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Debate over article "Against YA"


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Wasn't sure where to put this, but decided that since it deals with readers' preferences it would be okay to put here.

 

Recently, an article written in The Slate titled "Against YA" by Ruth Graham with the tag line, "Read whatever you want. But you should feel embarrassed when what you're reading was written for children", has sparked a big debate among readers.  Apparently, there was immediate backlash from readers on Twitter, etc.

Below is the link to the original article:

 

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/06/against_ya_adults_should_be_embarrassed_to_read_children_s_books.html

 

I first read about this controversy in a magazine and was compelled to read the actual article.  As a fan of YA, I was offended, especially after Graham called books like Divergent "transparently trashy".  I also found the following quote to be untrue when it comes to great YA fiction: "Most importantly, these books consistently indulge in the kind of endings that teenagers want to see, but which adult readers ought to reject as far too simple."  Other YA fans will agree that not all YA novels end picture perfect, but often have shocking or profound endings.

 

Writers all over the web are responding in blogs.  I especially like this one I found in a search:http://fightlikeawriter.com/2014/06/11/in-defense-of-adult-readers-of-ya-fiction-or-youre-not-the-boss-of-me-ruth-graham/

 

Personally, I feel that readers should not be shamed by their reading choices.  So, I have negative feelings about Nicholas Sparks' novels, but does that mean I should tell other readers that they should feel embarrassed because they like or love them?  It's fine that Graham has her own opinions about what's appropriate reading material, but what I don't like are insults.

 

What are your thoughts, feelings about this article?

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Well, I think this Ruth Graham needs to chill out! She's seeing and complaining about a problem that simply doesn't exist. Surely people wanting to read books is a good thing? I'm sure the money men at publishing houses would agree. 

 

At the end of the day, YA fiction is, by definition fiction aimed at young adults. Define young adult? 11-17? 18-30?  Just because something is aimed  at a certain demographic, doesn't mean it's exclusively for that group. I'm a white, middle-aged male, so on the basis of Ruth Graham's argument, I couldn't read anything aimed at women, black people or young or old people? Frankly, it's ridiculous!

 

I hate to say it, but it smacks of book snobbery.

 

How come this type of argument never comes up for TV or film? The Toy Story films were aimed at kids, but I enjoyed every one!

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I read the article and I must say I agree with Ian: sounds like book snobbery. There's a shade of mockery through the lines that I think was meant to be wit.

We should all feel free to read whatever we like without feeling ashamed. There are great stories in YA too and "transparently trashy" is pesky definition in my opinion.

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I didn't find it insulting but on the other hand I don't agree with her: I think a great book is a great book. Whatever age demographic it is written for. If there is a problem with people reading YA books way past the intended age demographic it is that many people aren't growing up. I know several people who are still stuck in a teenage mindset into their forties....they don't know how to budget , handle money or even cook properly..they read and watch whatever comes on the telly or comes out at the cinema ..and worst of all they don't know how to raise children. Instant gratification is all they want. Sorry I digressed a bit. 

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People that write insulting articles of that nature are most likely very insecure within  themselves, so they are compelled to belittle others that don't share their worldview in order to pump themselves up. 

 

It's fine that a reader doesn't like certain genres, so what?  But, when they turn that dislike into a personal attack on (an)other reader(s), is where I draw the line (in the sand).

 

From the article linked above.........

 

 

Fellow grown-ups, at the risk of sounding snobbish and joyless and old, we are better than this

 

 

What bloody nerve!  Is that the  "Royal We"?   /it's enough to puke a buzzard/

Edited by pontalba
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I didn't find it insulting but on the other hand I don't agree with her: I think a great book is a great book. Whatever age demographic it is written for. If there is a problem with people reading YA books way past the intended age demographic it is that many people aren't growing up. I know several people who are still stuck in a teenage mindset into their forties....they don't know how to budget , handle money or even cook properly..they read and watch whatever comes on the telly or comes out at the cinema ..and worst of all they don't know how to raise children. Instant gratification is all they want. Sorry I digressed a bit. 

 

Granted there may be people that haven't grown up, but reading YA and that are not the same, by the stretch of anyone's imagination.

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People that write insulting articles of that nature are most likely very insecure within  themselves, so they are compelled to belittle others that don't share their worldview in order to pump themselves up. 

 

It's fine that a reader doesn't like certain genres, so what?  But, when they turn that dislike into a personal attack on (an)other reader(s), is where I draw the line (in the sand).

 

From the article linked above.........

 

 

 

What bloody nerve!  Is that the  "Royal We"?   /it's enough to puke a buzzard/

Yes!  :rolol:  I percieved it to be a personal attack because she even mentions how good some YA novels are, yet reading them as an adult makes for a bad reader.  Her criticism is clearly aimed at the readers.

 

Granted there may be people that haven't grown up, but reading YA and that are not the same, by the stretch of anyone's imagination.

Agreed.  My parents, who are in their mid-sixties, are very much "grown-up" but adore Harry Potter.

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First,  in honor or Kate's Puking Buzzard note above :

 

post-8102-0-40418300-1403741519_thumb.png

 

                        :D

 

 

It really irritates me when people make WISENHIMER comments about other people's taste in reading .

 

I would love to see more YA aged kids READING rather than playing video games all day .

 

They are lucky to have a huge selection of books that fit their age group .

 

That being said, it's really not my business if an 80 year old wants to read YA books . I'm not 80 (YET)

but I've read a couple myself. Some are hard for me to relate to, mainly because teenage life is so much different now than it was back in the Tie-dyed bell -bottom days . But, some stuff stays the same :  school, friends, laughing about silly things, and enjoying life .

 

I think our world would be a better place if people would keep their noses and negative opinions in their own business .

 

The End .

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ROTFALOLTIC!!!

 

That's great, Julie!

 

I've read a few YA books, and thought they were interesting. It is a great idea for authors to tackle problems that teens face, and I appreciated the insight in the ones I have read.

 

Julie, we had YAs too. Nancy Drew, The Bobbsey Twins......and lots more. What is Black Beauty, but YA? Little Women. I think so called adults could learn a lot from those books.

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I read quite a few YA books (though I read mainly adult books), and I think there's nothing wrong with reading YA, or any kind of book for that matter. I'm glad people read rather than spending all their time in front of the TV or what else. I think reading is a great thing to do and it's very good for the brain. In my opinion people should be able to read what they want and not being looked down upon for what they read. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Black Beauty, for example (I wasn't alive yet when that was first published), or many other newer YA reads. A good book is a good book, even if it's intended for an age group below your own. It doesn't mean you can't enjoy the book.

 

I think it can in fact be important to sometimes think about 'the child in ourselves' rather than always being all serious and 'moody'. I'm serious a lot of the time (in fact I'm often told I take some things too seriously) but I do think it's important to be in touch with one's inner child and also think about our childhood sometimes and about what other people might feel like. Certain things in my development have gone slower than in most other people, and in several ways I'm not 100% a mature adult yet like most older adults in this world. I find it nice to sometimes have nostalgia and think about school or other things that happen in childhood. I also find it hard to relate to some characters in YA books because my childhood wasn't like a lot of people's, but it's still enjoyable and there are many other characters I can relate to.

 

I think there are a lot of great YA reads out there (not all of them are great of course, as with any type or genre of books), and to discount them simply because they were written for teenagers makes no sense to me. A lot of YA books in fact have adult themes in them. Some of the Dutch ones I read when I was a teenager had some very good lessons in them, for example about abuse or bullying.

 

So in short, I think people should read whichever books they like to read.

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Kate

Very true, we did have YA books I guess . I just don't quite put them in the same category because they really didn't even have such a name for those books. In our library, you just gradually moved along the shelves depending on your age level and probably Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden and some of those would have been our version of YA.

Maybe like a Patty Duke version ?

 

I do think it'd be neat if younger folks still enjoyed those books, and maybe some do . All my teen grandkids who like to read tend to lean towards the mainstream, Harry Potters, now they are big into Eleanor & Park, Fault in Our Stars, Hunger Games and such ,so I guess book tastes change with the times like TV shows . Some of us would still love to turn on the tv and watch Ed Sullivan on Sunday nights ( like ME    :)    )

 

 

 

Athena

 You are very right , and brought up a good point. The YA books I'm sure help lots of teens address situations in their lives that they struggle with such a s bullying for one . There are probably lots of teens who don't have a close person they feel comfortable in talking to ,so they can read about others who face adversity and how to handle it .

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Kate

Very true, we did have YA books I guess . I just don't quite put them in the same category because they really didn't even have such a name for those books. In our library, you just gradually moved along the shelves depending on your age level and probably Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden and some of those would have been our version of YA.

It was the same in my library, it was all in the children's section and we had different catagories for different age groups (A, B and C). I think I've read some Nancy Drew when I was younger. I'm glad your teen grandchildren read though, that's nice :).

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If anything positive has come out of this, it's that I have learnt the phrase "puke a buzzard"  - that's an absolute winner!

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Granted there may be people that haven't grown up, but reading YA and that are not the same, by the stretch of anyone's imagination.

 

True! I didn't intend to entangle the two. My mind went off in a different direction sorry.

"Puke a buzzard." That's great. I have to use that phrase.. :giggle2:

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Athena

 You are very right , and brought up a good point. The YA books I'm sure help lots of teens address situations in their lives that they struggle with such a s bullying for one . There are probably lots of teens who don't have a close person they feel comfortable in talking to ,so they can read about others who face adversity and how to handle it .

That was how it was for us in High School.  I bought The Perks of Being a Wallflower and shared it around (we always read).  It helped us realize we weren't just freaks by hanging out with (or being) gay people or getting dressed up and going to Rocky Horror Picture Show.  It was comforting and I pick it up every couple of years

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I can imagine that was comforting! It's so great you had a book like that to have around you. Books gave me comfort too, mainly Dutch ones related to bullying and abuse (for example Carry Slee - Het Bliksemeiland and Anke de Vries - Blauwe Plekken). Books taught me a lot of things, about friendship and society. In general books gave me friends (characters in books) with whom to spend some time, who were comforting to read about in a safe quiet environment (my room and the libraries).

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Up here in our neck of the woods, instead of puking a buzzard, it's        ~~~~Enough To Gag A Maggot . ~~~~

:giggle2:   Love it!

 

Actually, the buzzard expression is from New York.  My first husband was from N.Y. as well.  That was his expression. 

So, I regret to admit, it's a "Yankee" expression.  :blush2:  :P

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  • 4 weeks later...

That is a great and eloquent list! Thanks for posting that up Chesilbeach. :smile:  

 

I second the wholeheartedness of your agreement! :yes:

 

Just as a side note, my teen niece had recommended John Green's 'The Fault In Our Stars' to me when it first came out, and I finally got around to reading it recently, and loved it. My 79 year old Mum didn't know what to read next on her kindle, so I suggested she try it. She LOVED it. As she said, it's not something she would have chosen for herself but the characters were wonderful (she had huge sympathy for Isaac) and she felt compelled to read through to the end.

 

Now, at 79 my Mum cannot be considered to be a part of the perceived YA demographic, and neither can I at 46, but three generations of my family really enjoyed this book.

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If adults can't read fiction written with young adults in mind, then shouldn't it be vice versa too? That young adults shouldn't read grown-up books. That means, no classics etc. That sounds moronic, does it not? So of course everyone can read young adult fiction. 

 

And these days, young adult fiction is becoming better and better, and in many different genres. 

Besides, I love Astrid Lindgren, Winnie the pooh, Ducktales etc. Who is anyone to say that I shouldn't? 

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