This past weekend I went to a writer’s conference and the presenter seemed to have a vendetta against YA and NA, specifically readers outside that age range. It’s a known industry fact that most readers of YA/NA novels are women aged thirty and above, not the age range the books are marketed to.
It makes sense, as a teenager I often read books targeted to adults and the only time I ever read YA (NA was not a thing then) was when I was in elementary and early middle school.
The presenter theorized these women were caught in the past and wanted to relive some sort of glory days. I can assure you that is not me. If someone gave me a time machine to go back to any point of my life I would desire, I would go to about my early-twenties and tell myself “It is okay to pursue a career in a non-STEM related field.” and save myself a lot of anxiety, burnout, and struggles with my life before I went back to school in my 30s. I am not interested in ever going back to high school or reliving my teenage years and if I didn’t have school to worry about, I would go back to my mid-twenties at the earliest and pick a different place to work/have a career.
That raised the question of why I enjoy YA/NA books more than adult novels. I don’t see myself in these young people and I surely don’t imagine myself inside those worlds. It confused me at first, but when Leigh Bardugo’s latest release, NINTH HOUSE, had “trigger warnings”, I found some answers to that question.
- Most books written for adults will rush into sex or feature sexual themes
I do not mind sex in books. But as a reader, I like to read the lead up into things. I want to follow the relationship that cherishes the steps to intimacy as much as the intimate moment itself. With the popularity of adult/steamy romances, even sweet romance books are starting to feature more heavy intimacy frequently.
- Despite leads being around my age, 30s, they are not written like me. They feel older and foreign.
It’s a fact that as people age, they become set in their ways. I have always strived to avoid that. Constantly learning, constantly finding new things to like, new music to listen to, new foods to try, new places to see; the very idea of a lot of these characters don’t relate to me because I’m not them. I’m not tired or bored with my life. I’m not stuck in a well of wishing things could be like it was.
- A lot of plots are really dumb with older characters
I like sci-fi/fantasy and space opera the most. While the swashbuckling hero is mostly ageless and timeless, there are certain things only kids would do when they’re young and not experienced. For instance, a kid would throw themselves into death for their ideals while a more mature adult would hesitate. I can buy a teenager or an early-twenties going to hell and back for a new relationship but an older adult would know at this point that some relationships don’t work out and would only do so if they’ve found their “true love”. There’s other things that are different, such as, it is not weird if a new couple has not copulated if they’re younger, but if they’re already past their late twenties it is definitely weird. I can end a YA/NA relationship with the zenith being a kiss if I desire, but an adult romance would definitely be weird.
- The themes are different
Especially in this current political climate, I find myself gravitating to media that is less heavy and more light-hearted. I want fluff.
Dark stories do have their fans and their time, but I read dark stories on the news every single day. Multiple dark stories.
When it comes to entertainment, I want something that feels fun.
I totally agree with you! Adult characters in adult books are so dry sometimes, whereas teenagers are immature, emotional, experiencing so much in the world for the first time, and more likely to jump off a building for their “true love” or ideals. The saturation of sexual content has turned me off of several adult books as well. 😦 Another thing that comes to mind is that now a days, any book with a teenage protagonist gets lumped into young adult, and this might not have been the previous genre classification. At one point, I thought that since I was older, I should read books aimed at my age group. Then I realized this was dumb, and I should read all the young adult, new adult and children’s books I enjoy. Whether these older young adult readers are in it to escape to their glorious teen years (like the presenter seemed to think) or just like young adult because it suits their taste, they should be reading what they like. Capitalism will be the ultimate judge.