Are You a Peter Pan?
Last week, we talked about whether or not we are Bibliomaniacs in preparation for the month long book buying ban that Bella from A Girl Reads A Book is hosting in September. I think we can safely say that none of us are bibliomaniacs because the Hoarders team from A&E isn’t knocking on our doors to help us clear a path through our homes. This week, I’m hopping full on into a controversial subject so pull out your pitchforks and get ready to chase me out of town. Jennifer at Girls Gone Reading is VERY appropriately doing a Friday Coffee Chat post on What Sparks a Love of Reading. Make sure you check out her blog after you read, comment on my post, and then angrily run me out of the blogosphere!
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This week I’m throwing the dreaded Young Adult subject out there for all you readers. There are heaps of YA blogs out there, and I have quite a few good bloggy friends out there that love YA (Hi Bella and Chachic and Carly…I know there are others, but you guys come to mind first). With the release of Mockingjay which thanks to Twitter I am VERY tired of hearing about, I started thinking about why people are obsessed with YA fiction.
I’m not gonna lie. I’m 32. No kids. I don’t read a lot of YA. Sure I read Harry Potter and I even read Twilight, but YA isn’t on my radar for the most part. This doesn’t mean that I am not open to reading it. Some of my bloggy friends have given me some really good suggestions that I’ve added to my wishlist. Honestly, and dare I say this, I am too old for the YA phenomenon. I don’t really remember reading much of it when I was a young adult because it simply wasn’t as popular back then.
So why do so many adults choose to read YA? I’m not talking about a book here or a book there. I’m talking about having a steady diet of YA when you are in your 20s or 30s and up. What is so wonderful about teen angst that isn’t wonderful about other decades’ angst? Are there no kick ass heroes and heroines in adult fiction (and I don’t mean THAT adult fiction..hehe)? Are there no compelling characters or stories in the entire world of adult fiction? I’m thinking that this isn’t the case so these are the reasons I’ve come up with for the popularity of YA Fiction:
- The books are shorter with bigger print so it enables bloggers to read and review more books.
- It’s more escapist than fiction geared toward adults. I mean, we’re all living our lives so maybe we don’t want to read about problems or situations we’re currently facing.
- People are overstressed, overworked, overeverything so when they read they want something quick, fun, and easy.
- The language in the books is easier and requires less thought to get through.
Now before you skewer me for writing those reasons, I’m not judging all the YA bloggers and readers out there. I think people should read what they enjoy of course! I just wonder why more people aren’t eagerly anticipating books like The Distant Hours by Kate 
Morton or The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson (there is anticipation, but nothing like The Hunger Games or Harry Potter phenomenons). No one was threatening to unfollow people on Twitter for spoilers from The Passage, but Mockingjay pretty much took over Twitter for the last three weeks or so complete with threats of unfollowing Twitter users and blogs that posted spoilers. So what would it take for adults to be interested in fiction that is written for adults again?
Does it matter?
Do you think that adult fiction is less relevant today than it used to be?
Should I be embracing my inner Peter Pan and abandon adult fiction? So many questions! Let me know what you think!
*Note: I do plan on reading The Hunger Games trilogy at some point as well as some other fantastic YA fiction that people have recommended to me. I’m all about trying to be open. I don’t always succeed, but I do try!
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