, it IS YA."
"I stay away from YA. I read that other one everyone was talking about, and NEVER AGAIN."
"Of course it's got that ROMANCE aspect, because it's YA and has to appeal to THEM..."
"I didn't get the feeling it was YA at all while I was reading; you could enjoy it."
I don't particularly care whether you feel the individual work or YA in general is good or bad. What these comments really tell me, as a YA librarian, writer, and yes, very frequent reader, is YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
A YA book is one that attempts to capture a particular mindset-- that of someone caught between childhood and adulthood. The main characters will usually undergo, to some extent, some kind of Coming of Age.
Beyond that, anything goes.
If you read a YA book that you think is crap, that's not because it's YA. It's because it's crap. There's a lot of crappy YA fiction out there. There's also a lot of crappy adult fiction. TELL ME THAT'S NOT SO. But you don't hear people saying, "I read an adult book once, and it was crap, so all adult books are crap." Granted, I don't read much adult fiction. But this is because it DOES, usually, tend to be longer than YA and I don't have a lot of reading time, and I can't justify spending that much reading time on something I can't pretend is for my job. It is NOT because I have hated every dang Oprah's Book Club book I've been forced to read at some point in my life, and have therefore decided to write off adult fiction forever. Though I do admit I've written off everything Oprah claims to like.
YA is also not necessarily simplified compared to adult fiction. If anything it tends to be more tightly EDITED, less likely to wander away from the plot into the writer's own ego-trip bits that they just COULDN'T, COULDN'T cut out. But is there rich, vibrant worldbuilding to be found in YA? Yes. Deep concepts and philosophical questions? Yes. Beautiful turns-of-phrase and poetic stylistic choices? Yes. Can these qualities be found in EVERY YA book? Not at all. But can they be found in every ADULT book? Even less likely.
YA is also full of sex, drugs, violence, and strong language. It's also full of the complete lack thereof. Just like in adult fiction!
One thing you ARE more likely to find in the YA section than in the adult section is a blending of genres. Maybe this is why so many people think YA IS a genre in and of itself, and so all books with the designation should be lumped together. But not only can you find EVERY GENRE of books you would find in the adult section in YA, you can also find books that cheerfully, even ARTISTICALLY, defy genre expectations and mix genre together. There are a lot of exciting, daring literary things being done in YA. There's also a lot of bland, predictable things being done there, too. JUST LIKE IN THE ADULT SECTION!
And you know what's really amazing? Chances are if you don't like, say, adult fantasy, you also won't like YA fantasy. And THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT BEING YA! So if you read a YA book once that you didn't like, what does that prove? That you didn't like that book. Chances are there's a book you WILL like, maybe even LOVE, in the YA section, if you, say, trust the recommendation of a knowledgeable YA librarian or such.
And when you find such a book? No need to be embarrassed about it. No need to say, "I loved it, even though it's YA." YOU LOVED IT. No apology necessary. Do you apologize for reading James Patterson and Dan Brown? Should you? ...no. There's no need to apologize there, either. A Good Book is a Good Book and it's a Good Book because you GOT SOMETHING OUT OF IT. Don't let other people's opinions invalidate your own.
So, thank you for your time, Mainstream Internet. I hope you come again. And come with an open mind and a request for reading suggestions. I can point you to some great titles.
