Okay...Not to say that I did not enjoy YA, because let's face it...I got some top ten reads out of this genre and I didn't even read that many books! So I praise it for that. But..well I got to do it...
Young Adult literature...what does it mean? here's the catch NO BODY KNOWS? we couldn't come up with a solid definition for it? neither could the professionals. The official titling of YA books is based on publisher preferences, probalblyrooted somewhere in greed and money. Some say it has to do with dealing with young adult issues, well that is false I've read a few that don't deal with exclusively teen issues so that's outta there. Let's face it the title is a catch for marketing...some good...some bad, all in the name of Money$. So here's what I say...actually I didn't say it but If Bill Shakespeare didn't say it I was just going to give this phrase its debut..."What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet" Get it? I mean really if a book deals with "Young Adult" stuff, lets call it YA. this is my largest complaint.
Shortly before this class began I was on the train to chicago...about a five hour ride each way. So I decided to pick up a Charles Bukowski novel, "Ham on Rye." Though it was unintentional, I must say this looked, smelled, acted, sounded, and read just like a book about young adult issues. So why is it not a YA book? because of the publishers greed I would imagine...
Problem...the title YA
Solution: I say lets banish the genre and let children decide for themselves, I can guarantee that a true reader will find these books despite it all. Suzie reads this book and tells Johnny, Johnny likes it too tells frankie, frankie loves it and talks about it in a class of 24 kids...10 of which decide to read the book for themselves, you see this is how it works...if a book is good it is good and needs to be read and will be read. Good books are being left out and could be harmful to a strictly YA book diet, you need supplements like other books so check it out! What'd you say?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
You wrote these entries in quite a hurry, but I do enjoy hearing your voice, what resonated with you in any given book, and how you've made sense of what this field has to offer.
ReplyDelete