More relatable for me! I mean – I’m almost 30 so I prefer “new adult” but I just can’t relate to most adult- especially contemporary / fiction! I do love memoirs and fantasy, though!
because they r fun to read lol. they’re not ‘deep’ like Shakespeare or other classics but i like the troupes in them and they’re basically mindless entertainment
It means that most of them aren’t really the insightful/meaningful kind of good but r entertaining. They don’t have deep meaning or a lot of substance and most of them follows a very typical storyline so they don’t have significance to them, which is y I call the entertainment that comes from them ‘mindless’ since they don’t result from the book actually being ‘good’, but because we simply like the troupes in them (kickass heroine, hot boyfriend, love triangles, etc.)
I beg to differ. Have you read any John Green? How about The Hate U Give? If all you’re reading is teen romance stuff, you’re missing out in a world of excellent writing and tackling tough subject matter.
Elyse Alba Hopson So many… None of them are in my top book picks of any year. I’ve read YA from just about every top YA list imaginable… None of them are deep and meaningful… Or at least very few. Maybe there are a few John Green books with some deeper themes that don’t make me roll my eyes.
@Stephanie I don’t find it generally appealing. I’ve read a few like Harry Potter or the Pendragon by DJ machale but I just am not drawn to it at all. Idk why. Probably because I never related to them even when I was younger.
Elyse Alba Hopson Fantasy, Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mysteries…. That’s probably the majority of the books I really enjoy. Throw in a few Great Courses (which are like college courses in various historical subjects), some non fiction, and classics and that probably hits the majority of the books I read.
Elyse Alba Hopson depends on what I’m feeling. Science fiction, I’ve been really into mystery/thrillers lately, light hearted romance or the steamier variety. The most recent YA I read was Children of Blood and Bone. I liked it enough to finish it but I’m not going to bother with the sequels. It was just ok.
Stephanie Mallory Starke I like the exact opposite of your preference, therefore I love YA. I don’t like drama, or contemporary in general. I prefer dystopian, fantasy and gothic. Bordering reality, just outside of realistic grasp is best.
I’m only for the occasional YA that isn’t full of drama. I don’t enjoy many YA because the characters fall in love with others they don’t actually know or don’t make inferences to save their lives, or so many other reasons I just can’t relate to (and that didn’t make sense for me when I was a teen either). So there aren’t many that I’m for, but I’ll give one a try every once in a while if the reviews are particularly good.
@Eri Those are some of my main issues with YA, too. No one acts like that ever, even stupid teenagers. And there is inevitably some sort of love triangle. They fall in love multiple times while inexplicably dodging death at every corner and saving the entire world… Uh, okay, sure.
@Jamie-Lynn I’m part of Reading Rivalry, which is a book reading challenge. You get points by reading books that fit wide criteria (like punctuation in title) and based on the page count. It’s not a book club perse, but there are reviews and team challenges and sometimes people choose books to buddy read. You control what you read 100%, so if you never want to read YA you don’t have to
@Elyse Looking at events, 14 books in the last year have been YA or “new adult” which is basically the same thing. And several more Goodreads lists as romance. The way you do the voting may seem to be fair, but it’s producing the same results over and over. I get excited for fantasy, then a YA book is picked, etc. There really aren’t many picks that aren’t YA in most polls, with the exception of last month, and if they are they are so far at the bottom that it’s impossible for them to win. The YA book I “picked” in the poll was one I have already read just so I could participate in the discussion because the rest don’t interest me at all. I get what you’re trying to do, but to pretend that it doesn’t skew really YA is pretty disingenuous. It’s not the first time I’ve complained about it, either.
@Elyse It would be impossible not to pick a YA book in the poll. Those are the only options other than Oryx & Crake with has 3 votes including mine. I really wish we would exclude YA if it’s not the chosen genre. But my opinion has been dismissed on that multiple times already and people just keep picking YA books. Also see my above comment for more info on my choice.
14 out of about 30 discussions is really good. We let you add you own options to every poll. We also do events like Bingo where you choose your own books based on prompts. We’ve also done readathons the same way. We really do try and keep it as fair as possible. Sorry you feel that way we are doing our best.
Because they’re really great stories. Imaginative, full of heart, great pacing. I go back and forth between YA and “grownup” and rarely feel YA is too juvenile. At least, the ones I end up reading!
These books are all YA some of them are classics. I would hardly call The Hate You Give, The Outsiders, To Kill A Mockingbird, and so many more mindless and for teens only. I think having an open mind when reading will open up a whole world you didn’t know you loved.
@Elyse like divergent for example. A lot of ppl criticize it for the flaws in its world building and it’s lack of substance and while I couldn’t agree more, I absolutely love it simply since it’s so entertaining to read
Eri Higashi Agree. THUG is a YA book that doesn’t really seem like a YA book. I feel like it only gets that classification because the protagonist is in high school. The topics it covers are way more mature and thought out than most YA books.
Maybe those of you who don’t care for it haven’t read the right book. I live for YA books and I am currently working on one myself. YA books are more than what’s just on the surface.
I will never age out of any genre, including children’s books. I read everything unapologetically. I went through a long phase of only reading about divorced middle aged women real and fiction in my late teens.
I ALWAYS visit the children’s section of a book store. It’s probably the most magical place ever.
Following a recent family tragedy I can’t consume any media that is too dark or heavy because my world has enough of that already.
YA is not really a genre though. It’s about lenght and vocabulary choices, and that makes them more accessible (particularly to busy people who tend to grab their books when commuting or for a few minutes before bed). Just like children’s fiction is not a genre. YA can be romance, thriller, horror, sci-fi, historical or pretty much anything.
My bad, genre is the wrong word. But the message is the same, all books despite the intended audience can be incredibly deep, introspective, healing, and so on.
There are a couple YA novels that are on my all time favorite reads list. I love the fantasy genre and the stories I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing have been fun, exciting, whimsical and edge of your seat suspenseful. I haven’t been reading YA long, but it’s the first area I go to when I visit the bookstore. I think the percentage of YA readers is like 70% adult -vs- teens. Think that some adults may feel like reading YA is somehow beneath them because there’s a belief that it’s “dumbed down” literature. Not so…just look at popularity of the Harry Potter series. Every line I’ve stood in for a HP book had overwhelmingly more adults that kids.
I enjoy a little bit of all the genre, but I tend to lean towards YA since there are so many different subject matters. You can get a cheesy romance, a science fiction, thriller, mystery, or horror all in one section of the Library. With “Adult” Fiction I feel like its the same character and story line over and over again. Mostly I believe it is simply personal preference, If people like YA great, If they prefer strictly “Adult” Fiction fine. I don’t judge your choice you don’t judge mine. You just have to find a place that you feel you can express yourself and relate to those around you.
In reading these comments, I kept thinking of the most recent YA I read, The Hate U Give. It certainly was not mindless. I thought about and worried about those characters for days after I read the book. It is so relevant and I felt like I was part of the story. Yes, it was an easy read, but was not overly dramatic. I think some of you just haven’t read the right YA book yet. I love them. I certainly do not read them exclusively but certainly enjoy them. I am an elementary librarian and had to take a class last summer in YA Lit. I’ve got lots of recommendations, if you need them.
I would love some really good, relevant YA recommendations. I’ve read so many over the years and I find they’re really hit or miss for me. I loved The Hate U Give, liked most of Turtles All The Way Down, liked the world building and story but not the romance in Strange the Dreamer, and I didn’t care for Divergent, Maze Runner, or The Hunger Games.
This reminds me of a discussion I started in a YA book club about the age of the characters. It was basically decided that YA is such a big market that new adult or NA, a newer kind of genre, where characters are a bit older like 21 or so is highly overlooked. So they tell the authors to drop the ages and make it YA. But i lovd the dark themes that you find in YA books.
Because YA is soooooo good! I had my reservations at first to but really they are very “adult”. I wouldn’t let my preteens read them lol.
Because they are usually more full of hope and make us remember what all those firsts felt like as we are reading we get to relive all our firsts
I ? YA books! ??
I tend to gravitate towards them when looking for an “easier” read. They also usually seem more.. maybe emotional? Hopeful?
Because they are super good!
More relatable for me! I mean – I’m almost 30 so I prefer “new adult” but I just can’t relate to most adult- especially contemporary / fiction! I do love memoirs and fantasy, though!
Agree!
It has a HUGE fan base!
because they r fun to read lol. they’re not ‘deep’ like Shakespeare or other classics but i like the troupes in them and they’re basically mindless entertainment
Umm what do you mean by mindless entertainment??
It means that most of them aren’t really the insightful/meaningful kind of good but r entertaining. They don’t have deep meaning or a lot of substance and most of them follows a very typical storyline so they don’t have significance to them, which is y I call the entertainment that comes from them ‘mindless’ since they don’t result from the book actually being ‘good’, but because we simply like the troupes in them (kickass heroine, hot boyfriend, love triangles, etc.)
I beg to differ. Have you read any John Green? How about The Hate U Give? If all you’re reading is teen romance stuff, you’re missing out in a world of excellent writing and tackling tough subject matter.
Read my other comment
Yeah… I’m over here wondering if I’m the only 30s+ woman who doesn’t want to read teenager drama.
Out of curiosity what YA books have you read?
Elyse Alba Hopson So many… None of them are in my top book picks of any year. I’ve read YA from just about every top YA list imaginable… None of them are deep and meaningful… Or at least very few. Maybe there are a few John Green books with some deeper themes that don’t make me roll my eyes.
@Stephanie I don’t find it generally appealing. I’ve read a few like Harry Potter or the Pendragon by DJ machale but I just am not drawn to it at all. Idk why. Probably because I never related to them even when I was younger.
What genre do yall typically read?
@Amanda Exactly. Harry Potter. Some John Green. Otherwise, I find them so superficial and overly dramatic
Elyse Alba Hopson Fantasy, Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mysteries…. That’s probably the majority of the books I really enjoy. Throw in a few Great Courses (which are like college courses in various historical subjects), some non fiction, and classics and that probably hits the majority of the books I read.
Elyse Alba Hopson depends on what I’m feeling. Science fiction, I’ve been really into mystery/thrillers lately, light hearted romance or the steamier variety. The most recent YA I read was Children of Blood and Bone. I liked it enough to finish it but I’m not going to bother with the sequels. It was just ok.
@Amanda Agreed. I read Children of Blood and Bone, too. There were good moments, but I won’t be picking up the sequel either.
@Elyse I like books that are darker and grittier and more realistic.
Stephanie Mallory Starke I like the exact opposite of your preference, therefore I love YA. I don’t like drama, or contemporary in general. I prefer dystopian, fantasy and gothic. Bordering reality, just outside of realistic grasp is best.
I’m only for the occasional YA that isn’t full of drama. I don’t enjoy many YA because the characters fall in love with others they don’t actually know or don’t make inferences to save their lives, or so many other reasons I just can’t relate to (and that didn’t make sense for me when I was a teen either). So there aren’t many that I’m for, but I’ll give one a try every once in a while if the reviews are particularly good.
@Eri Those are some of my main issues with YA, too. No one acts like that ever, even stupid teenagers. And there is inevitably some sort of love triangle. They fall in love multiple times while inexplicably dodging death at every corner and saving the entire world… Uh, okay, sure.
@Jamie-Lynn I’m part of Reading Rivalry, which is a book reading challenge. You get points by reading books that fit wide criteria (like punctuation in title) and based on the page count. It’s not a book club perse, but there are reviews and team challenges and sometimes people choose books to buddy read. You control what you read 100%, so if you never want to read YA you don’t have to
@Elyse It does tend to sway really YA, though. In the months I have been a member there was only one month without YA reads.
@Elyse Looking at events, 14 books in the last year have been YA or “new adult” which is basically the same thing. And several more Goodreads lists as romance. The way you do the voting may seem to be fair, but it’s producing the same results over and over. I get excited for fantasy, then a YA book is picked, etc. There really aren’t many picks that aren’t YA in most polls, with the exception of last month, and if they are they are so far at the bottom that it’s impossible for them to win. The YA book I “picked” in the poll was one I have already read just so I could participate in the discussion because the rest don’t interest me at all. I get what you’re trying to do, but to pretend that it doesn’t skew really YA is pretty disingenuous. It’s not the first time I’ve complained about it, either.
@Elyse It would be impossible not to pick a YA book in the poll. Those are the only options other than Oryx & Crake with has 3 votes including mine. I really wish we would exclude YA if it’s not the chosen genre. But my opinion has been dismissed on that multiple times already and people just keep picking YA books. Also see my above comment for more info on my choice.
14 out of about 30 discussions is really good. We let you add you own options to every poll. We also do events like Bingo where you choose your own books based on prompts. We’ve also done readathons the same way. We really do try and keep it as fair as possible. Sorry you feel that way we are doing our best.
Because I love it? ??♀️?
Easy reading, that’s why.
Disagree. At least personally.
@Patty ok ?
Because they’re really great stories. Imaginative, full of heart, great pacing. I go back and forth between YA and “grownup” and rarely feel YA is too juvenile. At least, the ones I end up reading!
http://time.com/100-best-young-adult-books/
These books are all YA some of them are classics. I would hardly call The Hate You Give, The Outsiders, To Kill A Mockingbird, and so many more mindless and for teens only. I think having an open mind when reading will open up a whole world you didn’t know you loved.
And this list doesn’t even include the more recent masterpieces I have read in the last couple years.
Yea, I can c what u mean. I would say most of the books from the dystopian genre r in the ‘mindless entertainment’ category tho.
I don’t know a lot about dystopian I need to read more of them.
@Elyse I do want to read the hate you give. It’s on my ever growing to be read list ?
@Elyse like divergent for example. A lot of ppl criticize it for the flaws in its world building and it’s lack of substance and while I couldn’t agree more, I absolutely love it simply since it’s so entertaining to read
Its soooo good @Amanda!! I can’t recommend it enough!
+Amanda Same here. I’ve been wanting to read it for such a long time but I have too many other things to do
@Amanda The Hate U Give is fantastic and I’d say an important and well crafted read for adults as well as teens
Eri Higashi Agree. THUG is a YA book that doesn’t really seem like a YA book. I feel like it only gets that classification because the protagonist is in high school. The topics it covers are way more mature and thought out than most YA books.
Maybe those of you who don’t care for it haven’t read the right book. I live for YA books and I am currently working on one myself. YA books are more than what’s just on the surface.
If you need some book recs … I’m here for you.
@Jennifer I’ll take a reccomendation. I’m on maternity leave and have plenty of time to get into a new genre ?
Would love a recommendation as well
What genre do you prefer? @Becca @Erin
@Jennifer I’ll follow the thread and try out YA since it’s a genre I don’t typically read ?
Jennifer Robyn Haydon Fantasy – really into witches/vampires/ ghosts etc
@Becca you have found the right person. I’ll make a list today. Ya fantasy is my life
@Erin do you like fantasy? Romance? Dystopian? Sci-Fi?
@Jennifer I like sci-fi and dystopian. I’m also a huge mystery fan.
@Jennifer maybe romance of sci fi. Nothing and lol. I read to escape and relax.
Or mystery
@Jennifer perfect!!! I soooo appreciate it!!! Can’t wait. Thank you
I will never age out of any genre, including children’s books. I read everything unapologetically. I went through a long phase of only reading about divorced middle aged women real and fiction in my late teens.
I ALWAYS visit the children’s section of a book store. It’s probably the most magical place ever.
Following a recent family tragedy I can’t consume any media that is too dark or heavy because my world has enough of that already.
So I picked up old favorites and new.
To each his own, good discussion starter. ?
Children’s books ARE so magical!
YA is not really a genre though. It’s about lenght and vocabulary choices, and that makes them more accessible (particularly to busy people who tend to grab their books when commuting or for a few minutes before bed). Just like children’s fiction is not a genre.
YA can be romance, thriller, horror, sci-fi, historical or pretty much anything.
My bad, genre is the wrong word. But the message is the same, all books despite the intended audience can be incredibly deep, introspective, healing, and so on.
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/12/why-so-many-adults-are-love-young-adult-literature/547334/
There are a couple YA novels that are on my all time favorite reads list. I love the fantasy genre and the stories I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing have been fun, exciting, whimsical and edge of your seat suspenseful. I haven’t been reading YA long, but it’s the first area I go to when I visit the bookstore. I think the percentage of YA readers is like 70% adult -vs- teens. Think that some adults may feel like reading YA is somehow beneath them because there’s a belief that it’s “dumbed down” literature. Not so…just look at popularity of the Harry Potter series. Every line I’ve stood in for a HP book had overwhelmingly more adults that kids.
My sister just said some people don’t enjoy YA because their inner child has died and we should just feel sorry for them. ?
Oh goodness!
I do think there are those that look down their nose at what others read, but I do think it’s a valid question from those who aren’t drawn to YA.
It’s a question I myself asked in the past.
I enjoy a little bit of all the genre, but I tend to lean towards YA since there are so many different subject matters. You can get a cheesy romance, a science fiction, thriller, mystery, or horror all in one section of the Library. With “Adult” Fiction I feel like its the same character and story line over and over again. Mostly I believe it is simply personal preference, If people like YA great, If they prefer strictly “Adult” Fiction fine. I don’t judge your choice you don’t judge mine. You just have to find a place that you feel you can express yourself and relate to those around you.
In reading these comments, I kept thinking of the most recent YA I read, The Hate U Give. It certainly was not mindless. I thought about and worried about those characters for days after I read the book. It is so relevant and I felt like I was part of the story. Yes, it was an easy read, but was not overly dramatic. I think some of you just haven’t read the right YA book yet. I love them. I certainly do not read them exclusively but certainly enjoy them. I am an elementary librarian and had to take a class last summer in YA Lit. I’ve got lots of recommendations, if you need them.
I would love some really good, relevant YA recommendations. I’ve read so many over the years and I find they’re really hit or miss for me. I loved The Hate U Give, liked most of Turtles All The Way Down, liked the world building and story but not the romance in Strange the Dreamer, and I didn’t care for Divergent, Maze Runner, or The Hunger Games.
This reminds me of a discussion I started in a YA book club about the age of the characters. It was basically decided that YA is such a big market that new adult or NA, a newer kind of genre, where characters are a bit older like 21 or so is highly overlooked. So they tell the authors to drop the ages and make it YA. But i lovd the dark themes that you find in YA books.