I’ve been thinking about this question for a while now. Whenever I go to book stores and march toward the ‘Kids’ or ‘teens’ section it has bothered me that I feel self conscious about simply being there. Mostly because I usually find children and their parents browsing around that section with me and I can almost feel the parents question as she or he continues to steal looks in my direction ’Aren’t you a little old for that?’. I have to say I have had to restrain myself more than a few times from giving them some viciously dirty looks back because when I think about it most of these non YA readers and haters probably haven’t even picked up a YA book in their lives! They base their judgement on the fact that ‘Oh if my 10 year old son can enjoy this than its probably too young for me’ or ‘I read an article the other day and apparently the writing for YA books is horrible’ rolls eyes. Throw in a love triangle and a superpower and you have a publishing contract.’ I honestly can’t tell you how much I want to just hit these people in the face with my ever growing YA collection and scream YOU DONT KNOW JACK S*T. It’s ridiculous! Instead however I have chosen to sustain from any physical blows and to instead inform these people on this genre that I have come to love and cherish above anything else! Also this is for the YA lovers who have forgotten why they started reading YA in the first place and need a little reminder.
1. YA is an adventure
Readers read to escape right? To be able to find themselves in a different town, different era or even on a different planet without even having to move their feat. Well YA books give you the opportunity to do just that. YA allows you to immense your selves in different worlds and to get to know different people with challenges that exceed the norm. With each and every book you pick up you become Alice in Wonderland and you get to experience things that you never thought possible! Yes you can watch a movie instead if you want but is it just me or is ones imagination so much more capable of creating new and elaborate places. Anyone remember how disappointing the Divergent movie was?No? Okay, maybe it’s just me then (hides)
2. YA makes you humble
YA is not just about love and angsty teenagers throwing tantrums and breaking curfew, although there is a lot of that I won’t lie. YA is about people, people who have to cope with extraordinary suckish things that we can usually only dream of. It allows us to look at our lives and to realise that what we have and the troubles we face aren’t that bad at all... If a girl can survive an alien invasion at only 15 years old and as an orphan I might add then maybe, just maybe I can go to work and deal with my evil boss.
3. YA challenges traditional stories
The thing is YA has always been known to push boundaries when it comes to the stories YA writers produce. Whether you liked Twilight or not you have to admit that Stephanie Meyer was the instigator to a whole new range of novels. Suddenly authors were challenging themselves and their imaginations looking for new ways to leave readers coming back for more. Because if there is one thing YA has done it has shown that readers want their worlds to be broadened by everything and anything supernatural and alien. What better way to open your mind to a whole spectrum of possibilities than to make the strange familiar and the familiar strange.
4. YA makes you feel like a kid again
YA taps into that place that we all experienced at some point of our lives. The place where you believed in Santa Clause and when you placed your newly freed tooth under your pillow at night waiting for the Tooth Fairy to make an appearance. Don’t you remember how disappointing it was when you found your parents sneaking into your room?Yes? Well with YA you can cling onto that feeling and even though you know that what you are reading isn’t real the characters you encounter don’t! It is ultimately through them that you become a kid again
5. YA tackles real life issues
You might not think that this applies to you but I’m telling you now that it does! It was only after I read Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin that I became informed on the subject of intersexuality and how people who are born this way can feel isolated by society, friends and even their family. YA novels that touch subject that seem taboo or rarely talked about in public provides a platform for people to either educate themselves while enjoying a really amazing thought out story or it makes people who find themselves relating to the subject matter at hand feel less alone and less confused. Characters can give people courage simply by allowing their stories and their bravery to be told. Whether it is disability, race, class, age, gender or sexual orientation, YA is not afraid to tackle those subjects head on and to say hey being different and feeling different is not a bad thing. The ways in which you feel marginalised is not what defines you as a person. You need to own it despite what other people think and also you need to remember that you are more than what makes you different. You are human and guess what? I am just like you.
I’ve only listed 5 reasons why YA is amazing but I promise you once you delve into the ‘kiddie’ pool you might see what all of us YA lovers have come to find. The reasons are infinite and splendid. So, What other reasons do you have for reading YA? Are you embarrassed about loving this genre or do you simply not give a damn and shove your latest YA buy in the faces of all who doubt its magic? Let me know in the comments down below and we can discuss:)
