Can someone please explain YA to me?
I remember being a young adult. Barely! And I realize things have changed in the world since the 80's, I get it. Kids are supposed to "know more" than we did. And Lord knows there are far more books out now geared towards teens then back in the day.
But come on.
I can tell you now that in 1985 women were NOT reading the same books I was. What is going on? It's not like Judy Bloom and Madeline L'engle aren't as good as Stephanie Meyer or Libba Bray or whoever that guy is that wrote "The Specials". In fact, IMHO Jude and Maddie wipe the floor with them but whatevs.
I am an author. I write about magic and women and romance and MAGIC. I write under the guise that readers can suspend disbelief, even if they are not children. Otherwise all the fun stuff there is about being an adult like uhh, say...having sex and complex relationships and grey morality and being WISE have to be left out of the equation.
So the question I have, is why is that probably 8 times out of 10 when I click on someone's profile here on Goodreads, it is an adult woman who primarily reads YA? Why even bother calling it YA anymore? What is going on? Is it that women are nostalgic for the innocent trappings of youth? Or is it that the really imaginative books, with fantasy or sci fi premises are only getting media attention in the YA genre? Is it "more" okay to buy into the concept of the supernatural if its happening to a girl or a boy?
Either way I'm getting a little sick of this. YA publishers know that an adult is just as likely to read their book now as a young person, so just like that, adult audiences are catered to. And let me tell you as a mother of an eleven year old girl and a six year old girl, no matter how grown up they SEEM, they are still children. I wish to God Twilight had not been marketed to tweens. Where are you Sweet Valley HIgh?! I feel like girls are missing out on a truly innocent time of reading.
But not only that, women of the world, hey! There are fantasy and URBAN fantasy books out there geared towards you! I wrote one! Check it out!
Rant over:) Happy day.
But come on.
I can tell you now that in 1985 women were NOT reading the same books I was. What is going on? It's not like Judy Bloom and Madeline L'engle aren't as good as Stephanie Meyer or Libba Bray or whoever that guy is that wrote "The Specials". In fact, IMHO Jude and Maddie wipe the floor with them but whatevs.
I am an author. I write about magic and women and romance and MAGIC. I write under the guise that readers can suspend disbelief, even if they are not children. Otherwise all the fun stuff there is about being an adult like uhh, say...having sex and complex relationships and grey morality and being WISE have to be left out of the equation.
So the question I have, is why is that probably 8 times out of 10 when I click on someone's profile here on Goodreads, it is an adult woman who primarily reads YA? Why even bother calling it YA anymore? What is going on? Is it that women are nostalgic for the innocent trappings of youth? Or is it that the really imaginative books, with fantasy or sci fi premises are only getting media attention in the YA genre? Is it "more" okay to buy into the concept of the supernatural if its happening to a girl or a boy?
Either way I'm getting a little sick of this. YA publishers know that an adult is just as likely to read their book now as a young person, so just like that, adult audiences are catered to. And let me tell you as a mother of an eleven year old girl and a six year old girl, no matter how grown up they SEEM, they are still children. I wish to God Twilight had not been marketed to tweens. Where are you Sweet Valley HIgh?! I feel like girls are missing out on a truly innocent time of reading.
But not only that, women of the world, hey! There are fantasy and URBAN fantasy books out there geared towards you! I wrote one! Check it out!
Rant over:) Happy day.
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Don't even get me STARTED on Twilight. Ugh. However, Sweet Valley High was pretty bad too...Jessica was a total sociopath!!