Opinion
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Why You Should Be Reading YA Lit
May 6, 2022
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At a glance, young adult (YA) literature is easy to make fun of. YA books are known for playing into tropes, shallow dialogue, and predictable plots. Many YA books are also romances, which is already a genre that gets a lot of flack for being cringey and overdone. And if all that isn’t bad enough, YA books are also super popular with specifically teenage girls, and I’m sure we’re all well aware of how our culture treats things teenage girls love.
Yes, at a glance, YA fiction is bottom of the barrel stuff; it exists in a sort of limbo between the simple concepts and imaginativity of children’s fiction and the deep prose and grittier scenarios of adult fiction. With all this in mind, one might wonder: is there any merit to YA fiction?
Well, worry not. There is a case to be made for the inherent value of YA books, and I’m here to make it.
For starters, there’s something to be said for anything that gets people to read. YA books often have approachable plots and relatable characters, making it a more enticing read than adult books that focus on, well, adult problems. Divorce is more interesting to read about if you’re going through it; it’s the same for securing a date to the dance or going through your first year of college. Sometimes the latter is just more fun . . .
