Where Do You Think Young Adult Fiction Is Going?

In the past few months I’ve heard the repeated notion that young adult fiction is changing – going in a new direction. Then I stopped to ponder what that would entail. According to multiple internet articles, many believe that young adult fiction is taking a turn into the land of realism. I will now take a moment to pray for those similar to me [non-contemporary lovers], who will suffer if this is true. Although, I don’t think there’s a whole lot of fact underneath it all.

It is quite obvious to me that contemporary, or realism, has blossomed over the years. Ever heard of a man named John Green? Do you know of Earl, the Dying Girl, and whoever Me was? Did you see the movie adaptation for a little title called If I Stay? Have you read any of those books with beautiful sunsets featuring outlines of cutesy couples on the cover? Or ones that have the audacity to showcase smoldering models instead?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then you understand what I’m talking about. Contemporary is everywhere and it has been for years. Plot Twist: the same could be said of fantasy, in all areas – which is why I think it’s crazy for people to guesstimate that contemporary alone will be skyrocketing in a few years.  Um, hello, fantasy is just as much of a contender, if not more.

The majority of people I speak to in the book community are anticipating fantasy releases over contemporary ones – but that doesn’t mean that bibliophiles elsewhere aren’t awaiting new contemporary books as opposed to fantasy. It’s a matter of personal taste, but my point is that these two genres are the top competitors in young adult, along with sci-fi. Also, I’m somewhat biased because I don’t read contemporary books often, nor do I want to. I personally don’t enjoy them because I prefer worlds different from mine. I want escapism, not realism.

One article stated that realism would take the lead in sales because readers appreciate books they can relate to i.e. contemporary. Pshh. The author of that article clearly hasn’t met anyone like me. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good book where I can relate to the struggles of the character. But that is sure as hell NOT what I want to be reading the majority of my time. I want books that introduce me to new places, people unlike myself, and involve crazy cool magic systems – I don’t want run of the mill contemporary because truthfully, I’ve been there, done that, read it.

Now I’m not trying to discredit any genres by excluding [sorry paranormal books] or disliking them, but I’m truly curious. Maybe I’m wrong. It’s possible that for some reason contemporary will boom in the near future. It’s also possible that contemporary/fantasy/sci-fi will remain equally bought, read, and loved. Another genre may even rise to the top. I realize that a lot of this depends on what publishers decide to produce and which authors get picked up, but I can only hope for more amazing books, genre preference aside.

I want to know, where do you think young adult fiction is going? What genre do you want to see more of in the future? Do you think one specific genre will take off for a lengthy period of time?

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Book Love Interests vs The Real Deal

Today I’d like to discuss the fine line between fictitious content and everyday standards, deriving from variations of one statement:

“My expectations for real life relationships and boys/girls are too high thanks to books.”

Woah. Hold the phone. Are fictional characters really to blame for our high expectations? Or is there another culprit? 

I personlly think it’s a mix of both. We as readers are conditioning ourselves to believe that these types of fictional characters are out there, somewhere. But I’ve been “out there” a lot in the past year, mainly for school, and in that amount of time I’ve discovered that bookish love interests are far from what the real world has to offer. Sure, most authors spout these swoon-worthy characters, loosely based off of actual people – but that’s just it. These [heart eye emoji] characters aren’t usually written as a mirror image of what authors have known. More than likely, these love interests are what they wish could have been, with a few flaws thrown in to make them more relatable. 

In all reality, we’re setting ourselves up. Our expectations soar sky high because we no longer have the ability to differentiate between realistic love lives and unrealistic outcomes. I’ll admit that I’m guilty of doing this, on multiple occassions. I’ve waited around for the mysterious new guy. I’ve waited for the jerk [but not a true jerk] who made me feel invisible. I’ve waited for the jock who needed time to grow up. I’ve waited for the knight in shining armor. I’ve waited for them all and I got a whole lot of nothing while I sat on my butt, waiting. That’s what happened when I let my expectations take over. Then I met someone – and he was a game changer.

I went off to college, leaving my hopeless bookish expectations behind. Fast forward a month or so to the party where I met my badass knight in [jeans & a tee shirt] shining armor. For once, a guy had looked at me instead of my friends. I felt good enough, special even. Now, fast forward to the next quarter of school when we had class together. It was awkward, but bearable, although – he stopped looking at me. I figured I had just become one of the hundreds of pretty faces on campus. The last fast forward moment began with this same guy asking me via social media for a scantron sheet [while inserting unnecessary blushing emojis] and ended with me asking for his number a few hours later.

It didn’t work out. He was another dissappointment [with a girlfriend]. I was left alone, yet again, to ponder how guys in the real world could be so shitty compared to ficticious characters. I mean, seriously, are my standards and expectations THAT unattainable?

The simple answer is no.

I put myself out there this past year and looked like a fool, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Meeting these ridiculous guys has made me realize that my expectations are where they damn well should be. I will wait for my prince, whom I pray will be as funny as Rhy [ADSOM]. I will wait for the guy who unexpectedley falls for me, cough, cough Kaden [TKoD]. I will rise above and beyond to find someone who cares as deeply for others as Felix does [Wolf by Wolf]. At this point in my life, I don’t care that books give me crazy expectations that people frown upon, because they also give me hope.

This topic is a double-edged sword. It has good and bad attributes. If you aren’t finding the right significant other, maybe it isn’t a ‘you’ problem like everyone makes it seem. Maybe it’s a societal problem. People don’t even know how to date, let alone speak to each other anymore. I know some of the guys and gals of our generation could learn something from literary characters – even though it’s kind of sad that we have to resort to acceptable behavior demonstrated by non-existent people. I refuse to believe that my “book boyfriends” are all I’ll ever have because I’m not “realistic” enough for everyone else.

I deserve better. And I will wait for it.

Do you think that readers are setting their expectations too high or is there a disconnect in the real world? What do you think about what I’ve said above – agree or disagree? I’d love to hear what you think, so leave a comment sharing your thoughts below! Oh and who are some of your bookish boyfriends?! Please, no spoilers!

End Note: I’d like to thank the male who I briefly speak about in this post for making me feel attractive. I went full circle because of you. Started with low self esteem, realized I’m beautiful, and discovered that more than anything – I’m fucking brilliant. Even if you no longer agree. C’est la vie.

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