Nowadays so many of the books everyone's on about are YA. I never enjoyed the genre even when I was the right age for it, but it feels like the people who read it are always 40 years old, and so this isn't just a kid's genre.
If I were to guess at the qualities that make me dislike it, first is how neither the language nor the subjects tend to have anything complex about them — which makes me feel like I'm getting dumber as I read them.
Secondly, it often overlaps with my least favorite genres — sci-fi/fantasy, coming of age stories, and rah-rah war stories (I'm okay with stories like All Quiet on the Western Front that are in a war, but the story isn't really about seeking to win the war).
I suppose ultimately, the question becomes, are there any YA books that don't amount to: "Goody-two-shoes demonstrates how with the power of friendship and moral superiority you can achieve anything that is popularly considered to be positive"?
by PeregrinePickle
2 Comments
I loved “We Were Liars” by E. Lockhart – and had no idea it was considered YA until well after I had read it.
If you don’t like YA, you don’t have to read YA. By definition, the prose, characterization, and themes will be simpler than those found in adult fiction because this genre is primarily written for teens in mind. Forcing yourself to read it expecting the complexity found in adult literature will just make you frustrated.