In honor of “National Support Teen Literature Day” on April
16, I pose some thoughts about teen and young adult literature to you.
A while ago there was an article on Slate.com titled “Adults should be ashamed to read young adult
books.” The writer argued that the kind of idealized teenage plots and endings
in YA reads distract us from the more complex, well-honed adult literature
being overlooked. There was also a post from a New York Times blogger a few years ago expressing the same opinion,
stating “Let’s have the decency to let tween girls have their own little world
of vampires and child wizards and games you play when hungry.” To which each of
these articles received hundreds of comments from YA readers who are, yes,
adults, about why YA books aren’t just for teens and children, but hold a place
on a grownup’s bookshelf as well. There have also been numerous response
articles supporting the YA book-lover’s view, and why it holds a dearer place in
their hearts than the adult fiction they read.
So this debate has been going on for quite some time now,
and there isn’t truly any right or wrong way to view it (unless it’s stop
reading altogether, then people are only depriving themselves of any literary
joy at all). But it does raise an interesting point about what literature
should primarily do for its readers. The strongest arguments for adults reading
YA – which now more adults are doing than ever before – is that it allows them
a more imaginative journey, a more enjoyable, whimsical escape from reality and
oftentimes provide a more hopeful conclusion than many adult books. Those
against adults reading “beneath their age level” argue that the writing of YA
books is too simple, it doesn’t challenge an adult reader and thus limits their
knowledgeable growth. They say adults that read only for nostalgia or
entertainment are missing out on books that are more sophisticated and intelligent.
So, what should books primarily do: entertain or educate? Grow
the imagination or grow our intellect? Why can’t a book do both on an equal
scale?
Yes, I write YA books, so I am naturally going to lean
towards the “pro-YA and teen reads” adults. But I like to think that all books
should both entertain and educate equally; after all, you wouldn’t keep reading
a book if it wasn’t the slightest bit entertaining, and a book wouldn’t leave
an impression on you if you didn’t take something new and insightful away from
it.
I was at a sci fi convention last year, selling my books
besides several other fantasy authors, and someone came over to me to ask me
about my books. So I explained, it was a fantasy/historical fiction novel,
tying various world mythologies like Greek, Japanese and Native American
against a real-world backdrop of 1852. To which the inquirer replied, “Uh, that
sounds like you’d have to be pretty intelligent to read that.”
I was surprised by that response for a couple reasons. A. If
you knew me, you’d know I don’t write stuff that’s incredibly mind-bending. B. Why
did it surprise you that a YA fantasy book might have more than just magical fluff?
Or is all you want fluff? Don’t you think you’d enjoy some fact with your fiction?
So, the question I pose is, what do you think the primary
purpose of reading should be? What YA books do you think provide a good balance
of both fun escapism and complex thought? Which one of the two do you think
indicates a truly good book? When is a novel’s entertainment value solely an
effective marketing tool, sacrificing genuinely well-crafted writing, or does
it matter as long as it entertains? Is a book’s reading level the main determent
of how intellectual it is, or can a “children’s” novel be as or more insightful
as “grownup” literature?
I’m interested to see what you think! Please leave a comment and let us know what kind of book-lover you are.
