When it came to writing this week’s column, I realized I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to write about. Summer TV is ending, fall TV is still three weeks away. I’m sure I could write an entire column on my complaints about Doctor Who* or True Blood**, but I’ve talked about the Doctor the last two weeks and Sookie Stackhouse is best soon forgotten. I just didn’t know what would be topical to write about this week.
Then I updated my Goodreads account and realized I’ve read 11 books in the past month — five of those just within the past week. Four were young adult novels (even if only three were classified as such — more on that later). This started me thinking about the debate over adults reading YA novels. I know there are a lot of people who judge adults for reading books ostensibly targeted at teens. And I admit, when I was working as a bookseller, I developed the bad habit of judging everyone for what they were reading — particularly anyone who read James Patterson or nearly anything found in the romance section.
Which will probably make me sound like a hypocrite when I say that I don’t think it’s fair to judge adults who read YA fiction. There is nothing wrong with reading YA fiction. I certainly wouldn’t be caught dead reading a Clique novel or any similar series, but there are a lot of YA novels that I do enjoy, and people have a lot of different reasons for reading YA literature.
Some people choose to read YA novels because they’re just good. Naturally, I’m not talking Twilight here. I recently read Paper Towns by John Green and was really impressed by how well it’s written and how the story could ring true with readers from just about any walk of life. The only other novel I’ve read by Green has been the much more hyped The Fault in Our Stars, but while that too was well written, I think Paper Towns was a much more interesting novel. It has more to do with finding yourself and discovering who you are, which, granted, seems to be a teenage concern on its surface, but everyone can feel a little lost at any point in their lives.
There are many other authors out there aside from Green who publish thoughtful, well-written novels for teens. When I was a teenager, the only novels I remember reading that were targeted for my age range were The Face on the Milk Carton and Whatever Happened to Janie?, both by Caroline B. Cooney. Many of the other novels offered at the time were trivial and seemed like a waste of time. (I do admit to being a big Sweet Valley fan: Twins, High, University — I read everything I could about the Wakefield twins, though I grew out of them earlier than most.) By the time I was 13, I was already reading more John Grisham, Michael Crichton, or Tom Clancy novels than YA fiction. Now, however, there seems to be a lot more variety for teens, and not everything being offered is trivial nonsense.
Some people choose to read YA fiction as a form of research: either they want to write novels themselves or they are either parents or teachers who want to familiarize themselves with what is popular among the age group they interact with. I think this is a very logical reason for reading YA novels. If you interact with teenagers on a regular basis, knowing what they’re reading can give you a look at what kinds of things they are interested in or what motivates them.
Then there’s the fact that, sometimes, you just need a break from reading adult fiction and want the light, trivial nature of YA fiction. I read a wide variety of books, but every once in a while, I want something that doesn’t take much time or effort to read. I love Anna Karenina, but getting through that entire novel was work. Sometimes it’s nice to read a novel that you can finish in less than a day. Even if it’s not the next great American novel, it may still be an enjoyable read.
Besides, adult fiction isn’t always any deeper or more literary than YA fiction. Give me the Twilight books over a novel with Nicole Richie or Snookie‘s name on the cover any day.
I picked up a copy of The Witches of East End last week out of curiosity, since I’ve been watching the television version, and I was surprised by the simplicity of the novel and the lack of plot. This is supposed to be an adult novel. I found it in the teen section, but the jacket proclaims it is Melissa de la Cruz‘s first adult novel. Aside from a few more explicit scenes, there is nothing that sets it apart from any other supernatural romance novel on the YA shelves. (If anyone was at all curious like me, just skip it and pick up Deborah Harkness‘ All Souls trilogy instead; that is a much better series of adult novels concerning witchcraft.)
So I don’t think there is a problem at all with adults reading YA novels. Some stories are timeless and can impact you no matter what your age, and others are just fun reads for when you have a few hours to kill and don’t want anything too dark or deep. I would, however, recommend balancing your YA reading with some adult novels. Variety is good, and it probably isn’t wise for an adult mind to constantly be reading stories from the viewpoint of lovesick/moody 17-year-olds.
However, there is so much literature available these days, in so many various forms, that you should never allow anyone to tell you what you can and cannot read. Reading should be enjoyable no matter what book you choose.
* — What’s up with the Doctor suddenly deviating from his “Nobody dies” mantra by sacrificing one to save the rest in last week’s episode? Seriously, I love Peter Capaldi, but I really am a little concerned about what’s going on there, and why he’s suddenly so much colder than previous Doctors.
** — How bad was that True Blood series finale?? I know it aired a couple weeks ago, but I’m still not over it; it made the controversial finale of How I Met Your Mother look like fan fiction.