Week 13 Prompt
YA and Graphic Novels
My thoughts on those who
think that YA literature or graphic novels are not legitimate literary choices,
then they have not read those genres and are assuming they read like children’s
books (which are geared for children of the appropriate age level). YA books
(and new adult) often have many lessons within the story and often deal with
legitimate emotions and events such as mental illness, death, divorce, and
more. Before there was YA and graphic novels (which many have just as much
dialogue as a novel), many readers were stuck in between novels. They felt too
old for the children’s books, but didn’t quite understand the adult literature
that was available to them. Sometimes they were even told the book was too
mature for them. This became discouraging and many readers felt lost without a
book to read, learn from, and enjoy.
We, as librarians, can work
to educate the public about the importance of these genres and how there is a
genre for every person and they shouldn’t be discouraged from reading something
that they enjoy. As librarians we work to provide equal access to all
information to the public and that includes equal access to all genres and books. If
someone disagrees and doesn’t want to read YA or graphic novels, that is their
right, but they should not be able to prohibit other’s rights and access to
that literature. One can learn a lot from YA or graphic novels-thinking of Persepolis or American Born Chinese in which both of these graphic novels cover intellectual thoughts, actions, and learning experiences.
I completely agree that there is a genre for every reader, and it is alright if not every genre speaks to everyone. I personally don't enjoy several adult genres, and even though I love YA fiction, I don't enjoy all of it equally. Generally, I don't appreciate the realistic subgenre written for the young adult audience, but I understand that, for many readers, it is enjoyable and full of possible lessons. I especially find it frustrating when people talk about how immature adults who read YA are, as though the fact that the heroes and heroines being younger means that the experiences they go through aren't as important as those which middle aged characters have. I've come to the conclusion (and this is simply my opinion) that those who disparage the YA category do so because they can't understand why adults enjoy it...and this makes them feel as though something is wrong...with them. And so, to make it seem as though they are in the right for not enjoying the titles, they talk poorly about those who do. Unfortunate, as it can cause a section of the reading public to ignore interesting and well-written stories, for fear of being mocked or scoffed at.
ReplyDeleteSarah, I agree! They may not understand it, so they decide that it is wrong. I think if more gave it a chance they would find that there are lots of YA or New Adult novels that are well written and surpasses any age suggestion given by the publisher.
DeleteI wanted to echo the comments Sarah and Chelsea have provided. As Sarah mentioned, I don't have a particular genre I love above all else, I have specific works within a genre that have impacted me greatly though. I've enjoyed how Saricks has included a 'bridge between genres' at the end of her chapters, because I love great books, being less of a genre reader, I tend to not delve deeply into a genre, but widely across them. I think the more a library decides to promote the great works of YA the level of acceptance will grow between all ages. It seems like the general feeling throughout our classmates' responses has been a warm reception to YA, so this issue might not be as prevalent when we are library directors many years from now!
DeleteI agree that anyone should be able to pick what they want to read no matter what it is. One thing I like about YA books are the lesson that are learned through reading the books. Like you said some are about divorce, death, abuse, and love. They help you work through things that might be going on in your life or around you. I also agree that graphic novel have a place, and like you said some have just as much words as some of the shorter novels that people read. You now have graphic novels like you mentioned and other like March which talks about history. Not all graphic novel are super hero not that it is a bad thing if that is what you like to read, people just need to understand that they is more to graphic novels then they think.
ReplyDeleteExactly there is more to graphic novels now a days than just comics and superheros. Just like one might read a fluffy novel for fun, others enjoy the art and storyline of graphic novels.
DeleteChelsea, I love your comment about readers being "stuck between novels." Growing up, I was told that I was 'too old' for YA fiction, but emotionally YA fiction was what spoke to me--it provided the answers to those emotional questions I was having both as a high-schooler and as a college student, and when I was forced to quit reading those I often felt like I didn't have something to connect with. It's so important to realize that when people read something they do so for a reason, and that we need to acknowledge and validate the reason.
ReplyDeleteFantastic response! Full points!
ReplyDelete