This post is part of my week-long participation in Armchair BEA 2013.
Genre Fiction
As an avid reader of YA, I tend to read a lot of different genres. YA is fabulous because it’s a category filled with books that are so different from one another. This is great because it tends to mean that YA is more open to cross-genre reads. Things aren’t put into genre boxes quite the way they are in adult reads, and this means that when I go looking for a great YA read I could end up with something contemporary, dystopian, paranormal, historical, or even some combination of those (not to mention fantasy, sci-fi, etc).
I know a lot of people hate the fact that YA books are so romance heavy. Personally I’m a big fan of romance, and that element of romance can keep me into a book where I might lose interest otherwise. That being said, I’m not a fan of romance just for the sake of saying your book has a romance. There are books that suffer from the inclusion of romance. If your love interest doesn’t tell you anything about the heroine or move the plot forward in any way, that subplot probably doesn't belong. There are tons of fabulous books about friendship and family that don’t involve romance (Code Name Verity, anyone?).
Within YA I read a lot of contemporary/realistic books. These are the types of novels I read almost exclusively when I was a teenager, and I still continue to enjoy them. I’ve also been reading a lot of adult contemp romances this year, as well as New Adult books (the quality and uniqueness of NA is a whole other post, but there are some good ones out there). Surprisingly I’m also a big fan of paranormal books. I say surprisingly, because up until a couple of years ago I basically wouldn’t read anything paranormal. Now if I’m going to read any adult books outside of contemp romance, I’m likely to pick up a paranormal romance or an urban fantasy title. I also enjoy YA series that are paranormal in nature.
I love how YA has opened me up to so many genres that I never really thought about before. Books like Graceling and Poison Study introduced me to the world of fantasy. Series like Vampire Academy and Morganville Vampires showed me that not only could I enjoy paranormal books, but I could actually love vampire books as well. The Agency books reminded me what I love about historical settings.
I’m planning on writing a post in the future of “Must Read YA Titles” so I’ll save my favourites list for then, but I do have a Favourites Shelf on Goodreads that you can check out.
Can't wait to see which genres are your must-reads and which titles you might want to recommend.
I completely agree with everything you said about romance. I LOVE a good romance in anything, but I'm totally okay if it doesn't fit, and sometimes it really just doesn't fit. :)
ReplyDeleteYes! It sucks when you can tell that the author or editor was like "you know what makes YA sell? romance! let's stick in a random character so we can call it an epic romance even though it TOTALLY ISN'T"
DeleteThat's what I love about YA as well. There are so many genres and many of them are used together in a book. I'd never thought I would like a Sci-fi book, but my love for fairytales made me read Marissa Meyer - Cinder and now I discovered that I can like Sci-fi. I like a good romance, but sometimes it's a bit too overwhelming for me.
ReplyDeleteDevelopment + Fiction - Mel@thedailyprophecy.
Oh that's awesome! I admit when I first heard of Cinder I was like "well, that's weird" but then I kept hearing about how GOOD it was, and those early reviews were totally right.
DeleteI love reading YA because it's just plain well-done (in most cases). I mostly love paranormal and steampunk, but I'm branching out into more contemp.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read a ton of steampunk... not entirely my thing, but there have been a few steampunk-lite type books I've enjoyed. Contemp seems to be where my heart is, it's my go-to genre.
DeleteI completely agree with everything you said about romance! I love a good romance and the swoony times will make me squee and all, but if it feels awkward and like it doesn't belong, it makes the book suffer.
ReplyDeleteBlogger Development & Fiction
Glad I'm not the only one who feels like way! =)
DeleteI have been meaning to make a post on must read YA
ReplyDeleteBut alas, I kind of get sidetracked
Anyways, I loved the post!!!
And it's so true, it's one of the best things about romance and YA, that you can read pretty much across the board of other genres and still be reading YA or Romance.
Also agree with the romance for the sake of romance ruining a book, this is so so true.
I love books where boys and girls can be best friends with out it meaning one of them is gay or they have to hook up.
Ugh I don't blame you, I've had post ideas for forever that I just don't get around to posting. =(
DeleteOoh yes I'd like to see more of platonic girl/guy friendship as well.
I enjoy YA and love a good romance. I'm also a huge paranormal fan. There are so many good choices within YA... I'm with you all the way about Vampire Academy and the Morganville Vampires. I keep forgetting about The Agency, but it's one I want to read.
ReplyDeleteFeel free to stop by and check out my Genre Fiction post.
~ Louise
Oh you should definitely check them out! They're a lot of fun, with the mystery and girl-power being the big thing, but with the perfect amount of friendship & romance as well.
DeleteBook blogging really opened me up to YA! I never really read it before.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome! Well thankfully there's a lot out there now-a-days, so a lot to choose from no matter what type of book you enjoy.
DeleteI only love YA books with romance when it is done well, examples are like the one you listed - Graceling! :)
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