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I& #39;ve realized that the statement "Teens in YA books act old" is meant to mean "the current range of modern YA overrepresents teens that are hypercompetent/extremely mature."
Teens are on such varied levels of growth. 1/ https://twitter.com/amandajoywrites/status/1248692958406365185">https://twitter.com/amandajoy...
Teens are on such varied levels of growth. 1/ https://twitter.com/amandajoywrites/status/1248692958406365185">https://twitter.com/amandajoy...
Some are dealing with a lot of hardship and struggle + forced to mature quickly. Others are not. A lot are making mistakes + messing up friendships + trying to put things back together + figuring out how to live treated like an adult but without the freedoms of adults. 2/
Part of the issue with this discourse is it always gets reduced to "what teens can/can& #39;t do."
It ends up being a discussion of "are teens having sex?" & "mature teens exist" and it disregards the fact that the problem isn& #39;t that Kaz Brekker might act like he& #39;s 25. 3/
It ends up being a discussion of "are teens having sex?" & "mature teens exist" and it disregards the fact that the problem isn& #39;t that Kaz Brekker might act like he& #39;s 25. 3/
The problem is that the RANGE of YA isn& #39;t fitting teens.
It& #39;s not talking *enough/well-enough* about things like teens who are struggling with their parents. Or teens who are faced with decisions about their future or coming to terms with their dying world. 4/
It& #39;s not talking *enough/well-enough* about things like teens who are struggling with their parents. Or teens who are faced with decisions about their future or coming to terms with their dying world. 4/
The teenage experience is so broad, it& #39;s reductive to try to narrow it down to "what book/action is a teen that acts old."
There is no one thing. Some big, general things are:
- a rarity of 14 & 15 year olds
- too much romance, not enough friendship 5/
There is no one thing. Some big, general things are:
- a rarity of 14 & 15 year olds
- too much romance, not enough friendship 5/
You will *always* be able to make an argument that a YA character acts like a teen. Kaz is struggling with being forced to mature too quickly. Thus, he& #39;s teenage.
It& #39;s not about specifics. Looking at specifics will probably never lead to an answer as to why YA feels old. 6/
It& #39;s not about specifics. Looking at specifics will probably never lead to an answer as to why YA feels old. 6/
If we want to actually address the ways YA is failing teens, we need to look at the landscape of the category as a whole.
Stop arguing about what teens do. Start looking at why teens stop reading YA or never get into. This is where the category is starting to fail readers. 7/
Stop arguing about what teens do. Start looking at why teens stop reading YA or never get into. This is where the category is starting to fail readers. 7/
Understand the difference between "media that is meant to represent teens" and "media that teens enjoy reading." These are not always the same.
I guarantee that understanding this difference will clear things up a la Six of Crows *so* quickly. 8/
I guarantee that understanding this difference will clear things up a la Six of Crows *so* quickly. 8/
