The Atlantic has a great article that looks at a few of the most popular book series in YA Fiction, and then looks at what about them draws so many people in. They make the point that a lot of YA Fiction has changed, and become darker with the characters going through some truly horrific trials. Not only do these new books appeal to the YA audience, but they have a strong adult following as well. Read more below:
The young adult series that are so popular and profitable today are a little too dark for mere nostalgia. Authors and directors have struck chords with audiences by putting their teenage heroes through terrible trials. Harry Potter gives his life over to an epic struggle against international terrorism. Bella Swan may end up a sparkly, sexy vampire withpreternatural self-control, but she has to suffer a fetus eating its way out of her body first. The Hunger Games’ Katniss Everdeen has to fight for her life in an arena, see her first love whipped, lose her sister, see her second love brainwashed, and be a pawn in a revolution. Ender is repeatedly and savagely attacked, tortured by his own brother, and manipulated by the military—before he kills off an entire alien species. The heroes of Legend are going to be an adolescent bounty hunter and vigilante.
That’s a lot to put characters—especially characters we love dearly, fiercely—through before they reach their maturity. It’s true we live in a time when teenaged years seem less than carefree. Whether it’s the pressure of grades and college admissions, the expanded reach of bullying in a social media age, the temptations and distractions of the Internet, or periodic adult panics about teenagers’ sexual behavior, adolescence sometimes seems as if it’s vanished, as if we’ve returned to a time when childhood ended shortly out of the cradle. Hijinks like the family dramas of the Baby-sitters Club members or even the high-consequence drug use, plane accidents, and relationship angst of Sweet Valley High don’t seem especially shocking in comparison. It takes national peril to put the difficulties of everyday life back in perspective.
At the same time, at a moment when our politics seem crippled, the prospect of an unexpected savior is appealing. Fictional teenage heroes are unencumbered by adult obligations and rigidities, they can afford to be ideologically poor. We are redeemed byHarry Potter’s martyrdom and salvation, something that would be horrifying and tragic in life. Katniss Everdeen can kill to enforce her convictions and go unpunished for it: the death she caused can have a clarifying effect on the adults around her. In Twilight, Bella Swan’s suffering purifies her and makes her influential in the community of vampires she joins even to the point of helping prevent a war. Ender Wiggin can exterminate a threat to humanity and repent for his actions, shifting attitudes towards aliens along the way.
Young adult fiction offers a promise to all of us that there is no suffering that’s not worth it, no agony that goes unrewarded down the line.
Read the Full Article at The Atlantic Via TA
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