Why I like to read YA
Before I joined the community, I never really realized there was different “Categories” such as Ya/Na or A. I don’t pay attention which one I pick, but I tend to gravitate more toward Ya; even though i’m a almost-25 years old lady.
Related; I also wrote a «Does it matter if it’s Ya or A?» conversation post!
I’ve been raised with my godmother answering my recs of “It’s a good book.. but kinda young” with; « Bah, it doesn’t matter. A good book is a good book ». [meanwhile I still struggle to read Middle grade.. pft! 😂]
♦ Some people doesn’t like that the teenage MC acts obviously immaturely at times, because they don’t have the knowledge a 20-something would have; that doesn’t matter to me. If anything, it just make the MC more human and real to me
♦ I guess Ya have more topics that just speaks to me ? I haven’t stumbled on an A or Na book that involved around mental health yet (though I never really searched for it, specifically) and I just crave more of the fluffy/innocent love that’s mostly found in young relationship ? Though i’m pretty darn near my 30s (YIIKES!! 😨); I don’t wanna marry, I don’t really wanna have the “adult” side of it .. like, “friends with benefit” types.
I want the shameless love, The “You think it’s gonna be forever” kind of love that sprawn in your teenage years… I want the “fun” kind of love where you think you can do anything and just do with no responsability (or minimum, anyway). I want the “Disney” kind of love !
♦ Ya just reads kind of more like freedom to me ? That character has no chores, *may* have some responsability but darn nowhere near what real adulthood is like 😂 and that character can go just Anywhere/Anytime! If they have a job, it seems to be way more clement or just part/time; not the “I-need-it-to-live”… Idk – It just embrace the « You could change your life at any given time if you wanted it to »
♦ Maybe this one has to do with the fact that I had to grow up so much more quicker while I was a teenager as I needed to worry and take care of my own mother when she got on dialysis (for reference, it started when I was ~12. She got on dialysis at my last year of High School at 17) .. or maybe i’m just going too deep here and that’s absolutely normal; I don’t feel like a 25 years old. In my brain, I relate so much more to a 17 to 19 years old rather then to someone who would be mid-30s.
Along with that, I’ve always been the calm child. I never “enjoyed” my college years to parties, I rarely even went out — I still don’t! Never had many friends and anxiety/depression mixed to it.. I kinda feel like i’ve lost all thoses years, now. Although it’s technically not too late, I sure feel “too old” for that now xd
Now’s your turn, friends!
♦ What’s the Category that you’re more drawn to? Why do you like to read that one in particular?
♦ Do you relate with some of my reasons?
♦ Can you relate to a younger-than-you MC?
♦ Do you prefer more “mature” kind of reads, unlike me?
12 thoughts on “Why I like to read YA”
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I like to read a variety of books. Everyone once in a while I like to pick up a book with, as you called it, “a Disney kind of love” story. I find it cute and I miss that innocent time in my life.
That’s good!
Life can be so cruel and harsh sometimes.. just gimme my fluff 👀😂
I mostly read Adult books but I do enjoy YA from time to time. I think I prefer Adult books because they have more romance.
That would make sense! Depend on the kind of romance you like
I enjoy YA too Kristina. And especially enjoy the innocent love you mention too. It does read as freedom! And I also agree there are so many more topics II enjoy too. ♥️♥️♥️
That’s nice to hear i’m not the only one to feel that way, aha ❤️
I also didn’t really /get/ YA versus adult books before I started reviewing arcs. I tend to just pick up books based on if they sound interesting to me, and it doesn’t matter to me the age of the protagonist. Honestly, I prefer the pacing of YA SFF and the fact that it is more diverse (aka less dominated by old white men).
Yep, same with me !
Now I definitely read more YA than before – in my teens I used to read a bunch of NA/A (much to my sister’s disapproval – she shouldn’t have left her books out where I could see them when she went to work!). I still read a lot of A and NA, but nowawdays it’s YA and sometimes MG 😁
YA sometimes just has more fun – especially if you have more fantasy or scifi – a lot of readers for the adult fantasies (for example) act like the book has to be perfect, otherwise the book’ll flop. But with YA, it’s sort of like the book gets a bit of leeway – it doesn’t have to be perfect and it doesn’t have to be super intricate world building to be a really good fantasy book.
I think growing up we always want to grow up way too quick on all font of our lifes xD so we consume much more “grown-up” stuff early on to get that “premature” feels?
But when we actually reach the adult stage, it doesn’t matter anymore – so we tend to go back to YA and actually enjoy them for what they are.
yep, I agree! I enjoy something so much more non-perfect than something with no faults — because well, we aren’t like that at all.
Wonderful post, Kristina! <3 Although I'm eighteen and still in my teen years, I think you highlighted many of the reasons why I tend to gravitate towards this genre as well. The carefree sense of love that is often depicted is so fun and endearing, and I love the wide plethora of topics that are present in YA stories – mental health/anxiety and depression rep are just a few!
yep, I definately agree !
“adult” love stories seems more.. restricting. they KNOW they aren’t teens anymore and can’t just, leave in the middle of the night to go walk on the beach .. Plus hey – we gotta work for the rest of our lives, ahah 🙃