Today I want to do a post on hate towards YA. Lately I have been seeing a lot of comments regarding Young Adult Literature and how it is an ‘awful’ demographic. Everybody is entitled to their opinions and their own reading preferences but there is a way to voice such opinions and attacking those online who do like YA books is not the way to go about it. It always makes me ponder the question why is there such a hate for YA books?
I myself have experienced numerous comments from people stating how I should be spending my time reading ‘proper literature’ and how as an English Graduate I should be reading classics all the time. Ah, Bronte, Austen, Fitzgerald. I have tried them all but now alongside their names will be the work of J.K Rowling, Suzanne Collins and more. An argument of mine which may be controversial but for me they are now pinned as classics especially in Young Adult Literature.
What makes a classic? Is it the time period it is made or how it is simply iconic? Because for me Harry Potter and The Hunger Games are simply iconic. Their worlds may be filled with magic or dystopian government regimes but they depict a society not too far from our own. Harry Potter deals with many themes, the most notable being the Good VS Evil war but what do they represent? Voldemort is for the pure race, only the pure blood wizarding families which echos Hitler idolizing the Aryan Race. Whilst Hitler’s ultimate perfect race was full German, blonde hair, blue eyes still he was against Jewish people so cruelly. Do the Half Bloods or ‘Mudblood’s represent the Jewish Society to some extent? The similarities to our history are there.
The Hunger Games is a book which I studied for my dissertation and whilst being a dystopic fictional text it too feature’s a lot of history. Suzanne Collins wrote The Hunger Games whilst flipping through the images of the Vietnam War alongside Reality Television, two things present still today in our society. Images of War are constantly flashed on our screens and reality TV is ever-present, the world of Panam deals with Rich VS Poor, totalitarian governments and the constant presence of CCTV. You can draw similarities of the Districts separation to the Capitol to the words of Donald Trump as he proclaimed he wished to build a wall from Mexico, separating the two.
So why the hate for YA texts when many deal with so many cultural issues?
Young Adult books is a demographic created by the publishing companies in order to create Teenage readers. The Teenager was made by the government in order to sell more products and with it came the introduction of Young Adult Literature which has grown and grown. Do those who hate it simply not read any Young Adult books because it is dubbed exactly that ‘Young Adult.’ Or is it because they think it is all fantasy and have no relevance to real life? Or perhaps because the books are usually very forward thinking? Some may simply not enjoy Young Adult books and that is also ok, as I sometimes do not enjoy Adult Books however I wouldn’t scream my hate at ‘Adult Literature’ and say how awful all of them are, how it shouldn’t even be a demographic and that it is ruining books? All arguments I have seen thrown at Young Adult…
Why does it annoy me so much?
It annoys me when the attack comes at YA and the people who read it. Everybody can make their own decisions and have their own preferences so why do some people think they can tell others what to do and How they are stupid if they like a certain book? Young Adult books can teach us valuable lessons no matter our age. Some may feature witches, vampires, werewolves or faeries but they each come with lessons. The Lord of The Rings too is a book that isn’t particularly dubbed Young Adult fantasy but Adult Fantasy yet that is known to be a classic of sorts. It is very strange to think about what people dub as a ‘waste of time’ to read over others, when the premise could be very similar.
Why do I love Young Adult Books the most?
I have tried to read many different types of books, from Adult to classics, to plays to YA. I mostly come back to Young Adult the most because I enjoy them the most. I love Young Adult books because there is so much choice out there, I love the extent of the worlds and the sheer detail a lot of the books can hold. I can regularly lose myself in a Young Adult book which I struggle to do with Adult Literature. I’m not sure why and I am not hitting out at Adult literature but for me there always feels like something is missing whereas a Young Adult books seems to be so detailed and I can relate to a character more. Perhaps that is why I love them more because regularly I can find a character very close to my age and therefore I can relate to that character more.
Are Young Adult Readers and Reviewers ruining the publishing market?
Are we? I don’t think so and this is a statement which angers me the most. There are articles out there which state that Young Adult Book Bloggers or Booktubers are ruining the market. I think it is making it better, there is always a way to get your opinion across and I never agree with giving extreme hate to authors, publishing companies etc. I think its awful when people send death threats but ultimately I believe the comments and criticisms of the community are helping mould the future of literature. For example many fought for more female heroines and we got it. I studied Children’s Literature as a unit in University and I can see the real development across literature through time, a woman’s place in children’s literature used to be as a secondary role, they would regularly be left out of the action or have their behaviour modified to fit in with society. Whereas now we have our Hermiones, Celeana’s, Katniss’ and more.
The voices of the community are ever fighting for more representation, representation that is deserved. There is a need for more diversity and the voices are beginning to be answered. There are more diverse reads now than there was when I was growing up that’s for sure but there still needs to be more. I cannot speak for the voices of POC, some amazing bloggers and voices out there include Fawda and Cam. Who regularly speak regarding Diversity and I suggest you check them both out. But from somebody who suffers from Mental Health Issues I can state I am so happy that now there are books being published which showcase characters with Anxiety, Depression etc. Something I never had growing up.
So YA literature and the community isn’t ruining books and publishing. It’s developing it, it’s reaching out and begging for more inclusion for everyone.
Your Thoughts?
So there are just a few of my thoughts regarding Young Adult hate. I hope you liked this post, let me know your thoughts in the comments and what you think about this topic. Are you sick of the YA hate? Let me know!
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I think it’s weird that people go out of their way to say how much they hate YA and attack the people that read it. You don’t like it, don’t read it. Simple solution really but by no means should you attack other people for it. What’s the point? And yes Voldemort is a parallel to Hitler. Even though Hitler hated Jewish people he was part Jewish just as Voldemort is half blood. That never made sense to me why people still chose to follow them……
Anyway, this a great article 🙂
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Thank you so much for reading and sharing your opinion! I agree 100%, it is so weird how they do go out of their way to throw hate. I never get it? I just think we should celebrate people are reading! I never get why people feel the need to insult another person for a reading choice? Doesn’t make sense to me!
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It makes me so angry when people hate on YA like this
It’s okay to dislike it, we can’t all like the same thing after all, but the way some people act is so disrespectful to the readers of YA and the authors. Either they’ve never actually read a YA book, or they’ve read one and are now basing their view of the entire genre on that one book.
Yes, there are YA books that have no deep meaning or important message, but the same could be said for adult books? And even if there’s no meaning or message or whatever, what does it matter if people enjoy it? Let people read what they want!
There are so many amazing YA books out there that are SO important, like the ones you mentioned but also for example The Hate U Give. Just because YA books have young protagonists and are aimed at a younger audience, doesn’t mean they aren’t important!
Great post! I completely agree with everything you said 🙂
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I agree with everything you said too! I just don’t understand why people have to hate on it so much or any genre? Like people are reading lets just be excited about that!! I loved The Hate U Give so much. Without a doubt the best book I have read this year to date and I doubt anything is going to top it!
Thank you for sharing your opinions ❤
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I love this post so, so much, Hannah! ❤ I agree with you on everything here. It makes me really mad to see people hating on YA books, saying they have no substance or aren't "good enough" compared to other books in the market. Like you said, there are just so many YA books dealing with important issues, yet people do as if these don't exist at all. Obviously, there are books that are more fun and fluffy and everything, but it's not everything that exists. I feel like it's easier for people to criticize instead of trying to know the genre and what it's actually made of.
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YES! Exactly Marie, your words are perfect people definitely would rather criticize than try to know the true genre or give it a go for themselves. Half of them all speak of the same book as well and it’s like try another one?
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Amazing post, Hannah ♥ I completely agree with everything you’re saying! If people don’t want to read YA that’s fine, but why go out of your way to insult it? Especially if you’re someone the genre isn’t even intended for? Like, I’m an adult and YA is my favourite, but if I didn’t like it then my opinion is invalid because it’s not for me???? Haha. The statement about it ruining the publishing industry is so ridiculous. I understand that there’s a lot more attention on YA, but YA community members are doing SO MUCH. I’ve honestly learnt so much in the past year and a half because of joining this community. Like, it’s not our fault we’re passionate and active haha.
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Thank you for reading and sharing your opinion Lauren! I agree exactly, I have learnt so much from the YA community as well and it winds me up when adults are insulting those who read it or those in the community. Like if your going to be critical, be kind don’t insult people? And they say the young people are rude with criticism!
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I always believe that people like different things, so why rain on the parade of what other people like? If it’s not for you, it’s not for you. And if it is, then great. It’s like trying to compare someone who likes an orange to someone who likes apples instead. They are so different that comparison is pointless, IMO. I love YA, and some people don’t. And that’s totally okay. I believe that some YA books can be and are iconic. That classics don’t have to be 100 years old. In fact, in another 100 years to come, people will come to call some YA books classics, too.
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I’m 34…and YA books are my favorite…if not the only thing I read. Part of the problem (in my opinion) with society is that people are righteous in their opinions. I see it like this: reading in itself is important…it’s not about what you read, or what your interests are.
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I agree completely! People like to impose their views onto other people, who really cares what you like to read lets just celebrate everyone reading right? Especially in the age of technology and social media, I think it’s great so many people choose to pick up a book still!
Thank you for reading and sharing your opinion, so glad you love YA!
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