Addicted to YA discussion
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YA reader but not YA anymore
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I started reading young adult novels long before I was a young adult. As a kid with a love for books I never seemed to like books designed for my age and instead would steal my older cousin's lol. So being 18 now and only barely in the young adult range, I feel like I'll be okay with reading young adult novels when I'm old and gray
I think that a part of the big appeal of YA is that the character are at an age when they are still trying to figure out who they are. There is so much growth and development and that's part of what I love because I feel like we grow along with them. Even some of my favorite adult novels feature characters who are still trying to figure out who they are and how they fit in the world. Characters without doubts or flaws just aren't believable or fun to read, and that's just so much easier to do well during the YA years. And no matter how old we get we are all still learning and growing so we will always be able to relate to them.
I didn't realy start reading til my 20s. I read what liked. Redwall, Harry Potter, Inheritance Cycle... to name a few Didn't realize i was a fan of YA until a few years ago. I just turned 43.
I'm 39 and love YA. 90% of the books I read are YA, and I also write it. And, not only do I love YA, but I like the paranormal/fantasy, romance type YA too. I don't care what other people think of it, or of me for reading and writing it. It's my time spent, so it's my enjoyment that matters.
I wear my YA badge with glowing pride!Reading is fun and I find YA gloriously satisfying!
I have a sense that aging is not like shedding the skin of the past year in order to grow the new skin of the next. I think we're more like trees in that each year is a "ring" of growth that stays with us. It is there but just hidden underneath our newest layer. If this is so, then there still exists inside us older people a baby, a toddler, and yes, a young adult (as well as all of the other ages we have lived).
Christopher wrote: "I have a sense that aging is not like shedding the skin of the past year in order to grow the new skin of the next. I think we're more like trees in that each year is a "ring" of growth that stays ..."Now that is as amazingly poetic and philosophical answer to a very mundane question. ^^
ha ha. Yeah I guess it was. When I'm not being silly and lighthearted (which is often) I tend to ponder stuff like this. I like to try and figure out how things really work, deep down.
Christopher wrote: "ha ha. Yeah I guess it was. When I'm not being silly and lighthearted (which is often) I tend to ponder stuff like this. I like to try and figure out how things really work, deep down."That''s fine. At least it makes me feel better. I'm childish, I just keep connected to that part of my past. xD
From the groups I've associated with, both off and on-line, I've found that once you reach a certain age, you just stop caring what other people think of your hobbies. I know I used to have the most badass living room: an entire wall-shelf full of Troll Dolls, an entire bookcase full of Power Ranger action figures, and an entire table full of Power Ranger zords.
Not everyone I knew appreciated it (one girl I was having sex with claimed that my place looked like it was straight out of the 40 Year Old Virgin), but I didn't care. I though it was an awesome setup, and that was all that mattered.
YA book for everyone. FREE Kindle download today only 4/3/2017. Bander's Keep is a fun and exciting adventure for middle school aged readers, there's even some humor. Snag yourself a copy today. Thanks.
Bander's Keep by Paul Amdahl
I'm not YA any more but still love to pick up a good book and I don't care what section of the library or bookstore it comes from!Recently YA books got me through a really rough part of a nervous breakdown / clinical depression episode in a way that no 'adult' books ever could. YA books dig through emotional issues with care, have fantastic characters, and importantly for someone suffering with severe anxiety and depression, are clear and to the point. They are also often part of a series or trilogy which means you have a world you can escape to for a few hours at a time with familiar people and places.
I fell in love with YA books again last year and now I'm just waiting for my little girl to get a bit older so we can talk about all of them with her! But for now I'm also enjoying all the old children's classics and a few YAs for myself 😀
I'm on the wrong side of forty and I've always been drawn to reading/writing YA fiction. I think YA contains universal themes that readers can relate to no matter their age (loneliness, isolation, fitting in, making friends, establishing independence...just to name a few). Plus, we've all been young adults at one time or another, and I think those universal themes can help generations connect.I used to work in higher ed, and many of my colleagues looked down on adults reading YA books (unless they were children's lit or education professors). I remember one colleague who said she thought adults who read YA only did so because they were lazy and didn't want to read anything "hard." Ugh--I hate that attitude.
As a teen I never considered the fact that I would at some point no longer be the target audience of my beloved genre. After turning 20 in 2017 that realization hit me like a ton of bricks. The YA community is very strongly 30-40's centric and then all of the teens struggling to get their voice heard and for the first time, I've felt caught in the limbo, too old for the teens, too young for the other half of the community. I know that I will always love YA books. "Adult" books just don't capture the sense of wonder and desire for exploration and learning new things like YA books do. But for right now, in this in-between state, it's a weird feeling... if that makes any sense?
I like YA because everything is simpler. The love story is young love, if not first love. It doesn’t go on about work stress and supporting a family. They generally aren’t jaded yet from life’s hardships...losing a job, a marriage, health and youth, people. They see their whole lives ahead of them a lot of times with endless possibilities. And they often feel they can accomplish anything. The problems just usually aren’t as intense. If I’m gonna read fiction, the last thing I want is something like my own real life.
xD That is awesome!!!