The YA Issue

UPDATE: I wrote this more than eight years ago. Since then, my views have greatly evolved. I no longer believe a lot of what I wrote in here. The heavy handed moralizing is due to a stint I had with the Catholic Church, but that's long pass. I still believe that art should better society in some way, even as it seems purposeless. But I no longer have such rigid standards about the methodology. If anything, I believe that good art forces us to confront the ugly truths inside us. I think I can fairly say that the me who wrote this essay was avoiding some truths she'd been confronted with. I'm not going to remove this. Fuck, no one is ever going to even read it except me since this blog is a long fossilized piece of history that very few knew about or interacted with in the first place. But I'll know that once upon a time when I excavated this blog via long forgotten passwords and platforms, I saw this post, realized it was problematic, and did something to address it. 

Yes, I’ve been absent recently. Yes, I have been reading. That’s part of the problem. Maybe it’s been the plethora of good books and movies, but whatever the reason, I’ve recently noticed the current lack of quality in YA. Part of the reason is because of the stereotype that comes with that name. People go out to write a YA novel, and put certain things in it that they think are expected in YA. Warning: Toxic.

Let’s analyze this. YA stands for Young Adult. A Young Adult book. Now, what should be in a Young Adult book? Should it conform to what people think young adults want? No. Should it conform to what people know young adults want? Definitely not.

This is how books work. They should make a statement worth, not just listening to, but following. 

Let’s look at a rather fabulous quote of Victor Hugo’s:

As long as social damnation exists, through laws and customs, artificially creating hell at the heart of civilization and muddying a destiny that is divine with human calamity; as long as the three problems of the century—man’s debasement through the proletariat, woman’s demoralization through hunger, the wasting of the child through darkness—are not resolved; as long as social suffocation is possible in certain areas; in other words, and to take an even broader view, as long as ignorance and misery exist in this world, books like the one you are about to read are, perhaps, not entirely useless.

Now, the problems of our century are not the problems of his; but I think it safe to argue that the same virtues are at stake: man’s debasement, woman’s demoralization, and the wasting of the child.

Books are an art form that should not only imitate the “divine,” but through imitation, better reality. They should not teach things that worsen society and humanity. 

In this century, a generation of people exist who expect more for themselves. Simply put, we are an opinionated generation. The internet has given us access to a wider berth of knowledge, which gives us the ability to compare contrasting views, and judge the better for ourself. This in and of itself is not a bad thing. I do think this generation, if properly developed, has gained tools that allow for better problem solving skills.

Problem is, it’s not an “in and of itself” situation. A wider berth of information has meant greater power, and power, when not tempered, can be corruptive. People of this generation (myself included), have begun to think that our opinion must be the only right one. Believe me, I’m especially guilty of this. And it’s okay to be absolutely certain of some things, but not all. And it’s not okay to refuse all other ideas because of your own belief. But most people don’t temper their opinions, and as a result, our generation has grown highly arrogant.

So I’m writing, as a young adult, to say to writers of Young Adult, don’t give us what you think we want. Give us what we need.

A big issue in YA right now? Sex. 

A big issue in America right now? Abortions.

A big issue in the world? Unplanned pregnancies. 

How do unplanned pregnancies occur and lead to abortion? Sex. It only takes logic to figure out that sex is kind of a big deal. Logic has to be used to be appreciated, though. It works like this. I will not explain the mechanics of sex. We all know one can only be a virgin once. That is something you can never get back. And may I remind you, women, it physically changes us. Then, children can be created. Life. The fact that it can create life…honestly, I can say no more to explain the speciality of sex. Because it is special. And deserves to be treated as such.

The way some YA novels treat it, you’d never know it was a big deal. It’s not hard for a book to use the logic that I efficiently used above. It’s not hard to let a relationship develop across books.

Yes, the average teenager treats sex casually, but the protagonist of a novel should be better than the average teenager, no? Honestly, this isn’t just about how YA novels treat sex (or even how most relationships in YA are more about the physical attraction, with little emotional connection), but the general morals of YA novels.

Is it too much to ask for more moral novels? Is it too much to ask for a character that develops into a selfless being? Is it too much to see how people who forsake values are empty? 

Again, I go back to that Victor Hugo quote. It’s at the beginning of my copy of Les Misérables. Thankfully, the movie was just released. For those who know the story, remember Jean Valjean’s transformation, and how he was happy in the end, opposed to Javert’s ending? Neither character had a clear path, but they each made very different choices in life on how to deal with clutter. Jean Valjean refuses to let his imprisonment make him a worse man. Javert allows the bitterness of his childhood to prejudice his view of others. The beautiful thing about these characters, though, is that we can see them both in moments of darkness and light. Does one character have more than the other? Perhaps. But it allows for contrastion and credibility, a book with true shades of grey.

Want something more modern? Fine.

Harry Potter. Don’t even try to tell me those books aren’t moral.

The list goes on: Franny Billingsley, Holly Black, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Richelle Mead, Meg Cabot, John Green, and Sarah Rees Breenan. These are fantastic authors because they know how to create strong and weak characters, throw said characters into the pit of despair, and then show the consequences. The strong character will deal with his/her mistakes and wounds in a moral, respectable, probably painful, but more rewarding way. The weak character, not so much. 

I’m tired of reading about characters who make a decision that might destroy their conscience because it will guaranteed them longer physical happiness. Of writers who then act like that choice doesn’t have any mental consequences. Honestly, it’s not true. I’m tired of writers writing for teenagers. We don’t know what we need. We have issues. Write about that. The real issues, not the less consequential relationship or circumstantial issues. The real issues this generation faces with misconceptions about our own knowledge, sex, college, politics, growing up, and charity. I have misconceptions. I’m tired of reading books that give me what I’m supposed to want, rather than what I need. 

That said, I will continue to post YA reviews. Just expect a much higher level of criticism. The prose may be beautiful, the world building excellent, the character’s entertaining, but if the novel has nothing worthwhile to say, I will grieve over my lost time, and swiftly warn others of the potential harm.