Monday, February 28, 2011

Young Adult vs. Adult: A Rant

YOUNG ADULT VS. ADULT

I was going through Amazon Reviews and I found one review that was particularly disturbing...

I am not going to say anything about it, but I will quote one sentence:
"I found myself wondering if this was written for young readers? If that's the case, I stand corrected and this is a fine book. If its aimed for adult readers, I sure could have used some more twists and creative drama."
And in response to this sentence, and the review as a whole, I said this:
While I have not read this particular novel, I'd like to point out that there are plenty of teen novels that are mature, and contain twists and creative drama. While not all teen novels are like that (and I'll admit there are plenty that lack those particular characteristics) I feel as though your change of opinion after finding out that this may be a young adult book is a little bit insulting. Whether it's a young adult book or an adult book, you should still expect it to be imaginative and creative. There are plenty of young adult novels out there that contain mature themes and carry them out in unique ways. By saying that it's "fine" if it's written for young adults is an insult to young readers who strive to read more mature and well-written works of fiction, but who, because of their age, may not be able to handle adult novels. By saying that a book is okay as long as it's not written for adults is saying that teens can only handle reading books that are sub-par, and unworthy of praise. This is not the case.
To add on that...

I know that adult novels have more mature themes, but there is really no reason why people should think that just because a novel is aimed at younger readers, then the novel doesn't have to be any good. It just irks me, and I hope I am not the only one.

Jane

PS. I should be crawling out of my hole gradually this week. Things should be sort of back to normal by next week.

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