Why YA is for Everyone
Whenever there’s a big dilemma/discussion on Twitter, I tend to stray from it. Not because I don’t believe in standing up for my opinion, but because confrontation and me just aren’t a good mix. As a lot of you may know, I have anxiety, so the thought of getting into heated arguments just isn’t my thing.
But a few days ago, there was this Author. Let’s call her Lady. Lady was in a rather unpleasant discussion with a good friend of mine, saying that YA books are not to be read/enjoyed by Adult readers. That they are for eleven year old’s. I was outraged. The clue is in the name of the YA genre – it means young adult. When you are eleven, you’re not a young adult. You’re barely just out of being a child, on the verge of being a teen. I did a tweet about it here, but didn’t direct it at the person in question. When Lady left twitter, a lot of people were still in discussion about it. A few other twitter goers said that YA should be a “Teen Space”. While I agree that Teens are the main demographic YA is written about / for, in no way should we be singling out and pushing out different age groups from genres of reading. I would never tell a child/teen they couldn’t read an Adult book and I would never tell and Adult they couldn’t read YA. A lot of people shared my same opinions. I have always been a YA blogger/reader and grew up reading a variety of the genres within YA. I’ll always love and read YA and don’t think that’s a bad thing at all. There’s something in YA for everyone and we can all learn from the genre. No one should tell you what you can and can’t read.
Some people might not share the same opinion. You, reading this, might think that YA is for Teens. You are completely okay to have that opinion. But logically, and physically, it’s not right. If you asked an author – one published and read by thousands of readers – that she should tell Adults they can’t read YA, do you know how many readers/fans they would lose? As a YA Blogger since a teenager myself, I helped build some of the foundations in the YA community with my Blog and putting it in the best way I can, I will not be pushed out because I’m not a Teen.
I am allowed to have this space. We all share this space. It’s called a Book Community. There isn’t a need for cliques, dividing people by age, ranting, threatening. . .because at the end of the day, it’s books. They are meant to be loved and enjoyed. Can’t we all stick together? To not divide ourselves up? Still, you might not agree. And that’s okay. But I’m not going anywhere, and like so many of my friends, we are barely in Adulthood. I am twenty one years old, and will be reading YA for as long as I please. I have far more in common with it than Adult fiction. And that’s okay. Whatever you want to read, that is okay. Don’t let anyone tell you what you can’t find joy in.
I held a poll on twitter with an overwhelming amount of you saying YA is for Everyone. And I am so glad you think so.
So. Poll time? Your honest, secret opinion: I believe…— Becca ☕️🍂🐻📚 (@LittleMemoirs) February 19, 2018
happy reading!
