It seems as if you can never outgrow certain things. In this case, the world of young adult fiction which is currently experiencing a sort of renaissance. Then again, how anyone can outgrow reading is beyond me.
Young adult novels are not merely for young adults anymore. With copies selling in the millions and being read by all age groups, it’s a growing genre proving that literature aimed at the young can be both impressive and formidable. Topics have always been wide-ranging, but I think good storytelling is key. No matter the target audience, good writing is blind to age.
The genre of young adult fiction is really flourishing these last few years and like all book trends, topics move in waves. We had vampires and other supernatural beings to the current trend of dystopian novels ushered in by the phenomenon that is The Hunger Games–which I’m glad to take part of. Speaking of which, it seems my next reads might be about mermaids as they seem to be the next big thing.
A year ago I was living in San Jose, California with a part time job and lots of free time. Luckily, the South Bay Area has an amazing public library system. They have so many new libraries that have been recently built and an easy network for accessing books. I was pretty much devouring anything as good as The Hunger Games and came across a bunch of great reads–one classic and some recent publications.
This was first published in 2011 and is the first in a trilogy (young adult fiction loves its trilogies, and then some). I actually just finished the second in the series which is called Insurgent while I was flying to those weddings earlier this summer. In my post Hunger Games haze, I needed more dystopian fiction and Divergent is actually quite good. I was actually more intrigued by how the society in future Chicago was laid out over the main character, Tris, and her motivations. She is much more of a typical romantic character and I realized I was skimming over sections that involved her and her boyfriend. I was much more fascinated by the organization of the population as separate factions, but that is not to dissuade you from checking this out as the second one gets pretty interesting. I’ve also read that the film rights have sold and they are in the process of producing it. Visually, this book has the foundation for a good movie.
Like Divergent, society is divided in groups, which again I found fascinating. But a typical trope of young adult novels is introduced–a love triangle is involved. Sigh. I’m not sure anymore, especially after Hunger Games successfully underutilizing one, why these are necessary. Yet, I think as the target audience is probably dealing with first loves and hormones, I guess it makes sense. I’m all for female leads in books so I like this series in that regard. Matched is not as sharp or particularly outstanding in terms of the writing, but I’ve chugged along and earlier this year Crossed, the second in the series, propelled me forward. I could tell Condie had gotten better and it’s worth at least a library checkout. This is also in the process of trying to get film rights.
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
This one is quite different from the above two. It’s more supernatural and a love triangle is involved, but also more compelling and interesting than in Matched. I’m not against love triangles, but you’ve got to make the trio involved have motivations outside of pursuing each other. Again, female protagonist who is coming into her own and the setting for this is London in the time of Queen Victoria. So it’s not only a young adult, but historical fiction. The book is not only part of a trilogy, but a prequel trilogy to Clare’s popular series The Mortal Instruments which–you guessed it–is being turned into a film.
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Ender’s Game is a classic not only in young adult literature, but in all of science fiction. Novels like The Hunger Games are not new in pitting young people (sometimes the very young) against each other in battles of death. Ender’s Game also takes the time to develop the psyche and motivations of their characters and doesn’t shy from brutality. It was well-awarded when it was published and its reputation only mildly tarnished by its author’s personal views on subjects like homosexuality. Aside from that, on its own the novel examines life and survival and how we question that in times of war. The book is currently being adapted to film. I always imagined Harrison Ford in it, but not exactly as Graff. Looking forward to it regardless!
Overall, it’s exciting to see the onslaught of such good young adult fiction coming out. Sometimes it’s nice to take a break from heavier reads and escape a little. I also started to notice that much of the great fiction coming out comes from women authors. J.K. Rowling being the most obvious example whose famous series might have a central male hero, but without a certain witch, might not ever have graduated Hogwarts. There seems to be much disparity in adult fiction when it comes to awards and recognition often going to male counterparts, but in YA, it definitely seems to be a female dominated field. Not just in authors, but also in characters. The Atlantic ran a piece over the summer regarding that and it’s also an interesting read. It’s also a trend I hope never goes away.
joyce familara 