Look, between working in a bookstore and having to hear white dudes’ Opinions on YA literature and stumbling across nonsense like this Slate article that argues against reading anything from John Green books to Tuck Everlasting, I feel the need to Say a Thing.
Now, I don’t think anyone with even a tiny fragment a brain in their head would need me to explain them a thing about why classic children’s books like Tuck Everlasting are worth reading for everyone. So instead, I’m gonna take a second and defend one of my favorite Fun Genres, YA Fantasy.
There are several reasons why your local grown ass (often) female adult might read YA fantasy, including but not limited to:
-The sheer number of female writers you can find in the YA fantasy section of your local bookstore. This article explores the fact that young adult lit is female-dominated, and an article linked therein demonstrates how few female writers are household names in adult science fiction and fantasy writing.
-There are so! many! strong female characters in YA fantasy!
-Women aren’t nearly as objectified in YA as they are in adult sci-fi and fantasy writing.
-And ON THAT NOTE there is little to no dependence on rape as a plot device. (And if it occurs, it isn’t sexualized.)
-Not nearly as much adherence to the whole “stories can only be Good if they don’t have happy endings” mentality which is, frankly, bullshit.
-The romances aren’t explicitly sexual, which is good for sex-repulsed people on the ace spectrum who don’t want to deal with that shit.
-And honestly? It can be just as good as or better than a lot of adult writing in the same genre.
Let me repeat that last one. It can be just as good as or better than a lot of adult writing in the same genre.
The writer of above Slate article argues that adults should be ashamed to read books geared towards kids because they’re missing out on “the complexity of great adult literature”. As though there is no variety on the literary spectrum. Mind you, this writer is not arguing that only good literature should be read. She is arguing that adults should never read anything marketed towards younger readers.
The thing is? I read everything I can. I love literary fiction. I love genre fiction. Hell, I was an English and theatre major so I’m legally obligated to love Shakespeare.
So believe me when I tell you that I’ve read some spectacularly shitty books written for adults. And I’ve read some amazing, complex, thought-provoking books written for young people.
So anyway, if you think adults are “above” books written for kids and young adults (especially considering how often sexism is at the root of critique of YA literature), I’m just genuinely sorry about your personality.
