Tagged: young adult

Discussion: Violence in Literature

Yes, today I want to talk about violence in literature.  More specifically, my thoughts on it in YA literature.

I personally think teens are capable of handling much more than most people give them credit for.  Yes, violence in a story can be awful but as long as there’s justification for it in the narrative I don’t see what’s wrong with including it.  If it becomes gratuitous (i.e. there’s no real reason for it other than to gross the reader out) I think that’s a little too much for Young Adult literature.  It’s too much even for adult literature when it becomes gratuitous.

Basically, as long as the violence is ‘justified’ (makes sense in the context of the story and either conveys character or plot elements) I’m generally okay with it.  Sometimes I have to put a book down because it’s so disgusting, but in general I don’t think I’ve ever come across that in YA.

So what do you think of violence in literature?  Do you think the amount of violence in YA should have limits simply because of the target age group?  Or do you think it’s the parent’s job to monitor what their kids are reading?

Discussion: Male YA Love Interests

I’m not sure about you guys, but speaking in broad terms I find that most male love interests for female main characters fall into two categories: the cold, distant but hot jerk or the goofy best friend who’s always stuck by the MC.  Of course this is a huge generalization, but it really does seem to happen a lot in YA today, especially when it comes to my nemesis the love triangle.

Generalizations aside, what I want to talk about is this: what makes a good male love interest in YA?  (We’ll talk about female love interests later this month.)  Do you have a favourite love interest?  Why is he your favourite?

Personally, my current favourite is Po from Graceling.  He’s not a distant jerk but neither is he the goofy best friend either.  No, he’s a mature young man that doesn’t play around when he realizes that his love for Katsa is mutual.  Throughout the story he protects Katsa while realizing that she can also protect herself, decides what he wants out of life and treats Katsa like an equal partner in their relationship.  What a novel idea!

What I Hate About YA

Obviously I love the Young Adult genre.  I wouldn’t be reading it and focusing my blog around it if I didn’t.  But YA as a genre has its flaws and there are some things that consistently appear in books that drive me mad.  What are some of these things?  Read on!

Relationships

1.  The girl always gets the guy (or vice versa).

I won’t claim I’m an expert in matters of the heart, but I do know one thing: You don’t always get the person you want.  Seriously, why is love in YA books always requited?  It doesn’t happen like that in real life.  In real life, when you have a crush on someone, there’s a good chance they don’t feel the same way.  And it sucks.  Yes, fiction is supposed to be uplifting to a certain extent, but can’t it be a little more realistic? Continue reading →