Thoughts on Young Adult Literature

I love reading.

Okay, that's really nothing new for readers of this blog or for people who know me and know that I am a reading teacher and longtime bookworm/nerd. But lately, as I think about (or rather, fantasize about) becoming a writer I think a lot about genre and the kind of books I would want to write and the kind of books I enjoy reading.

I don't want to pigeonhole myself into one nitch, but I really like the Young Adult genre. Not to say that I don't read other genres, like fiction and non-fiction, but I find myself reading a lot of YA these days (mostly because I teach to that audience) and I appreciate it more and more. One of my favorite authors is John Green, who writes exclusively YA books, and in the past few months the best books I have read have been marketed as YA.

But I feel there is some sort of stigma attached to YA, like it's known as 'good, but not good enough' or like it's simply child's play or for people who want to read stuff that is 'mindless.' All of these comparisons don't make me happy, because I think good YA, the kind that wins people over and wins Printz awards, is good fiction, period.

Let's take for example the Printz-honor, NYT best-seller "The Book Thief" which I adored. It was moving, darkly funny, heartbreaking, and inventive. *** It's not mindless at all, that's fantastic. It's brave and haunting. "The Book Thief" is much better than some of the stuff out there, marketed as fiction towards adults, and some people hesitate to read it because of the stigma against YA books.

Now, don't get me wrong, there are some terrible YA books out there. There is one new vampire series, called 'The House of Night', that are probably some of the most terrible books I have ever read (I read the first two and couldn't stomach anymore). But the YA genre is like any other genre, there are both excellent books and not-so excellent books (and total trash). The trick is to pick the good books. It angers me that people think they are 'above' reading YA. Young Adult literature, if written well, will resonate with someone no matter what age they are.

Young Adult literature can be playful and funny, moving, and it's delivered in a very interesting way. The reason I want to write YA is mainly because of the demographic. I personally didn't think there were enough good YA books out there when I was that age range, and I would like to provide something more substantial. Plus, I think it's audience is an important one. They don't need 'guidance' or 'help' or anything like that, they need things that make them think and feel, and that can be delivered all through a book.

Below is a list of the excellent YA books I have read. I recommend them all and think that the stories will interest you and stay with you after you read them, like all good books should.

-The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
-The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
-Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
-The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
-Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
-So B. It by Sarah Weeks
-Going Bovine by Libba Bray
-The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
-Paper Towns by John Green
-An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
-The Year of the Hangman by Gary Blackwood
-Holes by Louie Sacher
-The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman
-Freak the Mighty by Rodman Phillback
-The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidtt
-The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
-Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech


***SPOILER ALERT***The book is narrated by death. DEATH. The author personified death and made him tell the entire 500-something page story. Don't tell me that's not risky.