#PromoteYAInstead

I don't read much YA. I don't have anything against it, I just have never really read much YA. I read the Fear Street series when I was in my early teens, but other than that I read adult horror. While my friends were reading Go Ask Alice, I was reading Carrie. I guess Carrie could be considered YA. Recently I read an article on Slate. The article stated that adults should be embarrassed to read YA. The reasoning behind this was basically that the people who read YA wanted a neat little story that got wrapped up with the happy ending bow. Not all YA books have a happy ending, and a lot of them are about learning a lesson. I don't think anyone should feel embarrassed for picking up any book. What's wrong with reading a book about characters you can relate to? Characters that have gone through or are going through what you are? I've recently read a YA series by Jesi Lea Ryan, and Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, and I found them to be enjoyable. I don't want to give too much away about the books, but they didn't have happy endings. The characters went through changes. The characters were damaged. They went through things both emotionally and physically that they may not recover from. I didn't feel like I was reading a "children's" book when I read these two books. I felt like I was reading a book. Just a book, no labels needed. Right now I'm writing an adult series, but someday I might want to write YA. I wouldn't want anyone to shy away from my book, or any book, because it's YA. No one should feel embarrassed to go into a bookstore or library and read the book they like. I actually plan on reading more YA. I've been hearing a lot about the Immortal Instruments series and may have to give that a try. A lot of YA books are just less violent/less sexual books that feature a younger group of characters. A lot of adults read books like these because they don't care for overly sexual or violent books. I don't think people are going to stop reading YA because of the lame article, but I do think the author of the article is going to end up missing out on some great books.