Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Weigh in Wednesday


Young Adult Fiction vs Adult Fiction

I like both! I like YA since it almost always has happily-ever-after endings and I can relate to most of the things that happen in YA books, but at the same time, there's a reason why it's called young adult fiction. The characters are teenagers who are on the verge of discovering themselves (I can definitely relate to that) and their place in this world, but sometimes they're too childish and whiny. Of course, that can happen with the characters in adult fiction, too, but it's more common that the adults are more calculate and reasonable, also, the romance is more believable since I do not know that many couples who've found each other in high school and are still happily married today. I don't know, I think I'm just a realist with a great imagination (I'm a Virgo, so that can explain a lot, too - we're usually very calculated and rational). While YA is always full of action, angst and usually the characters act before they think, adult fiction is more balanced. I like both: I like a great romance and since I'm very rational myself, I like books that take me out of my comfort zone and on an adventure I couldn't have imagined even in my wildest dreams. Moreover, when you look at my "read" pile, you can easily see that I've read more YA than adult books and there are a lot more YA novels that fall to my "favorite" category. So.. does that means we have a winner? I think we do.

Winner: Young Adult Fiction

Weigh in Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren at Epilogue Reviews.

6 comments:

  1. I like both too, although lately I've become frustrated by the number of YA books that seem to be following trends...I think YA has just become more commercial and profit-based after the success of Twilight and Hunger Games. I wish there was more room for innovation and variety. There definitely is SOME...just not enough for me right now.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You are so, so right! There isn't enough orinigality. That's one of the reasons I rate original books with 4-5 stars even if they aren't perfect. E.g. I couldn't give Jennifer L. Armentrout's "Half-Blood" a 5 star rating, because it was extremely similar to Richelle Mead's "Vampire Academy" so I gave it a three. However, I still love JLA's writing, she's a great author and I love that her Covenant series is becoming more and more original. But it's true that the success of THG series and the Twilight saga have made the YA book market very commercial.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Naah, I'm not into adult fiction at all. The main reason definitely is the one you mentioned, too - that all those teenagers are on the verge of finding themselves - which is just what I (being a teenager myself) can relate to. I understand what you mean by sooo many YA authors following the trends - and it's probably another reason for my liking YA so much:
    If I love something I want more of it and nothing else, I'm totally mainstream sometimes...However, I do get why so many people love adult books, as well!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yes! It seems like most of the current trends are really tapped out, though, and supposedly dystopian isn't selling anymore, so hopefully we'll see more stuff that's new and different in the future!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I haven't read JA yet, but I read the synopsis for Half Blood and it does sound extremely similar to VA...I think I'm going to start with her other series, Obsidian, first.

    ReplyDelete
  6. @BookSmartie It's totally OK to be mainstream. I, for instance, listen to music that's very mainstream and yeah, sometimes I listen to stuff from bands/artists that aren't that famous, but mainly mu music taste consists of mainstream artists :)

    @ SC Langgle I LOVED Obsidian :) I liked Half-Blood, too, Pure was a hell of a lot more original and I'm now unpatiently waiting for Deity (reviews on this one state that it's the best book JLA has written so far). Obsidian was really good and my Mom finished it like a week ago and even she liked it (which reminds me that I should get my book from her room before I read Onyx and re-read Obsidian). If you like a bit of mystery, sarcastic comments, hot guys, great friendship, some action and a girl who's in love with books, then it's for you. Yep, I liked it and I'm pretty sure I'm going to love Onyx, too (the first too chapters that are at the end of my book are pretty good :)). If you read it and finish it, let me know what you thought ;)

    ReplyDelete