Beth's post yesterday got me to thinking about another part of that Slate article she referenced - the part that said... " But right now Y.A. is hot hot hot, and it's like the older you are, the cooler it is to watch teen movies and read Y.A. books."
Uh... if I were the taking-offense kind of person (which thankfully I'm not!) I could take offense at that. (Cause some people might consider me, you know... OLD!) But, I've been reading YA (no periods, please!) and watching teen movies since... well, since I was a teenager. (Think Nancy Drew, Beach Blanket Bingo, A Hard Day's Night, etc.) Guess what? I still do read YA novels and watch teen movies - but, not because they're hot properties. Nor do I write YA books because it's the 'hot' area of publishing right now.
Nope - I've been enjoying these books & movies for decades - because I LIKE THEM! There is something about the teen years that I love. I love the personal dramas, the fast friendships, the dreams of one's future, the sweetness of first love, the feeling that you'll live forever... I love that YA authors write stories that have plots... that are unaffected (because teens won't fool with affectedness)... that can be brutally honest, but that are real. The sixteen year old inside of me is not about to give up her YA because it's hot - or not - as long as it's good. (I mean... what is not to love about Clueless? Or Harry Potter? Or Shiver? Or Suite Scarlett? Or... any of the Leagues' books? The list goes on and on...)
What is it about YA movies & books that you love?
Picky, Picky, Picky...
  The League of Extraordinary Writers is a group of debut YA authors who write science fiction and dystopian works. The ten of us have works that run the gamut of near-future mind control to far-future space travel, but they do have one thing in common: a future where the Earth we know now is twisted, gone. |
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7 comments:
I think what I love the most about YA movies and books is that element of 'what if'. They haven't been told to 'grow up' or 'get real', YA books are all about finding your own path, not looking back on life with jaded eyes.
So many times when I read an 'adult' book, it seems like it has a flavor of lamentation, about life could have been, or about how you can still reclaim things, or just reflecting on the past.
YA is all forward, or at least the movements within the books is a forward one. I love that. It's all open possibilities, open roads, rising mountains.
I love that the ones I read don't pander, because teens are too damn smart for that, and won't stand for it.
For me the best part about YA is that it's not brimming with bullsh^t. I have little patience for adult books that navel gaze or take too long getting to the plot. And YA paranormals aren't filled with more sex than story like adult paranormals are. The romance has more tension, and the stories are just plain more interesting. Most importantly, YA is infused with a sense of hope that adult books don't really bother with.
Need I say more? ;)
That time of life was so exciting and traumatic for me, that it will always be fresh. Writers can call up their old selves, their alternate selves or would be-could be selves at any age. That's part of what makes them good writers.
Well said.
Count me in with those who write YA because I like writing about that time of life, not because it's hot, hot, hot (in fact, I think that money-oriented mentality is what's adding so much substandard fare to the YA genre).
What fascinates me about YA is this: in your teenaged years, you're really gaining/ already have gained that adult awareness of the world, you're starting to question things you used to take for granted, yet at the same time, you have the same position of relative powerlessness that younger kids still do. I think that's a fascinating dichotomy, adult awareness without adult autonomy or authority.
I like to read a lot of YA fiction because the characters are much more interesting and the relationships are better to read. I do agree with the Slate article though. YA is hot and I do believe a lot of publishers are asking several of their adult writers to submit to this genre to see if they can generate some money. I don't view it as anything bad they are creative people too and all we should do is just let the market sort it out.
Great comments, all! Thanks for stopping by! :)
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