I'm Getting Kind of Tired of YA. - Comments

I was in Barnes and Noble the other day and was so put off by the books because they all looked the fucking same and the titles were just as horrid. I'm so done. The City Of-- books got so old really fast, Cassandra Clare....just no.

The only YA book I ever highly suggest is Tithe by Holly Black, anything from Holly Black is suggested. She doesn't write annoying YA.

I know how you feel. I feel that as I'm getting older I'm starting to see things in some YA books that I didn't see when I was younger, particularly the sub-par plots. *cough Evermore series cough* I'm sorry if anyone on here likes that series but I just couldn't. I found the ending to the second one(I think?) incredibly stupid and just a way to create more drama so you could make more of the series. I mean really, her choice was incredibly stupid. It's obvious that guy was going to have an ulterior motive and I would've went with Ok. I'm going to stop before I go into a rant.

I really try to finish series sometimes, just in case it was one book that was faulty, but that YA series made me mad because I felt like the author was just giving me a load of bologna. And that makes me sad because now I'm really picky with my YA books, and if it looks like it's going to be another cheesy vampire or werewolf romance story, I don't even pick it off the shelf. I haven't even read the Divergent series yet because I've heard mixed reviews and I don't feel like taking my chances.

I feel like this post was a bit everywhere, but anyway, I'm just sad with a lot of the YA fiction lately. I agree with you too. I feel like it's the same story over and over, the same kind of character with just a different title.

I agree with you. YA just lost its charm when an influx of books with the almost the same plot got published in the past few years. Sure, it's fun reading cliche novels every now and then but, when I'm in the YA section of a bookstore, I see books that are amazingly similar.

I love YA fiction.

I think the romantic subplot just comes because, well, romance is popular. It brings in readers, it adds a point of interest, it gives the readers somebody to root for. I don't mind the romance aspects - and I find that not all characters are straight, either. Even in mainstream YA fiction - Cassandra Clare has both gay and lesbian characters; one of my favourite authors, Brigid Kemmerer, has a gay protagonist. Said author also got me onto "Openly Straight" by Bill Konigsberg, which is a fantastic young adult read.

I do agree though, many protagonists are started to feel like the same person. I actually think that's why I've been having a six month long writer's block - I'm trying to write my own YA fantasies, but my characters are just...not working for me.

Guess it's time for me to start reading the more adult books on my list.

I've never been a fan of YA fiction. The things I write could I guess be considered YA, but not in the cute-fluffy-romance-and-bitter-heartbreak way, more that they are for fun and not for a message. I write about scientists and wizards and villains who stay villainous, and mythical creatures and untold places and lots and lots of sci-fi. I wish YA would branch out more.

I think other than the fact that people are out of originality when it comes to YA publishing, I think it has to do with the publishers themselves. They want the same boring crap and that's all they'll publish. So there's more out there, you just probably won't find it in big book stores like Barnes and Noble. But I really agree with everything you've said here, especially about not being able to tell one character from another. Which sucks ass because YA is all I really read v.v

As far as the "chosen one on a quest" plotline, I think it involves what genre you're looking at. If you're looking at fantasy/supernatural type stuff, yeah, there's going to be a "chosen one" that's going "on a quest". There's different YA genres though, you have to just...branch out. There's stuff out there, a lot of stuff. Just look for it. I suggest browsing through tumblr or just typing "YA books" into google.

As for me, I love YA. Typical real life stuff though, home issues, romance problems, etc.

And although I haven't read a full David Leviathan book yet, he has a few YA books with gay characters out.

I used to read YA when I was 12-13 but now that I've read better books I can't even remember a good young adult book.

Characters always being straight?

I think you'd have a great time delving into LGBT fiction, it's actually pretty interesting imo. One of the first two books I read from the genre were Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan and Luna by Julie Ann Peters.

I find myself passing up a lot of YA because of how "meh" it is as well. And I'm getting older too so now I have more of a reason to pick up more NA and ~*~adult~*~ fiction. Hell, I'm beginning to want to read more memoirs.