Week 13 Prompt: Though this week's group of "genres" all seem very different, they all have in common the fact that many people don't feel that they are legitimate literary choices and libraries shouldn't be spending money on them or promoting them to adults. The common belief is that adults still don't or shouldn't read that stuff. How can we as librarians, work to ensure that we are able to serve adults who enjoy YA literature or graphic novels? Or should we? I can't wait to read your thoughts on this. Thanks!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So this morning I tried to explain YA and NA to my mom and I confess, it boiled down to the ages of the protagonists and the sexual content. "Coming-of-age" seems a little generic of a description, but so does "protagonists 18-26 years old." I'm at a loss. And I confess: in the deepest recesses of my brain, I think I consider YA and NA books... kind of immature. Naive. And maybe that's what they are--there is no omniscient narrator to provide wisdom or context. Is that true or fair to say? I'm not really sure. Also, there are a gazillion books that treat coming-of-age without being shelved with the YA/NA books--what makes them more "adult?" My guess is, again, the wisdom of the narration. I would welcome comments that support or refute this judge-y claim!
Now I'm racking my brain for fiction that covers young adults but gets shelved in adult fiction--The Lincoln Highway, Huck Finn, Where the Crawdads Sing, The Goldfinch, To Kill a Mockingbird... What makes these literature? Or just adult fiction?
All my judgment aside, I still think the genre is worthy of existing, for the simple reason that readers are drawn to it so it's a convenient category. And I don't think that adults "shouldn't" be reading YA/NA books; everyone has their preferences and its none of my business beyond how I can help them find what they want.
I asked my friend in Collection Development about how they label teen books. If the publisher says it's a teen book, it gets labeled as such. If the publisher doesn't say, they check Amazon and Baker & Taylor for audience age ranges or grades. She made a good point--a book marked "teen" may be considered age-appropriate by teen readers or their parents.
My library doesn't separate out NA, but this gives me an idea for a book display: "As seen on TikTok!" As Colleen Hoover and Rebecca Yarros continue to hit bestseller status, perhaps its fair to say that NA readers already know how to find what they like.
Hi Jenni, I am not here to fight you about YA literature being somewhat immature, but I also advocated that libraries should offer young adult, new adult, and graphic novels to adult readers. I mentioned that book displays could be a viable solution in my prompt response, so adult do not have to go into the teen section. I also talked about possibly recommending to adults that do not want to venture into the teen section that they could request young adult books as holds and pick them up on the holds shelf.
ReplyDeletethanks, Jackie--it does seem like adult patrons might balk at choosing a "teen" book that is so marked. Displays make sense--choose additional appeal factors and include some teen/YA/NA titles
DeleteHi Jenni! I can see where you're coming from, especially with those great examples of literary fiction with new adult main characters. As mentioned in the Betwix and Between article, coming age has been around a long time, but books categorized at NA have a specific appeal. I think it could be a reflection on our society where adolescence is being extended to later ages. Just as YA became a more defined genre once adolescence became a more defined age, this may be behind the emergence of the NA category? But I still have a suspicion that it's really just our answer for content that seems too spicy to recommend to the under 18 crowd (spoken as the parent of a 17 year old!)!
ReplyDeleteThose are both perfectly plausible explanations!
ReplyDeleteJenni, I was thinking the same thing - why is "Where the Crawdads Sing" considered adult? I think it could be NA. Although it doesn't have a lot of sex. I haven't read widely in NA (I'm an OA! lol). But it's curious to me to consider what makes NA a section (genre?) now that didn't exist when I was a NA person, about 30 years ago. I think you're right that "coming of age" is often what happens in a book. But I do think younger people talk more about the trials of "adulting" and we didn't do that when I was a new adult. I don't say that to judge in any way - it never occurred to me, honestly. There were challenges to being an adult that surprised me but there didn't seem to be enough people around to talk about it. Maybe having social media lets more people of the same age talk and share experiences. It's very interesting.
ReplyDeleteHaving rambled on about NA, I would agree that all of these types of books belong in the library. I think having conversations with people who read them and asking (in a very open and curious tone) what they like about them will help me learn. Today I spoke to a young patron about graphic novels because he was saying he likes them a lot. I just asked him what he liked about them, and he told me - he liked that the words were shorter. I think he liked that the pictures supported the story. He didn't really say that, but I got that feeling. And if the pictures help the reader read, then let's keep them! :)
Hey, Janna--Karis' comment pairs well with yours: once upon a time, we didn't separate out "new adults." I think it was some time in the '90's that health insurance companies started covering children up to age 25. I think that's when we started acknowledging this in-between stage. Not sure how far behind libraries were with NA distinctions--any other OA's in this class recall?
DeleteHi Jenni, sometimes YA may feel immature to us who are "actual" adults because we have already been teenagers and only in retrospect do we realize how un-grown we really were at that time. I enjoyed teen books most when I was in middle school- so still like 10-14 years old- because they allowed me to get a glimpse of the things I had questions about- dating, alcohol, abusive relationships, immature parents, sex, drugs, etc- in a safe way. By the time I was in high school I was already moving past YA and into regular adult fiction because I felt I had a good grasp of the subject matter and was craving a more grown up voice again. Still, young adult books exist because young adults exist and need characters who are facing circumstances to them!
ReplyDeleteI still enjoy the occasional YA now and I recently read ACOTAR and LOVED IT because it was such a great escape OUT of the real adult world!
Hi Haley-- I enjoyed YA as a younger person, too, and now that I think about it, NA when I was of age may not have existed, but chick lit did and the books I read in that genre were definitely NA books (Jemima J and A Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing are titles I recall). Would you consider Addie LaRue NA? It bugged me reading it that Addie would be interested in or have anything in common with someone in their 20's after hundreds of years on Earth. That was a sticking point for my branch's book club (retirees) as well.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI love your post and I love the excerpt you included! You bring up a thought provoking point - why are some literary classics shelved as adult instead young adult. You inspired great discussion in the comments. Great work!
ReplyDelete