Many
people, mainly my mom, have told me that my choice in books needs to mature.
When strolling through a Barnes and Noble, I jog right into the young adult
section, and run my finger along the spines of teenage love and trouble. Since
thirteen, I had the ability to loose my self in the pages of a cheesy Sarah
Dessen book, and now, at the ripe age of 19, still find the words of Sarah
Dessen dripping with entertainment.
All
of my friends avoid the young adult section of a bookstore as if it were roped
off with caution
tape. They have told me it would be “social suicide” to enter my YA paradise.
In fear of loosing my weekend plans, I started marching into the regular-old
adult section and solemnly grabbing books. I did, however, learn to feed my addiction
to teen fiction with online shopping.
Meg
Wolitzer, a published author in both the adult and young adult world, believes
that the older generation should not be ashamed for reaching for YA books when
in search for entertainment. Wolitzer wrote, “Not
only do I feel an intense connection with my earlier, often more vulnerable and
intensely curious self, I also feel that I’ve been given access to a pure form
of the complications involved with being young, now filtered through the
compassion, perceptions (and barnacles) of my older self.” Society has created
what seems like an exact point where teenagers are supposed to shift right into
adulthood, for example, moving out of the house into a college dorm or new
apartment. Why must we be expected to shed our YA literature as well? If one
chooses to read after a long, hard day or during a rainy afternoon, shouldn’t
they be able to find pleasure in any genre of book?
Ruth Graham disagrees. In her article from The Slate, Graham stated that adults who read YA novels should feel
embarrassed that they chose to read a book written for teenagers and children.
“Fellow
grown-ups, at the risk of sounding snobbish and joyless and old, we are better
than this.” Ruth Graham, along with my mother and friends, believe that adults
should read adult books and that’s the way life should be.
My mom would get along with Ruth Graham.
Wolitzer,
Meg. "Look Homeward, Reader." The New York Times. The New York
Times, 18 Oct. 2014. Web. 20 Jan. 2015.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/fashion/a-not-so-young-audience-for-young-adult-books.html?_r=0
Graham, Ruth. "Yes, Adults Should Be
Embarrassed to Read Young Adult Books."
The Slate. 8 July 2014. Web. 20 Jan. 2015. http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014
I actually think it is healthy that age barriers are breaking down again with respect to books. In the eighteenth-century, the period that much of our reading will come from, there was no dividing line between the two. By creating an artificial dividing line, we tend to underestimate how sophisticated children are, and overestimate how "serious' adults are. So I say read on.
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