Recently I spoke to a friend about his thoughts on books as I was trying to come up with this article. As I was trying to come up with ideas, I asked him what was he sick or tired of seeing in novels. He said he was tired of YA novels, that he had grown past them. Let me tell you I was shocked, utterly shocked I tell you.
He and I are lovers of YA fiction. So, it through me when he said this! He went on to say that he was tired of the same reiteration of the same story i.e.- teenagers, vampires, angels, witches, wolves etc. He told me he was tired of it, so he now read adult fiction with complex characters. Where stories bend and changing literally, before his eyes.
I then thought maybe he was right! I hadn’t been able to find a good YA book to read in a year.I constantly started a book and stopped. Each character felt like the same. I was once an avid YA reader, even now there are books on my kindle that are young adult and still haven’t been read. But I was tired of reading about love triangles, or reading the same line’s like, “he’s so beautiful,” or the same plot where the plain girl gets the unnaturally sexy new guy in school.
Worst I could predict the outcome of the books I was trying to read. I found that I couldn’t connect with those types of characters any more. I couldn’t pick up a book without getting bored. So, I tried looking for unorthodox YA novels. Which were great at first, until they put me back in the same scenario.
Growing up reading YA was awesome until I became an adult. In ways, I felt embarrassed for the type of books I loved. And then one day I came to accept that I loved young adult books. But for the last few years I hadn’t been able to find a decent YA novel nor finish one. That scared me the fact that I haven’t read anything and the fact I haven’t found anything worth reading.
I had grown out of YA and had not even known it! The sheer horror of it. I think I already knew this on some level. But it still surprised me. So, I decided to take a break from YA novels. While taking my break I felt lost at what to read. Even though I had plenty adult novels to read, it was strange for me to not look at the young adult section first. I found that my amazon and good reads accounts would suggestion adult books for me.
Books were easier to find, I also could relate to characters, the plot were extraordinary. And there wasn’t a love triangle or angst-y teen in sight. It was refreshing. Now don’t get me wrong if I find a YA novel I like I’ll read it. But as of right now I’m ok with not reading anything YA related.
Sheetal Tadiparty
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