How YA Changed My Life or Why I love YA!
As many of you know, I'm a big fan of YA Lit. I chose it as my topic for my 100 Things, I'm a proud contributor at Teen Lit Rocks, my last four NaNo novels have been YA, and, most recently, I've chosen to turn my love of teen lit into a career as a teen librarian.
The question often arises as to why I read YA. I’ve seen more than enough criticism from people who don’t believe adults should read it. I’ve seen arguments that adults who read YA are emotionally stunted and immature and that authors who write YA are looking to reimagine their high school experience and give their self-insert characters lives that they were too pathetic to have as teenagers. (By the way, both statements are so incredibly insulting that they make my head explode.) I’ve even had a friend who told me she found YA “repulsive.”
But I like to believe that books are for everyone and that people can enjoy a good book no matter what their age or who the books were marketed toward. I enjoy YA books for so many reasons. I believe YA has a universality that other genres don't have. We've all experienced first love, first heartbreak, parental issues, and the fear and excitement of taking a new leap toward the future. I like reading about teenagers because they’re on the brink of their adulthood. It brings about so many really strong and complicated feelings, and I think that experience is genuine. Also, for the most part, YA fiction is optimistic and hopeful. I like that.
I also want to mention YA writers, many of whom I admire and respect. I appreciate their creativity, but I also appreciate that they treat their audience with respect. They remain connected to their readers and seem to have true appreciation and affection for them. Many of them go out of their way to help young writers to grow and learn. This is something I definitely wish I’d had as a young adult.
When I was in my late teens and early twenties, I took numerous creative writing classes in college. Without really knowing it, I was sort of writing YA. I was writing about young people experiencing first loves and transitioning into adulthood, but I always felt inferior to my classmates. I didn’t think I’d experienced anything important since I was so young. Some of my professors and classmates had such negative feelings about “genre” fiction, too. If you weren’t writing depressing, thinky pieces, then you were doing it wrong. While I made good grades in the classes, they left me incredibly discouraged about my writing and as a result, I stopped writing altogether.
I STOPPED WRITING.
It wasn’t until I got into the Harry Potter fandom and found such a supportive and wonderful community that I got the confidence to write and share fan fiction. I rediscovered YA literature and I started writing original works again. The YA authors I admire have inspired me to keep writing, to keep working, and to be proud of who I am and the stories I want to tell.
In my job at the library, I have the honor of pointing people in the direction of the books that I’ve read and loved. Every time I can recommend one of my favorite authors to a teen, my heart is filled with pride. I love it and I’m so grateful that I have that opportunity.
PS. Library school admissions packet went in the mail today. Wish me luck! ♥
The question often arises as to why I read YA. I’ve seen more than enough criticism from people who don’t believe adults should read it. I’ve seen arguments that adults who read YA are emotionally stunted and immature and that authors who write YA are looking to reimagine their high school experience and give their self-insert characters lives that they were too pathetic to have as teenagers. (By the way, both statements are so incredibly insulting that they make my head explode.) I’ve even had a friend who told me she found YA “repulsive.”
But I like to believe that books are for everyone and that people can enjoy a good book no matter what their age or who the books were marketed toward. I enjoy YA books for so many reasons. I believe YA has a universality that other genres don't have. We've all experienced first love, first heartbreak, parental issues, and the fear and excitement of taking a new leap toward the future. I like reading about teenagers because they’re on the brink of their adulthood. It brings about so many really strong and complicated feelings, and I think that experience is genuine. Also, for the most part, YA fiction is optimistic and hopeful. I like that.
I also want to mention YA writers, many of whom I admire and respect. I appreciate their creativity, but I also appreciate that they treat their audience with respect. They remain connected to their readers and seem to have true appreciation and affection for them. Many of them go out of their way to help young writers to grow and learn. This is something I definitely wish I’d had as a young adult.
When I was in my late teens and early twenties, I took numerous creative writing classes in college. Without really knowing it, I was sort of writing YA. I was writing about young people experiencing first loves and transitioning into adulthood, but I always felt inferior to my classmates. I didn’t think I’d experienced anything important since I was so young. Some of my professors and classmates had such negative feelings about “genre” fiction, too. If you weren’t writing depressing, thinky pieces, then you were doing it wrong. While I made good grades in the classes, they left me incredibly discouraged about my writing and as a result, I stopped writing altogether.
I STOPPED WRITING.
It wasn’t until I got into the Harry Potter fandom and found such a supportive and wonderful community that I got the confidence to write and share fan fiction. I rediscovered YA literature and I started writing original works again. The YA authors I admire have inspired me to keep writing, to keep working, and to be proud of who I am and the stories I want to tell.
In my job at the library, I have the honor of pointing people in the direction of the books that I’ve read and loved. Every time I can recommend one of my favorite authors to a teen, my heart is filled with pride. I love it and I’m so grateful that I have that opportunity.
PS. Library school admissions packet went in the mail today. Wish me luck! ♥