John Green is not YA ... or, better put, the definition of YA
Of late, I've read a flurry of op-ed pieces about reading habits, particularly adults who choose to read YA.
Grownups: Don't be Ashamed of your YA Habit
Against YA: Read What You Want: But you should feel embarrassed when what you're reading was written for children.
I could go on and on and on but I won't because they're all pretty much the same idea regurgitated, and at the center is John Green. Which, to me, is odd. And I'm sure it's probably strange to him and every other author on the planet because, well, he's not YA. It's absurd, really, all these confirmations about the greatness of YA lit because of him, as well as damning it all as self-indulgent, happy fluff because ... of him. There have been articles about the "John Green Effect." And there have been incredibly thoughtful pieces, this one by Anne Ursu in particular, about the dangers of pinning the success of YA on him.
It's almost as crazy as saying "adult" lit is good because of Nicholas Sparks. That's it. He's the one. He had Miley Cyrus (pre-tweaking and weird look) and The Climb and all that hullaballoo. It's all because of him literature has been saved. Pretty silly, isn't it? (Especially when we know we should thank Dan Brown for it all!)
So for readers who are new to YA, or, perhaps, didn't know they were reading YA, or thought they were reading YA and kind of freak out about it if it's not a book by John Green, assuming they've been duped by some evil librarian or book seller, "Bloody hell! I asked for YA and they gave me this non-John Green book! What the *#!@... Drivel! I won't read this drivel!" ... I've got a couple of things to say.
One: If you respond like that, you really, really need to chill out and watch something on Netflix ... or meditate. Yes. Yoga. Meditation.
Two: Relax, I'll walk you through it. I'll give you a little list about what YA is (or NOT):
Is John Green YA ... or is YA John green? Did you not read the snappy title?So is YA a genre? NOOOOOOOOOO! YA is NOT a genre. Nope. YA is a suggested age range. As is middle grade, first chapter books, first readers, picture books etc. So, please, if you say, "I read the YA genre," stop. It's not a genre. Just. Stop. Now.What is a genre? steampunk, historical fiction, science fiction, fantasy, dystopian (everybody get your bows and arrows!), contemporary, self help (see what I mean here ... you can have loads of age ranges for different genres ... limitless possibilities).Who invented YA? Mark Twain.Really? I'm shitting you. Think about it, though. It's always been around. The Adventures of Huck Finn, The Swiss Family Robinson, Kipling, Alice in Wonderland ... flash forward to The Outsiders, Catcher in the Rye, Lord of the Flies ... And when I was young I devoured Susan Cooper, Cynthia Voigt, Judy Blume, Ray Bradbury, Stephen King ... In the 1970s and 1980s, book sellers and librarians start to separate the "children's books" from the "adolescent books" and "adult books" ... because they're tapped into what kids are reading (not Marcel Proust ... usually) and it's an easy way to target your readers and help them save time. (This is all pre-crazy, Amazon monopoly that does it for you by tapping into all your purchases and pumping out suggestions a la Feed).What about, like, the 1500s? What did teens read then? Um. That's the dark ages and nobody read because everybody was busy building stuff for megalomaniacal kings or farming things or being hanged and decapitated and stuff. Is YA easy reading with easy endings to make teens feel good and vindicated and stuff? Depends on the author and/or book. Some are Nicholas Sparks-y. Many, MANY, aren't. Want a challenge? Try: MT Anderson, Ellen Hopkins, Gene Luen Yang, Walter Dean Myers, Anne Ursu, Kate Milford, Laurie Halse Anderson, E Lockhart, AS King, Sherman Alexie, Antony John, Libba Bray, Melina Marchetta, Markus Zusak, Patrick Ness, Sara Zarr ... just off the top of my head.
So what's the deal with John Green? He's a good writer, brilliant at reaching readers, has established himself as a social networking guru, has built an insanely loyal following, and seems like a genuinely nice guy. And, yes, he writes good books. So why are all these people writing about him? I'd gander that all these writers busy writing about YA aren't reading YA ... They might've picked up a couple of John Green novels, but they've never really spent the time in the stacks reading the magic of other authors that preceded him, and authors that share shelf space with him today.So ... writing a book is no easy feat. Writing a good book is pretty freaking hard to do. Writing several good books ... well, that's extraordinary, really. Readers are the greatest gift of any writer (and preferably not ones that feel obligated to read the book because, um, she's your mom). But there's nothing more magical to have someone read your words and say, "Wow. Thank you for saying what I feel."
And I'd venture to say anybody who reads should be celebrated, whether they read magazines, newspapers, novels, poetry, plays, cereal boxes, vampire novels, erotica, scientific journals ... whatever. NOT reading is the embarrassing thing, isn't it? I think the best pickup line EVER is "Hey. What are you reading?"
(Reading pyramid may vary depending on reader ... and that's TOTALLY OKAY!)
There are lots of those writers out there and a bountiful of readers who devour books by all authors ... And though not all of those writers receive thousands of letters of admiration a day a la John Green, their effect is just as profound in a few. I think this "effect" of literature should be called: "The Great Book Effect." Or "Holy shit, that's an awesome read Effect." Or "Stayed Up All Night to Read Effect." (But nobody's asked me!)
Grownups: Don't be Ashamed of your YA Habit
Against YA: Read What You Want: But you should feel embarrassed when what you're reading was written for children.
I could go on and on and on but I won't because they're all pretty much the same idea regurgitated, and at the center is John Green. Which, to me, is odd. And I'm sure it's probably strange to him and every other author on the planet because, well, he's not YA. It's absurd, really, all these confirmations about the greatness of YA lit because of him, as well as damning it all as self-indulgent, happy fluff because ... of him. There have been articles about the "John Green Effect." And there have been incredibly thoughtful pieces, this one by Anne Ursu in particular, about the dangers of pinning the success of YA on him.
It's almost as crazy as saying "adult" lit is good because of Nicholas Sparks. That's it. He's the one. He had Miley Cyrus (pre-tweaking and weird look) and The Climb and all that hullaballoo. It's all because of him literature has been saved. Pretty silly, isn't it? (Especially when we know we should thank Dan Brown for it all!)
So for readers who are new to YA, or, perhaps, didn't know they were reading YA, or thought they were reading YA and kind of freak out about it if it's not a book by John Green, assuming they've been duped by some evil librarian or book seller, "Bloody hell! I asked for YA and they gave me this non-John Green book! What the *#!@... Drivel! I won't read this drivel!" ... I've got a couple of things to say.
One: If you respond like that, you really, really need to chill out and watch something on Netflix ... or meditate. Yes. Yoga. Meditation.
Two: Relax, I'll walk you through it. I'll give you a little list about what YA is (or NOT):
Is John Green YA ... or is YA John green? Did you not read the snappy title?So is YA a genre? NOOOOOOOOOO! YA is NOT a genre. Nope. YA is a suggested age range. As is middle grade, first chapter books, first readers, picture books etc. So, please, if you say, "I read the YA genre," stop. It's not a genre. Just. Stop. Now.What is a genre? steampunk, historical fiction, science fiction, fantasy, dystopian (everybody get your bows and arrows!), contemporary, self help (see what I mean here ... you can have loads of age ranges for different genres ... limitless possibilities).Who invented YA? Mark Twain.Really? I'm shitting you. Think about it, though. It's always been around. The Adventures of Huck Finn, The Swiss Family Robinson, Kipling, Alice in Wonderland ... flash forward to The Outsiders, Catcher in the Rye, Lord of the Flies ... And when I was young I devoured Susan Cooper, Cynthia Voigt, Judy Blume, Ray Bradbury, Stephen King ... In the 1970s and 1980s, book sellers and librarians start to separate the "children's books" from the "adolescent books" and "adult books" ... because they're tapped into what kids are reading (not Marcel Proust ... usually) and it's an easy way to target your readers and help them save time. (This is all pre-crazy, Amazon monopoly that does it for you by tapping into all your purchases and pumping out suggestions a la Feed).What about, like, the 1500s? What did teens read then? Um. That's the dark ages and nobody read because everybody was busy building stuff for megalomaniacal kings or farming things or being hanged and decapitated and stuff. Is YA easy reading with easy endings to make teens feel good and vindicated and stuff? Depends on the author and/or book. Some are Nicholas Sparks-y. Many, MANY, aren't. Want a challenge? Try: MT Anderson, Ellen Hopkins, Gene Luen Yang, Walter Dean Myers, Anne Ursu, Kate Milford, Laurie Halse Anderson, E Lockhart, AS King, Sherman Alexie, Antony John, Libba Bray, Melina Marchetta, Markus Zusak, Patrick Ness, Sara Zarr ... just off the top of my head.
So what's the deal with John Green? He's a good writer, brilliant at reaching readers, has established himself as a social networking guru, has built an insanely loyal following, and seems like a genuinely nice guy. And, yes, he writes good books. So why are all these people writing about him? I'd gander that all these writers busy writing about YA aren't reading YA ... They might've picked up a couple of John Green novels, but they've never really spent the time in the stacks reading the magic of other authors that preceded him, and authors that share shelf space with him today.So ... writing a book is no easy feat. Writing a good book is pretty freaking hard to do. Writing several good books ... well, that's extraordinary, really. Readers are the greatest gift of any writer (and preferably not ones that feel obligated to read the book because, um, she's your mom). But there's nothing more magical to have someone read your words and say, "Wow. Thank you for saying what I feel."
And I'd venture to say anybody who reads should be celebrated, whether they read magazines, newspapers, novels, poetry, plays, cereal boxes, vampire novels, erotica, scientific journals ... whatever. NOT reading is the embarrassing thing, isn't it? I think the best pickup line EVER is "Hey. What are you reading?"
(Reading pyramid may vary depending on reader ... and that's TOTALLY OKAY!)
There are lots of those writers out there and a bountiful of readers who devour books by all authors ... And though not all of those writers receive thousands of letters of admiration a day a la John Green, their effect is just as profound in a few. I think this "effect" of literature should be called: "The Great Book Effect." Or "Holy shit, that's an awesome read Effect." Or "Stayed Up All Night to Read Effect." (But nobody's asked me!)
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