Young
Adult literature, otherwise known as YA lit.
Many, when they think of the genre, immediately think of books like Twilight,
and Gossip Girl, or other series that
have been turned into wildly popular television shows and movies (I’m looking
at you, Pretty Little Liars and The Mortal Instruments.) And they also
probably don’t think very good things about these books. There’s a popular notion of the YA novel as
trashy, typically age-appropriate fluff, and aimed at airhead teenage girls,
but this is usually the perception of someone who had never really read a YA
novel, at least not recently. Yes, books like Twilight—books written for a mass audience whose writing seems to
have been motivated more by satisfying their readers’ desire to know what
happens next—exist, but they’re not the only YA fiction available. What’s more
important, perhaps, is that even though they do exist, these particular,
“non-challenging” YA novels follow important facets of the category, guidelines
that are seen in more comprehensive, fleshed-out books, of varying genres.
YA
fiction does have literary merit, and its stigmatization is unfair. It is wrong
to assume that a book in the YA category is written for a female audience only,
and an unintelligent one at that. Doing so robs young women of the agency they
have in choosing what to read for themselves, and implies that they cannot read
“real” books. Additionally, this further stigmatizes the young men who read an
YA novel, whether or not that particular book is deemed “girly.” It is vital
that society realizes YA isn’t just for teenage girls, and has equal importance
for teenage boys. The lack of recognition of YA novels that appeal to young men
is part of the problem, suggesting that “boys don’t read” or if they do they’re
not reading the same “low-quality” books young women read.
What
defines young adult literature? Books that are written about people ages
thirteen to eighteen and that are also aimed at them. An obvious criterion
maybe, but an important one to keep in mind, particularly when examining the
subject matter in YA literature. This can range from a romantic or sexual
awakening or experiences, dysfunctionality in some form—most often in the
family life of the protagonist, or a conflict with an authority figure. Most commonly
and importantly, however there is a discovery or quest for discovery of self.
Believe it or not, when examining books like Twilight and its sequels, you will see these aspects of YA there:
Bella is an awkward teenage girl who has never had a boyfriend before she falls
in love with a vampire who’s adopted, and together they rebel against the
ruling vampire government, finally giving Bella a place where she fits in.
As
I’ve said earlier, YA is not limited to books with entertaining but societally
–deemed psychologicaland irrelevant content. There are young adult novels that have much
more breadth and deal more deeply with issues such as drug use, homosexuality,
suicide and death, and divorce, to name a few. And while the popularity of YA
novels seems to be a recent trend, it’s actually not. Go Ask Alice, published in 1971, Catcher in the Rye in 1951, and The
Outsiders in 1983, are all young adult novels. This suggests a need for
young adult literature, at least in the twentieth century. YA is important because
part of being a teenager is feeling isolated, as if there is no one, or almost
no one who understands you, at least in the real world. But pick up a YA novel,
and you will find yourself confronted with a character who likely feels just as
isolated, if not more so than you. Even outside the realm of reality-based YA
fiction, moving into genres such as fantasy or dystopian, characters teenagers
can relate to exist within their pages.
Isn’t finding your own truth in someone else’s words one of the most
beloved pleasures of reading, no matter the genre? More importantly, not only
teenagers relate to characters in YA stories. Adults who choose to read young
adult fiction are not indulging in immaturity or a lack of challenge, but
choosing to experience raw, relatable storylines.
Take
Veronica Roth’s Divergent, for
example. Even in a world where society is split into five factions based on
ruling values, and each sixteen year-old is given an aptitude test which tells
them which faction they belong in, the main character, Beatrice struggles with
her identity. She can’t be placed in her aptitude test, which makes her
dangerous and a threat to the structure of the society. Beatrice makes the
decision to leave her family behind and join the most fearless of the factions,
keeping her status as a divergent a secret, falling in love with one of her
tutors and getting caught up in a sinister coup d’etat. “It’s important for
teens to have something that matters, ”
YA author Maggie Stievfater says, rather than something that’s theirs. While
perhaps not every teenager can relate to being a part of a government
conspiracy, surely anyone can relate to feeling, somehow, like they’re not
fitting in.
Additionally,
YA novels have gained relevancy even beyond their pages. The interaction
between the authors and their readers is one that has been expanded with
increased use of social media. Perhaps the most well known example of this is
with popular YA author, John Green. Green, who has written several novels, most
notably The Fault in Our Stars and Looking For Alaska, has an incredibly
huge fan base, in part due to the Youtube channel with his brother. The Green
brothers make videos, directed towards each other, but with topics and
questions that they direct that their viewers, a community that has grown and
is known as Nerdfighteria, with its members called Nerdfighters, who do not
fight nerds, but rather are made
of awesome. This community is made up of teens and adults, and they not
only pose questions to the brothers and watch their Youtube videos, but also
interact with other Nerdfighters in the comments sections, on Tumblr, and in
forums on other various websites. It is important to note that this community
is not built around Green’s books, but rather that his books drew in many of
the people who make up the community, and that it has grown far beyond his
books. These connections that Green has facilitated weave a web of human
strands that move beyond his books’ stories and into the real world.
Other
authors, such as Rainbow Rowell (Eleanor
& Park, Fangirl) use their own life experiences to touch on difficult
themes such as poverty or body issues, but in a way that promotes connectivity,
and share these experiences with their audience through discussions and
readings as well as through social media, giving fans the ability to connect in
a way that feels authentic. The authors write YA novels that, in a sense, help
teenagers learn how to be adolescents, and remind adults what it was like,
maybe not so long ago. Authors that move beyond the pages of their work further
facilitate these experiences are working to strengthen the credibility of the
genre in the eyes of those who write it off.
In
short, young adult literature is not something that can be easily written off
as flighty or insignificant. It is a medium that allows for real conversations
and relationships to develop around topics and feelings that everyone
experiences at one of the most turbulent, transitory times in their lives.
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