Why You Should Be Reading YA Lit
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At a glance, young adult (YA) literature is easy to make fun of. YA books are known for playing into tropes, shallow dialogue, and predictable plots. Many YA books are also romances, which is already a genre that gets a lot of flack for being cringey and overdone. And if all that isn’t bad enough, YA books are also super popular with specifically teenage girls, and I’m sure we’re all well aware of how our culture treats things teenage girls love.
Yes, at a glance, YA fiction is bottom of the barrel stuff; it exists in a sort of limbo between the simple concepts and imaginativity of children’s fiction and the deep prose and grittier scenarios of adult fiction. With all this in mind, one might wonder: is there any merit to YA fiction?
Well, worry not. There is a case to be made for the inherent value of YA books, and I’m here to make it.
For starters, there’s something to be said for anything that gets people to read. YA books often have approachable plots and relatable characters, making it a more enticing read than adult books that focus on, well, adult problems. Divorce is more interesting to read about if you’re going through it; it’s the same for securing a date to the dance or going through your first year of college. Sometimes the latter is just more fun to read about, too. Genre YA fiction has similar perks. Sure, you could read Dune for your sci-fi fix, but YA sci-fi options are going to be half as long and without quite as many totally made-up words. It’s much more reasonable for a student with limited time.
That being said, these “shallower” subjects don’t have any less meaning than those found in general fiction, and they are hardly all that YA books can cover. In fact, I fully challenge the notion that YA books are all just tropes and fluff. I’ve found that many YA books not only tackle tough subject matter, but do so with a nuance that even books written for an older audience often lack. Just because you’re picking up a book with a teenage protagonist does not mean that it won’t have insightful takes on topics such as police brutality, generational trauma, or other social and personal problems.
In some ways, YA is ahead of the curve. Since it’s written for a younger audience, and oftentimes by younger authors, YA books tend to have more unique takes on contemporary subjects, like technology and social media. I find that these elements are much less likely to take away from the main plot in YA books than they are in general fiction. Moreover, in my experience, YA fiction is more likely to be explicitly diverse and inclusive.
Now, it’s time to address one of the biggest things stopping people from reading young adult fiction: YA books are stereotyped as poorly written. I won’t pretend I’ve never read a YA book with mediocre prose, but the number of ‘bad’ YA books out there is probably lower than one might think. Contemporary YA lit usually has really distinct and stylized dialogue, interesting characters, and genuinely good writing, despite what is often said about it. And, honestly, it’s weird that so many people assume that YA is inherently bad. I mean, some of the most beloved classics started as what we’d now call YA books (my favorite of which is The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, in case you were wondering). This phenomenon hasn’t changed.
This is all to say, you don’t have to be a teenager to appreciate YA fiction. Though it’s aimed at a young adult audience, and young adults might find themselves better relating to the characters, any audience can find these stories dynamic and exciting. Personally, I find myself returning to YA for the fresh dialogue. There’s so much to enjoy, though. I encourage anyone looking for a new read to pick up a YA book and check it out. It will probably be better than you think, and might inspire you to read some more.
(And if you’re looking for some recommendations, my favorites I’ve read recently are The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner, A Complicated Love Story Set in Space by Shaun David Hutchinson, and The Grace Year by Kim Liggett.)
