Thursday, January 31, 2013

Are Adults Ruining YA for actual Young Adults?

A few days ago, I was reading a book, annoyed with the fact that the two narrators were acting like such children.  They were annoying, grating, and I nearly quit the book because of it.  The reason I kept reading was because the narrators...yeah, they WERE children.  Teenagers.  And their annoying ass behavior was totally in character.  It wasn't the author's fault. In fact, the author was doing a fantastic job of realistically portraying the way two teens in that situation would act, speak, and think.  Once I got over that, I really enjoyed the book.

More and more, I've been running into that sort of sentiment.  Judging by Goodreads (which isn't at all scientific), the average reader of YA is a woman between the ages of 20-50 who loves romance and love triangles and supernatural creatures.  And that is being seen more and more in the actual books.  Romances in YA books aren't just the norm, they're practically required.  Some form of paranormal (or dystopian or zombie) almost guarantees eyeballs on the book.  And the lines between what used to be considered acceptable in YA and what's considered acceptable now is blurring to the point that there's been a push over the last couple of years to create a category called New Adult, which is basically YA with more sex.

The problem is that when I hear someone bash a YA book for being too juvenile, it really irks me.  Not that all teens are juvenile or that all YA books have to be juvenile.  I'm absolutely opposed to dumbing down books or talking down to an audience (and teens will call you on that shit faster than any audience), but when adults read a YA book and bash its "teenness" I have to wonder if we're ruining YA for actual teens.  

Sure, it's great that adults feel more comfortable reading YA these days.  I read a ton of YA, but I read it knowing that I'm reading YA.  I don't diss a YA book that features teens acting like teens.  In fact, the YA books I dislike most are the ones where the teens act uncharacteristically like adults!  And when I crave a book with adult themes, I read an adult book.

The thing is, I don't think the problem is with readers.  I think the problem is with writers and publishers.  I think that part of the reason people are flocking to YA books is because they're so much more interesting than what's being published in the adult realm.  But instead of bending YA books to meet the taste's of adults, shouldn't we be making adult books more interesting?  

Make no mistake, I don't fall into belief that adults should read adult books and kids should read kid's books.  I think kids can read adult books and vice versa.  But when adults read a YA book, it should be to read it for what it is, a young adult book.

Take the movie Superbad.  We laugh at Jonah Hill and Michael Cera because they're portraying kids.  They're being stupid and immature.  If they were adults, the whole movie would have been really sad. But we don't finger wag at them and complain that they're not acting mature enough.  Because that defeats the point of the movie.  

Who knows.  Maybe I'm off my rocker.  Maybe this is a non-issue.  Or maybe it's like Facebook.  Cool until your grandma joined.   


12 comments:

  1. Hmm. I often get told my YA characters are too mature, or at least that their "voice" is, but then, I was a very thoughtful, mature teenager, even when I was drunk or high, so sometimes it feels like I can't win.

    I write about the kinds of kids I was, and was around, but I don't necessarily write for those kids.

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    1. Teens can be mature and still be teens. I think AS King writes teens that are definitely teens while being at the very mature end of the spectrum. John Green, on the other hand, writes the kinds of teens that I don't think exist anywhere except in a parents' wet dream. Of course, this is purely my opinion. As a teen, I was a pretty good kid. Not a heavy drinker, didn't do drugs. But I was still an a-hole.

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    2. Actually, I think Jack is a great example of a teen. Self-centered, confused, preoccupied with sex, but still utterly brave and awesome. He handles adult situations in ways that are often mature and thoughtful, but still gets scared about that first kiss.

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    3. Can you believe I haven't read any John Green yet? But yes, both Vera and Lucky were very mature, thoughtful kids, and I thought they both worked beautifully as characters. The character in the pirate book wasn't really a teen, IMHO, so I don't count her.

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    4. I think John Green has some real talent. In fact, I think he's probably worthy of all the praise heaped on him. However, I don't think he's writing YA. I think he could really write the heck out of an adult book and make adults excited about reading. To me, his teens are all mouthpieces for John Green. Contrast that with Evie from Libba Bray's The Diviners. She's 17, in the 1920's, drinks, parties, and yet is still a really great realistic teen character.

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    5. Interesting. I have a couple of his books, so I'll see what I think.

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  2. Yes yes yes. I cannot tell you how much I agree with everything you've said here. Great post.

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    1. Thanks! It's not even that I'm opposed to books that deal with adult issues, I just think we should all be honest about who we're really writing for.

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  3. I'm with you. I've seen reviews like that too of various books, and often the reviewer will even say, "Maybe this would be better if I were a teen." Well, duh. And, on the flipside, you get reviews that say "teens would never do this or that" (referring to sex or drinking, etc.). I think some adults don't want to believe what teens are really like. Heck, some teens don't believe that stuff goes on either. The interesting thing with books is that we read them from our own perspectives. We bring to them what we know and that can kill or make a book for us. Sorry for rambling. This post makes lots of good points and it's hard for me to stick to just one thought. :-)

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    1. “We bring to them what we know and that can kill or make a book for us." And when a book really connects with our perspective it’s magic. I think, like adults, there are all sorts of teens living all sorts of lives, so I would have thought publishers would try to reach all those different types of readers. Not convinced that such a variety is available.

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  4. I bet you’re right that many more adults buy YA than we’d think. Apart from the intended audience (like you say, teenagers, lest we forget), I think YA reading is best for adults who easily slip back into their teen self (or maybe never left it!). Totally agree that YA should be a authentic teen read not an adult book with a young flavour (those books should be in the adult section). Hum, maybe there's the problem - calling it Young Adult and not something more like Teen. “New Adult”, huh? How about if they keep the YA label for the “New Adult” type books and create a new name for true teen reads, because YA content can be tricky? I understand that in kids books, the reader is generally a couple years younger than the protagonist. A lot of parents struggle to find teen themed books that remain age appropriate. Like someone commented and I agree, not only is there a lifestyle gap amongst teens (Indeed just like adults.), but also there’s a big difference between a 13 yr old’s and a 17 yr old’s perspective.

    Thanks for the interesting post.

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    1. Thanks for commenting!

      You make a great point. There's a huge difference between a 13y/o and a 17y/o. But all teens aren't the same either. A book that might be too much for one 13y/o might be perfect for another. That's why I think parents and librarians and booksellers are so important. Getting to know kids and know what kinds of book they might like and would be appropriate for them is the key.

      My middle school librarian always knew the right book to put in my hands. She never condescended to me, and her recommendations were always spot on. My parents were the same way. Involved in my reading, but not restrictive. We had an open relationship so that if I read something I didn't understand or that confused me, I felt confident that I could talk to them (or my older brother) about it.

      I actually think publishers are missing out on an opportunity to cross-market books, but I've also seen some great stuff like authors publishing an adult and YA book set in the same world, connected by plot. I think that's pretty genius.

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