In Defense of YA

I love books. All kinds of books. But I will say I tend to gravitate to the fiction variety. I can be found reading non-fiction once in a while, but it better blow my mind or I’m not interested.  If given the choice of fiction, YA is by far my favorite.

Courtesy of asme.org

I’m so tired of people slamming YA. Belittling it and those who read it. If I was a fab lawyer like Jessie Humphries, I could argue my point better but I’ll just have to settle for listing why I LOVE YA.

YA is still relevant in my life—As much as we would like to think that once we are out of high school we never have to go back, the truth is SCARY. The world is HIGH SCHOOL. I can’t count the times I’ve listened to what is going on in at my hubby’s office and thought it sounds just like high school—rumors, lies, gossip, stealing others work, etc.  Even among women I know, I feel like I’m a Sophomore again.

YA helps me understand my teenagers—I have two (yep, I’m that old). I love to read YA and talk to my boys about it. As I read, I remember teens are moody, learning, confused, insecure, whiny, sometimes selfish. But that is okay, because they are still trying to find their place in the world.

YA lets me explore feelings—When I read YA (or most fiction) I feel like I am living the story. When I read non-fiction I feel like I’m sitting through a lecture. Yawn. YA is always heavy on the feelings. Teens tend to be more dramatic in the expression of how they feel :)

In YA I can dig for meaning—I can find truths in fiction that aren’t readily apparent. If I read a YA story that explores the theme of selfishness, I have to work to understand how it affects the characters and me. Reading a non-fiction book about selfishness generally doesn’t change me as much.

Everyone can love what they want. Reading is such a personal experience. I would love to see a little more open-mindedness and a little less judgment. A girl can wish.

What kind of books do you LOVE and why?

Angie

Side note—Here is an old post called Fiction and Empathy. It includes a study that explores the idea that reading fiction actually makes people more empathetic than people who read non-fiction. Just saying :)

Just for fun!

I watched this a while back and I just had to share it. Studio C is big in Utah but I'm pretty sure most of my non-Utah friends haven't seen it. Take the time to watch it. It's SO worth it!!!
Angie

 

Long Overdue Update

Geez Louise! It’s been exactly 9 months since I posted. I have a million reasons why I’ve been so busy but only one reason why I decided I need to make a serious effort to come back—I miss you all!

I’m so out of the loop about who has new agents, who is writing new books, whose books are coming out. I need to get back in touch.

Here is what I’ve been up to in the last year…

We like to call him Smoosh :)

Had a sweet baby. He’s my real reason for being out of the loop, but he’s worth every squeeze.

Wrote a book with Emily King. Emily kept me sane during a terrible pregnancy. Nothing gets your mind off your troubles like writing. Except maybe serving others J I’m so lucky, Em called me up and asked if I wanted to do a collaboration. We are almost ready to query.

I moved from Florida back to Utah. I LOVED Orlando. There are some days I really miss it, and I always miss the people there, but I couldn’t keep my kids thousands of miles from their grandparents. And I missed the mountains in my back yard.

So that is about it for me. I’m going to make a serious effort to break away from the laundry and baby food to blog at least once a week. I think I can commit to that.

Catch me up. Tell me the most exciting thing that has happened to you in the last year.

Angie