This question has come up quite a lot recently and I thought, why not answer it myself? Why do I read YA Fiction? There are many reasons why. Each of them has their own flair and reason behind.
- The Blogging Community: Number one is that I see a lot of hype for books through the blogging community. They’re on Twitter, Instagram, Blogs. Predominately, they blog about YA books (usually also an additional genre). That means that when I check and see all the release buzz it’s normally for YA titles. So when I am thinking about what books to buy based on recs and what I’ve seen, they naturally gravitate towards YA.
- New Releases: That means I pick up quite a few new YA titles. It may be just me, but I feel like there is more buzz for YA titles in general too. Although this may have largely to do with 1 and 3. This is like one of those cyclical patterns where I don’t even know why anymore. Is it because of the hype? The recs? The e-galleys? They all just blend into one. But it makes sense that new releases in general get more press and that YA seems to be booming.
- Diversity: I have been actively trying to read more diverse books and most of the ones I am easily finding are in the YA section. This doesn’t mean they aren’t another genre. For example SF or Fantasy, mostly they are. But I am finding that the representation I am seeking is more to be found amongst the YA shelves. Maybe this is because diversity rep in general is becoming more prevalent. And maybe authors nowadays are trying to use this, unlike authors before? I have talked a bit about why I am especially craving diversity within SF/Fantasy and I mostly find it now in YA. (If you have diverse adult SF/Fantasy recs, PLEASE send)
- Popularity: In general, I feel like YA titles are pretty popular too. I find that not only are they popular, but I can get more comments and buzz when I review them. This must pretty much sum up all of the posts into this tight little cyclone I’ve put myself in, but there you have it.
- Nostlagia: In a way, it makes me nostalgic for when I was a YA, which, as you might have guessed, is gone. I am now flatly in the Adult category. Maybe new adult? What does that even mean…
Discussion
So these are my top 5 reasons I review YA fiction. Why do you read YA fiction?
Subscribe for more reviews
I read YA fiction because I identify more with the teen POV characters than I do adult. I also don’t like the sex, violence, language I’ve found in much adult literature.
That’s also a very good point!
I only recently started reading YA literature and to be quite honest it’s because I wanted to see what my niece is always raving about!
Do you enjoy it? 🙂
I read YA because it’s great as a quick read in between all the literary fiction. They’re usually light and there is a lot of creativity/fantasy tales (although it can be a miss). I am finding it hard to relate to the characters though, and that’s normally what makes or breaks a YA book for me.
It can be really hard to relate to them, for me too! If I can, usually it’s a great match. But I know what you mean about breaks from literary fiction, although I haven’t read one of those in a while, eek!
It does feel like there is more buzz around YA books, but like you, I don’t know if this is because of the company I keep or it is in fact a reality. I don’t comes across a whole lot of book blogs focused on general fiction. Maybe it’s because the online world is populated by more younger voices, that YA just has more online “fans”?
That’s a great point about the internet makeup. I don’t believe it can only because we are in an echo chamber! I feel like there’s just less ‘hype’ about adult fiction, even on blog that also review adult fiction.
I think my reasons are pretty similar. I do agree that in the book blogging community there’s a lot more hype around YA books, and I end up getting more excited about those new releases. Plus, I just find that even when I veer away from YA for awhile, I always find my way back—I just like it better!
It is usually faster for me to read! I don’t know, but literary fiction can become plodding
I don’t read a lot of YA and I was expecting your reasons to differ from my mine. But, now that I think about it, reasons #1-4 are pretty much also why I read YA. I tend to choose popular (at least in the blogosphere), new, diverse/own voices YA novels when I do choose to read them. I think I would read a lot less YA if I wasn’t blogging.
Agreed about that! If I was on my own, I don’t even know how I’d find books actually…
I used to find a lot of books while browsing at the library. That resulted in a mixed bag of books, though. I find reading blogger reviews has enabled me to choose and read books I’m more likely to enjoy.
SAME! I find reviews so much more helpful now 🙂