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On books and age levels
Jan. 5th, 2008 02:04 pmThanks to Christmas and DH getting to visit a big Borders in Chicago, we now have a lovely selection of English reading material. The best two are probably Nancy Farmer's The Land of the Silver Apples and Shannon Hale's Book of a Thousand Days. (I'm still waiting for Wildwood Dancing to arrive, but it is being slow.) I loved the mix of real history and fiction in Silver Apples, and thought Thousand Days was possibly Hale's best yet. Fantastic job on building an impossible situation!
I have others that aren't doing it for me, and it's making me think of what kind of reader I am and why certain types of books appeal to me and others don't. As usual, I find that one of the ones I'm finding rather insipid is by someone who usually writes adult horror and has a scriptwriting background. I'm sure s/he is great at what s/he does in real life, but time and again I see that just because someone can write for adults doesn't mean they can write for kids. Usually the books come off as extremely soulless, and um, I'm having trouble once again feeling anything for this book.
The biggest fall in love aspect of a book is that I can fall in love with the characters, and for that reason I think YA appeals to me over MG. Maybe it's just a poor reading selection, but too often lately I've picked up a MG with lots! of quirky! characters! that have no extended depth to them. These books are often episodic and have also lots! of cool! magic! in them, or other gimmicks. Or they have that heavy narrator voice, the one that makes asides to explain things to you. There's a wall between me and the characters, a wall that reminds me constantly that I'm reading a story. I can't suspend my disbelief (because, while I've known a lot of quirky individuals, there is always something "real" to anchor them as well). I can't lose myself in that world. It has nothing to do with worldbuilding. Right now I'm reading something that sounds more like the author's notebook of worldbuilding. It's taking precedence over the story, and it's annoying.
There are awesome MGs, too, of course--books like Rules, and Shannon Hale's books (which are kind of tween, actually). Books with approachable characters and depth. Books where something happens. I can't stand books where nothing happens, whether they're MG or YA.
Also, I'm not sure how to explain this, but YAs (in fantasy, anyhow) seem a bit more focused on one character and their struggle. Since that's the coming-of-age age, I guess it makes sense. Or maybe I'm still trying to grow up. But while an YA character may be saving the world, they're also saving themselves, or another individual. Even in more genre-y books, they tend to be more personal. This applies to YA with multiple POV as well, paradoxal as that may sound.
Yes, I know people will disagree. And I wish there were a lot more books like Rules out there, because that's the kind of book I like regardless of age. But it's just an observation of a lot of new books I've picked up (or had picked up for me) lately. If you prefer MG, great. There are a lot that I love. And I don't care for the ueber-angsty YA, or ultra-edgy, or whatever. But I think I'm figuring out why YA appeals to me.
Now, since people have stopped needing something every couple minutes (I hear them asking Papa for help--goooo, Papa, go!), I'm going to sneak in some work on my WIP.
I have others that aren't doing it for me, and it's making me think of what kind of reader I am and why certain types of books appeal to me and others don't. As usual, I find that one of the ones I'm finding rather insipid is by someone who usually writes adult horror and has a scriptwriting background. I'm sure s/he is great at what s/he does in real life, but time and again I see that just because someone can write for adults doesn't mean they can write for kids. Usually the books come off as extremely soulless, and um, I'm having trouble once again feeling anything for this book.
The biggest fall in love aspect of a book is that I can fall in love with the characters, and for that reason I think YA appeals to me over MG. Maybe it's just a poor reading selection, but too often lately I've picked up a MG with lots! of quirky! characters! that have no extended depth to them. These books are often episodic and have also lots! of cool! magic! in them, or other gimmicks. Or they have that heavy narrator voice, the one that makes asides to explain things to you. There's a wall between me and the characters, a wall that reminds me constantly that I'm reading a story. I can't suspend my disbelief (because, while I've known a lot of quirky individuals, there is always something "real" to anchor them as well). I can't lose myself in that world. It has nothing to do with worldbuilding. Right now I'm reading something that sounds more like the author's notebook of worldbuilding. It's taking precedence over the story, and it's annoying.
There are awesome MGs, too, of course--books like Rules, and Shannon Hale's books (which are kind of tween, actually). Books with approachable characters and depth. Books where something happens. I can't stand books where nothing happens, whether they're MG or YA.
Also, I'm not sure how to explain this, but YAs (in fantasy, anyhow) seem a bit more focused on one character and their struggle. Since that's the coming-of-age age, I guess it makes sense. Or maybe I'm still trying to grow up. But while an YA character may be saving the world, they're also saving themselves, or another individual. Even in more genre-y books, they tend to be more personal. This applies to YA with multiple POV as well, paradoxal as that may sound.
Yes, I know people will disagree. And I wish there were a lot more books like Rules out there, because that's the kind of book I like regardless of age. But it's just an observation of a lot of new books I've picked up (or had picked up for me) lately. If you prefer MG, great. There are a lot that I love. And I don't care for the ueber-angsty YA, or ultra-edgy, or whatever. But I think I'm figuring out why YA appeals to me.
Now, since people have stopped needing something every couple minutes (I hear them asking Papa for help--goooo, Papa, go!), I'm going to sneak in some work on my WIP.
