Friday, December 13, 2013

Discussion Question: Why Read YA?


Why do you read YA?  What do you like about YA?  As an adult reading YA, sometimes I feel like I have to justify it a little.  I stopped reading YA when I was about thirteen years old.  There just wasn't as much as there is now and I was just bored with it so I read mostly "adult" books (a lot of romance novels, to be honest, bodice rippers, chiseled long-haired guy on the cover, you know the books).  Then after college I read mostly pseudo literary type books, the ones you mostly read in book clubs and you could feel good being all intellectual (sort of).  But then I discovered YA again.  Harry Potter, Twilight, The Hunger Games.  The ones everyone was reading so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.  And now that's mostly what I read.  So what is it about these books that I love so much?  What do you love so much about them?

I think the main thing is that I almost never get bored reading YA.  To be honest, when reading so-called "adult" books, it's usually way too easy to put the book down.  TV is much more appealing.  I don't know if there's just too much description, not enough action, or what, but most of the time I'm just so bored.  But with YA, maybe it's because since teenagers are the primary targeted audience (which is debatable, I know) the authors don't waste a lot of time with unnecessary plot, language, etc. because they have to keep the reader's attention.  The books usually start out hooking me in and it's like watching TV or a movie, I just can't stop until I'm done.  They're just so fast-paced.  Most of the time I'm furiously flipping through the pages (or swiping the kindle) to find out what happens.  Interesting plots, characters who I become emotionally invested in, and even in the darkest books, there's usually hope and happiness (which is why I get very unhappy when there's not a HEA).  

Another reason may be because what I'm reading is so completely different from where I am in my life that it's truly an escape.  Which is the primary reason I read.  I don't want to read about some older person dealing with kids or divorce or death of a spouse or something that may hit closer to home (even if I'm not dealing with it, it could happen).  I don't want to read about an adult paying bills and going to work and doing home repairs (Yeah, I know, sounds like a bestseller...not).  Instead, I want to read a contemporary like Anna and the French Kiss, where the MC goes to high school in Paris.  Or a dystopian like Delirium, where love is a disease and the MC has to fight the government to be free to love.  Or a fantasy like Throne of Glass where the MC is an assassin competing to stay out of prison with two hot guys falling for her.  Or I want to read about vampires, gargoyles, werewolves.  Fun stuff, right?

In the end, why do I read YA?  They're just good books.  I'm entertained.  

So what about you?  Are you an adult reading YA?  If so, what do you like about YA?


Posted by:  Pam

10 comments:

  1. I'm definitely well past the age to read YA at 28 I often feel crazy when in the book store shopping alongside kids who squeal at the sight of a bare chest, and have braces and backpacks. What started it for me was none of the obvious ones it was Maze Runner by James Dashner. I picked it up thought it was weird and totally unlike anything I would ever read but I did and before I knew it I was running for the next and waiting for the next and then I just started looking more seriously for others, read Divergent and kept going.

    I found them much more exciting and put together than alot of the books I was reading. I needed an escape from life's harsh realities and YA gave me that with all its crazy imagined worlds. So now it's pretty much all I read and I love it although some are a little juvenile but for the most part they're really good!

    Great discussion topic!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I know what you mean. I do wonder if the teenagers are wondering why I'm buying the same book they are. But yes, I think it boils down to escape and that they're just really good book! ~Pam

      Delete
  2. I will never stop reading YA. I agree that it's more interesting than adult a lot of times. The pace is a lot faster because I guess teens have a short attention span? But the fast pace is what I love. I love tearing through the book, unable to put it down, unable to stop turning the pages. I love screaming at my brain to read faster because I need to know what happens. And these characters. They are so interesting to me. You want to root for them, you want them to succeed because they're just kids and many times no one thinks they can do it bc they're "just kids".

    And I also read books to escape and like you said, YA allows us to really escape. That's honestly why I don't read too many "issues" books because I don't want to read about sad real life things. I want to read about dragons and assassins and dystopian worlds and corrupt governments and extraordinary experiences. YA brings all those things to the table with fast-paced plots and characters that you can truly root for.

    And let's not forget about all the swoony guys (that I pretend are really in their 20s so I'm not creepy...). LOL.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Since I've been reading so much YA, "adult" books seem even slower. So I think the fast pace definitely is appealing and keeps me reading when normally I would put the book down.

      And I have read some "issues" books, but I usually read the fantasy, dystopian, sci-fi and when I do read a contemporary, I tend to read the fun and fluffy ones. So definitely an escape for me.

      Yeah, I do feel a bit guilty when I'm swooning over some young guy...I just try to forget how young they are then. :)

      ~Pam

      Delete
  3. I'm also an adult reading YA, but I hate how we always try to put labels and stickers on things. Just because it's targeted for YA and is about younger people, that doesn't mean you aren't allowed to read it as an adult. I like to read whatever I want to read :)

    I love reading everything. YA just captures me with it's broad genre, but I also branch out to MG and adult. I just enjoy reading.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, it's definitely a label and a lot of times it's marketing. But I do think there are things that YA book have in common...all good. ~Pam

      Delete
  4. I love this discussion. I'm 28 and also "rediscovered" YA lit when I was well into my 20s, after spending most of my teenage and early 20s reading more literary stuff. I think your point about it being an escape is spot on. I'm not sure I would have wanted to read about high school drama when I was actually in high school, but now that I'm 10+ yrs removed, it's great!

    I also just really enjoy storytelling. So much modern adult "literary" fiction gets bogged down in froofy language and is just depressing and boring...at the end of the day, I just wanna read a damn good story that pulls me in and makes me feel something, and I feel like YA books can much more frequently deliver that these days than modern adult fiction.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree. I read for escape and then yes, with "literary" fiction sometimes I feel like the authors are trying to hard and are concentrating so much on the language and the sentence structure, etc. that they forget about the most important thing (at least to me): writing a good story with characters you become emotionally invested in. ~Pam

      Delete
  5. Hmm that is a good question. But I don't have a good answer hah. I guess there is more variety. And I get bored easily, so the shorter page count helps. But I am not sure if I prefer ya over adult necessarily. I was mostly reading YA before I started blogging, and then we chose to do a YA only blog which kept me reading YA. But I have no complaints because I love this genre obviously. IDK my answer might change in 5 minutes. hah I really haven't though this through.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do prefer YA over "adult" fiction right now, although I still am reading other genres. Some of the "adult" novels I've read and enjoyed lately are still different than what I was reading before, though. And some are by YA authors so maybe I just like those particular authors. Like Richelle Mead (I really enjoyed Gameboard of the Gods). ~Pam

      Delete