Most teenagers like books written by certain popular YA authors: Suzanne Collins, Stephanie Meyers, John Green, etc. How do these teenagers transition from reading YA literature to reading books that aren't centered around the lives of teenagers?
I like the topic.I think maybe you should try connecting the difference between modern books that centre around teenagers and more classics that centre around "coming of age" and teenagers such as in Jane Eye. Also what is considered a grown up book? Maybe clarify this. – birdienumnum178 years ago
Right, as birdienumnum17 said, coming-of-age or bildungsroman books are maybe the best option to connect YA and books not centered around the lives of teenagers. Having in mind that an adult is just a grown up child can be helpful as with that point of view many not YA books are centered in the psychological evolution of the character which in the end is the same topic of teenage centered books. – barbarapetidier8 years ago
Great topic! I would've liked guidance on this as a young adult. – Stephanie M.8 years ago
Honestly, I find the whole idea of 'grown-up' books to be completely ridiculous. There was a whole fuss over it at the recent Edinburgh Book Festival, with one writer telling people to feel ashamed making YA Lit popular, whilst the other writers quickly shut him down. Folks read whatever they want, and enjoy it how they want. Sure, encourage people o be widely read, but don't admonish them if they prefer not to bother with some snootier texts. – TomWadsworth8 years ago
Personally I think the whole genre of YA fiction is somewhat problematic. Just because a book focuses on the lives of teenagers doesn't mean it deals with "young-adult" content, or vice versa. As for how to transition into increasingly complex works, that's going to be different for everybody. For myself, I found certain authors, such as Chuck Palahniuk, offered me an in to more "adult" fiction. – Ben Woollard8 years ago
I think there is a massive assumption behind the words "Most teenagers like...". Many people I know personally never "transitioned" from reading YA exclusively to "adult" books - they read a mixture of both since they were younger teens anyhow. I read "Sense and Sensibility" when I was 13 and when I was 15 I read "The Fault in Our Stars". It wasn't as if you were forbidden to read "adult" books. In reality, there is no straight line you can draw through a person's "evolution of reading". Getting down to nitty-gritty details: what is classified as YA? How do you separate YA from "adult"? Would "The Bell Jar" be YA or "adult"? The protagonist is quite young, and it deals with ideas that teens today might still relate to - mental illness, thoughts of suicide, aging, etc. Still, it's an interesting debate. I would be interested to read what people come up with if they tackle this topic. – ThomasB8 years ago