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Well, here I am posting about how I have spent time examining my likes and dislikes when it comes to entertainment and now an article on Slate pops up and tells me that I should be ashamed for enjoying these kinds of stories.
This article has a LOT of issues. It sounds like that the author has only read two children's novels in the 1990s (YA Lit wasn't even a genre then), and A Fault in Our Stars and a few other Hot Titles...and this is the breadth of her YA reading list. Other than that, she seems to only read books that she has been told are "classics". And then proceeds to tell us how we shouldn't enjoy reading, and that she doesn't want to tell us what to read but, we are morons for enjoying "books written for children."
The label of Young Adult is a marketing tool, not a genre. It usually just means the characters are teenagers and the content is appropriate for that age group (i.e. deeper than Children's literature but perhaps not as graphic as adult). It has nothing to do with quality. Or reading level. It's just a shelf in the book store or library. And that shelf is open to everyone, of all ages.
Mark Shrayber of Jezebl has a nice rebuttal piece
And we all know the label of "adult literary fiction" has it's own issues.
But anyway, that is not the point. Instead of judging other people and what they read, perhaps Graham needs to look inward and talk about why she doesn't enjoy books labeled as "Young Adult".
( don't tell other people what they SHOULD enjoy )
TL;DR - Read what you want. Love what you read. Embrace whatever genre you are a fan of and just revel in the power of a good story.
And if you're stuck for your next book, ask your Librarian. We promise to find you something YOU will enjoy.
This article has a LOT of issues. It sounds like that the author has only read two children's novels in the 1990s (YA Lit wasn't even a genre then), and A Fault in Our Stars and a few other Hot Titles...and this is the breadth of her YA reading list. Other than that, she seems to only read books that she has been told are "classics". And then proceeds to tell us how we shouldn't enjoy reading, and that she doesn't want to tell us what to read but, we are morons for enjoying "books written for children."
The label of Young Adult is a marketing tool, not a genre. It usually just means the characters are teenagers and the content is appropriate for that age group (i.e. deeper than Children's literature but perhaps not as graphic as adult). It has nothing to do with quality. Or reading level. It's just a shelf in the book store or library. And that shelf is open to everyone, of all ages.
Mark Shrayber of Jezebl has a nice rebuttal piece
And we all know the label of "adult literary fiction" has it's own issues.
But anyway, that is not the point. Instead of judging other people and what they read, perhaps Graham needs to look inward and talk about why she doesn't enjoy books labeled as "Young Adult".
( don't tell other people what they SHOULD enjoy )
TL;DR - Read what you want. Love what you read. Embrace whatever genre you are a fan of and just revel in the power of a good story.
And if you're stuck for your next book, ask your Librarian. We promise to find you something YOU will enjoy.
