There have been several series of YA books that netted thousand, even millions, adult readers. YA often gets the same disrespect as romances do. People who read popular YA titles often do so at their own risk. Many adults regard them as immature, not quite ready to handle mature fiction. This ridicule comes from people who aren’t readers and don’t understand the compulsion to read.
Writers often have the same disrespect for YA too. Most of their attitude centers on earnings and success. The reasoning goes parents have to buy books for their children and are less likely to buy with abandon for their offspring than they would for their own consumption. There is also the issue of writing about what you know.
Writers often have the same disrespect for YA too. Most of their attitude centers on earnings and success. The reasoning goes parents have to buy books for their children and are less likely to buy with abandon for their offspring than they would for their own consumption. There is also the issue of writing about what you know.
S.E. Hinton, the teen author who penned The Outsiders, certainly knew the angst of teens, but she wasn’t a male or a gang member. All those books about vampires, polyamorous unions, and billionaires probably weren’t personal experience tales either. This is where imagination plays a major part.
With the success of the Twilight, Harry Potter, and The Hunger Games series, many would be authors have started penning their own YA book. Why read or write YA stories?
· Some of these stories are amazing. Why limit yourself? I occasionally read to young children. I found myself caught up in The Family under the Bridge, a middle grades book about a homeless family. Even after the children went to lunch, I was still reading.
· Most YA books have the protagonists facing a challenge, an experience that changes the way they view life. It would be great if we had these experiences when we all were teens, but many have them much later in life. This epiphany occurs often after children, a betrayal, a loss or other momentous occurrence allowing the reader to identify with the story.
· The young love element often attracts jaded adult readers. Who doesn’t like to remember the magic of first love? Social media is a tool that allows people to reconnect with their first love or reassure themselves that he or she isn’t as hot as they once were. Still, most people want to experience the rush of the initial attraction when everything was new.
· The PG nature of that love. YA genre traditionally includes cuddling and kissing. Any bedroom action happens off screen, so to speak. Readers who don’t want to delve into regular romances that now offer sexual acrobatics worthy of Cirque du Soleil or enough people coming through the bedroom to populate a sitcom, YA fits the bill.
· YA books often address hard issues in understandable ways. The Hunger Games addressed topics such as society and class, sacrifice, and identity.
· Good YA books often empower the readers allowing them to think they can make a difference similar to the protagonist. Bad YA books just portray teens as self-absorbed mean girls.
· One YA author explained to me that people enjoy YA books because it takes them back to that special time in their life. As an adult with adult problems, there is an appeal to go back to the teenage world. Although, some of the problems YA heroes face aren’t the ordinary ones. Consider the later Harry Potter books, Harry wrestles with life, death, and losing one’s soul.
· Many YA books becomes movies. The Fault is in Our Stars is a tearjerker of a book and should be a tissue-worthy movie. People who never ever read the book, will go to the movie, and then decide to read the book.
· Many parents also read YA books before allowing their child to read them to check content.
· My old school often assigned summer reading books. A common sight was mothers paging through the assigned books while waiting for their child to finish football or volleyball practice.
· Teachers and librarians read dozens of YA books to pick the right ones for their limited educational budget.
With the success of the Twilight, Harry Potter, and The Hunger Games series, many would be authors have started penning their own YA book. Why read or write YA stories?
· Some of these stories are amazing. Why limit yourself? I occasionally read to young children. I found myself caught up in The Family under the Bridge, a middle grades book about a homeless family. Even after the children went to lunch, I was still reading.
· Most YA books have the protagonists facing a challenge, an experience that changes the way they view life. It would be great if we had these experiences when we all were teens, but many have them much later in life. This epiphany occurs often after children, a betrayal, a loss or other momentous occurrence allowing the reader to identify with the story.
· The young love element often attracts jaded adult readers. Who doesn’t like to remember the magic of first love? Social media is a tool that allows people to reconnect with their first love or reassure themselves that he or she isn’t as hot as they once were. Still, most people want to experience the rush of the initial attraction when everything was new.
· The PG nature of that love. YA genre traditionally includes cuddling and kissing. Any bedroom action happens off screen, so to speak. Readers who don’t want to delve into regular romances that now offer sexual acrobatics worthy of Cirque du Soleil or enough people coming through the bedroom to populate a sitcom, YA fits the bill.
· YA books often address hard issues in understandable ways. The Hunger Games addressed topics such as society and class, sacrifice, and identity.
· Good YA books often empower the readers allowing them to think they can make a difference similar to the protagonist. Bad YA books just portray teens as self-absorbed mean girls.
· One YA author explained to me that people enjoy YA books because it takes them back to that special time in their life. As an adult with adult problems, there is an appeal to go back to the teenage world. Although, some of the problems YA heroes face aren’t the ordinary ones. Consider the later Harry Potter books, Harry wrestles with life, death, and losing one’s soul.
· Many YA books becomes movies. The Fault is in Our Stars is a tearjerker of a book and should be a tissue-worthy movie. People who never ever read the book, will go to the movie, and then decide to read the book.
· Many parents also read YA books before allowing their child to read them to check content.
· My old school often assigned summer reading books. A common sight was mothers paging through the assigned books while waiting for their child to finish football or volleyball practice.
· Teachers and librarians read dozens of YA books to pick the right ones for their limited educational budget.
Then there is the question of why do writers write YA. The reasons can be as numerous as why people read YA. In the end, I don’t think great books really should be pigeonholed under one specific genre. I was surprised to discover The Hobbit under the YA category. J.R.R. Tolkien, an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, probably never thought he was writing a book for middle grades or teens. He was simply writing from the heart.
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