Guest Post: Faye from A Daydreamer's Thoughts talks YA

Hey Guys!

Today I'd like to share a guest post with you, written by the lovely Faye of A Daydreamer's Thoughts  She's an awesome blogger and person! She's also up for a paid blogging gig, so after you take a look at her post on YA books, go ahead and watch her video and share it. Team Faye Rocks!

I would like to start this post by sending out a huge thank you to Melissa for being kind enough to host me on the blog today! I have long been a supporter of her and her blog and so it is nice to be able to right a post for her and her followers. Today I am going to tell you all about Young Adult fiction and why I think that it is an incredible category for books.

Young Adult books, more commonly known as YA books, are relatively new. Not the book styles themselves as there has always been books written specifically for teenagers but recently, in the last few years I believe, the book publishers started changing the category and calling them Young Adult as opposed to teenager reads. Generally speaking Young Adult books are aimed at fourteen to seventeen year olds, but what is – according to some statistics, actually being read by a lot of people older than seventeen.
This is something that has been subject to a lot of discussions and debates, with some people seeing it as disturbing that people older than the targeted audience were reading these stories. Whereas others feel that it is good that the books are getting such a wide reception. Personally I believe that it is brilliant that so many people are reading and enjoying these books, that these authors have managed to get such a universal appeal because it means that so many more people are actually reading and it encourages people to read whatever they want, and that is definitely something to achieve.

But why are YA books so popular?
Of course, I can’t answer this question with absolute certainty without going out and asking everyone that reads them and besides it being fairly impossible, I don’t have the time. Instead, I am going to answer this with a list of why I love YA as I believe that they’re likely to be the same reasons others like it too.

• They Say A Lot. Okay, a lot of books do this and really this is why reading is so popular but when it comes to YA fiction, there is so much to deal with as teenagers are dealing with the pressures of adolescence and the transition into adulthood. Young Adult fiction is able to help teenagers through this tricky period but it also shows adults what it is like, makes them remember, and is possible to make them understand teenagers again.
• Coming-of-Age, Growing Up Stories. These characters go through transitions in the books. They learn things about themselves and about the world and they learn how to deal with the things around them. This is obviously great for teenagers as they are going through that same thing but it’s good for adults because it’s nostalgic, but also because they can still learn things too. If the book is powerful enough, it can hone into a person a new message they never considered before.
• Depth. Some of these YA novels really get down into the nitty gritty of life and emotions. They’re emotions that are rich and raw and ones that we feel in every walk of life. While the characters may be younger and feel them more passionately – or feel that they do – there is no denying that these feelings are universal. When we’re able to connect to a character through their journey and emotions, it really doesn’t matter what age we are.
• They’re Relevant. Even stories that are set in the past, the future, or in a fantasy world, these stories are relevant to the world today. They paint a picture of the world we live in, how much better it is to say a dystopian world, or a fantasy one in the middle of a war – or it simply shows life as it is. This is something that you can be any age to enjoy and learn from.
• Beautifully Written, Magnificent Works of Art. When the writing and the story is so good that you’d be a fool to miss out on it, why would anyone want to? If the story can transport you somewhere, is good enough to grab the teenagers’ attention, and is flowing with beautiful words, then it really shouldn’t matter if you’re young or old. We should all be able to appreciate it for exactly what it is; magnificent works of art!

There are probably other reasons why adults read YA – such as because they are simply enjoyable pieces of fiction – but these, I feel, are the most powerful and relevant. But really, what is important to remember here is that the category YA was given to books by the publishers to help readers know which books will be good for them, but just as audiences who are older than 15 (or 13 in the US), enjoy films with a 15 (PG-13) classification, readers who are older than seventeen are more than welcome to enjoy Young Adult literature.

Do you agree? Or disagree? What are your thoughts on the Young Adult classification?

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