Musing Mondays: Young Adult

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Musing MondaysWhy do you think that the Young Adult genre is so popular with even the adult readers? Do you read YA books, yourself?

I think YA is popular for several reasons. First of all, it’s in the midst of some kind of renaissance, perhaps ushered in by writers like Lois Lowry and Laurie Halse Anderson. There is simply a lot of really good YA fiction out there right now. I think one of the reasons it is popular with adult readers is that we were all young adults once, and I think good fiction, whether the protagonist is a little girl like Scout Finch or an elderly man like Jacob Jankowski, is always appealing. Therefore, I don’t see why a teen protagonist shouldn’t appeal to an adult. I also think the [amazon_link id=”0545162076″ target=”_blank” ]Harry Potter[/amazon_link] series, the [amazon_link id=”031613290X” target=”_blank” ]Twilight[/amazon_link] series, and the [amazon_link id=”0545265355″ target=”_blank” ]Hunger Games[/amazon_link] series had massive appeal for fans of all ages. Perhaps one reason for the popularity of YA is that these books prompted readers to pick up other YA fiction.

I do read YA. As a matter of fact, I am on my third YA book this month. I don’t read it exclusively or even a lot when compared with my normal reading habits, but I have never felt any shame in reading it, and I have enjoyed reading it since I was a young adult myself.


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2 thoughts on “Musing Mondays: Young Adult

  1. The YA label confuses me. Sometimes I think it means that a book features a young adult as the protagonist. Others times I think it means it was just written to the level of the young adult audience. I tend to like the first but not the second.

    1. I would tend to agree. I think the ones that have more universal appeal don't worry so much about their "audience" and just write something that feels true and has compelling characters. I like Neil Gaiman's thoughts on the matter. He says he doesn't really think about "audience" when he writes (he writes for all ages from children to adults). He just writes the book he wants to write and lets his publishers worry about who to pitch it at, but even then, he balks at labels like "YA" and the like. I like him a lot. He's got a good head on his shoulders.

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