Tagged: ya genre
YA Release Dates to Look Forward to
As you can probably guess, I read a lot of YA books, which by extension means I’m reading a lot of in-progress series at once. But, I’ve made this helpful list for myself and for everyone else to keep track of some of the exciting new releases this year.
1. The Enchantress by Michael Scott
Anyone that is a regular reader here knows that I love Michael Scott’s The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series. The Enchantress is the last book in this series and I’m really curious about how Michael Scott will end his series. With more Elders being forced to take sides and immortals constantly switching sides, the final book is probably going to keep me reading into the early morning hours. After years of waiting, The Enchantress is going to be released on May 22 of this year, according to Wikipedia. Continue reading
The Many Diseases Found in Fiction (YA Fiction in Particular)
Disclaimer
This list has been compiled for educational purposes only. It is not intended to belittle the authors/characters mentioned or any sort of disease.
Dr. No Syndrome: A terrible, debilitating syndrome that afflicts only the villains of a novel. Its symptoms include maniacal laughter, insanity, the wearing of dark colours and a general lack of realistic motivation. Dr. No Syndrome is a silent killer and may prove fatal to an author’s credibility and any suspense that has built up before the villain’s appearance. It is most prominent, but certainly not limited to, the fantasy genre.
Book Two Disease: A common, mild disease that afflicts around 90% of book series. Its many symptoms include poor writing, no character development, subplots that go nowhere and in its most severe cases, the resurrection of a favourite character from the first book. Book Two Disease is rarely fatal as a writer’s fans will usually continue reading the series to see what happens in the end. Unfortunately, it spans across all genres. Continue reading
Some Thoughts on the YA Genre
Today I’m taking a break from book reviews so I can post this. But don’t worry, the daily reviews will continue running regularly on Friday again.
1) It isn’t only limited to teenagers.
Both tweens and adults read YA fiction as well as teenagers because some of its themes are universal: love, belonging and trust, to name a few. I mean, how many adults do you see reading Twilight, The Hunger Games or Harry Potter? A fair few adults read YA fiction because if it is written well, it can be enjoyed on many different levels.
2) When it’s bad, it’s really bad. Conversely, when it’s good, it’s really good.
YA fiction, to me at least, can be a genre of extremes. It is usually really good or really bad, with very few books falling in shades of grey. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. When a YA book is bad, it goes the whole nine yards: poor writing, one dimensional characters, a slow plot, you name it. But when a YA book is good it has excellent writing, three dimensional characters and an interesting plot.
3) It has so much romance!
Pretty much every single YA book I’ve read has had romance in it. But then, it sort of makes sense because teenagers deal with romance in their daily lives. Romance isn’t by nature bad (far from it), but it can get tiresome, especially when I read a book that focuses heavily on the romance while neglecting characterization, plot and world-building. Maybe this is just me, though.
4) It can be life-changing.
Books were no doubt my greatest influence. They brought me to new, exciting worlds; helped me escape into the skin of a braver character; taught me things I never would have known otherwise and most of all, gave me a more well-rounded view of life. When I was being bullied for being an above-average student (among other things), I could read Artemis Fowl and feel empowered. When I was fighting with my weight, I would read Uglies and feel good about myself. So many books have changed my life that it would take forever to list them all. Good YA fiction can help teenagers learn more about life, which is why I wish they would cover more of it in school. It would keep more people engaged than reading and over-analyzing Shakespeare or Chaucer.
5) It is one of the fastest-growing genres.
There are more YA books than ever out there! People have finally realized that teens actually, you know, like to read. The market for YA fiction is growing, as demonstrated by big publishers like Harlequin, Simon & Schuster and many, many more running specialized teen lines. This, of course, goes along with the general trend of marketing to tweens and teens specifically. But hey, at least teens are finally having a voice in literature that’s not about to go away any time soon.
These are just five things I’ve noticed about the YA genre in general. What have you noticed about the YA genre? Is its expansion a good thing? What are your favourite YA books?