I think the reason for this preference is that I love teenagers. A lot of adults look at me kind of funny when I make statements like this (especially if they are parents of teenage children), but there it is. I think teenagers are great. I love teaching teenagers; as a group, they have consistently been my favorite age to teach (and I add preteens into this group, so think ages 11-18 or so).
Teenagers are so inspiring to me. They have most of their lives in front of them, and they genuinely believe they can accomplish great things. Many of them are passionate and smart, ambitious and driven. Sometimes they are complete wrecks, but they haven’t ossified into their wreckitude. They also haven’t developed the thicker persona that so many adults have, so they feel very, very real. They’re in the thick of trying to figure stuff out, complicated life stuff, and their emotions are flying all over the place, and who knows how it will all end up? Teenagers are exciting.
In a typical conversation with a teenager, they’ll talk about their friends and some recent friend/boy drama, or they’ll talk about school work. They’ll talk about their interests with huge amounts of enthusiasm once they’ve gotten comfortable with you. They’ll talk about their plans and/or dreams for the future, they’ll talk about the problems they’re having with their parents, they’ll talk about prom (or fill-in-the-blank Big Event). They laugh a lot and still know how to be silly. Sometimes they cry too, because they’re not all about keeping up that perfect veneer. Sometimes they’re flaky and irresponsible, but they’re still learning so at least they might not be forever flakes. They literally vibrate with possibility.
Contrast that with adults, with whom I might normally converse about the weather, or health problems, or their crappy jobs, or home improvements, or “what do you do for a living,” and really the only question remaining in my mind is, why don’t more people prefer teenagers since they are obviously so much more interesting? I’m the kind of person who is always changing and afraid of stagnation. I’m not saying I always like change, but I’m fascinated by it and ultimately see it as a positive thing. I get excited when other people are changing too. And pretty much all teenagers are changing, whether they like it or not.
Luckily I know many interesting adults too (and no, I’m not just saying that), but I find the teenage years to be of inherent interest and inherent conflict. And inherent conflict and characters in the throes of change theoretically lead to riveting story; it’s a little more complicated than that, obviously, but it’s one of my strongest reasons for liking to write YA.
What about you? Why do you like to read and/or write in your genre(s) of choice?
The Practical Free Spirit 
I read young adult fiction almost exclusively. I just find it way more interesting than “adult” fiction. There’s usually drama and romance, and the story is written to keep a younger reader’s interest, so it’s not bogged down in details that I usually find boring. I read books for their plots and character relationships, and young adult fiction does that very well.
Probably my favorite series ever is “Animorphs”, which is geared a little younger than young adult in terms of reading difficulty (more for 8-12 year old range). However, the story and themes and characters are applicable for any and all ages. I’ve read the series multiple times, and I enjoy it every time I do. 🙂
I do notice that some people seem to think reading young adult fiction as an adult is somehow lowering yourself. It’s been implied to me that if you can’t read and enjoy a complicated adult book (or just don’t want to) and instead you want to read stuff below your age level, you’re not intelligent enough or something. Like somehow fiction for younger people is intrinsically worse than fiction for adults. I honestly don’t understand this–I think these people are missing out on some great stories. 🙂
I know, what’s the snobbery about? I have no idea. I’ve found since I started reading tons of YA that in terms of quality, it’s similar to adult books: some of it is amazing, some is fairly bad, and some is mediocre. The themes and issues grappled are often complex (I particularly enjoy the moral dilemmas!) and if it’s a time of life you enjoy reading about, I don’t see what the big deal is. 🙂
I’m afraid I don’t take many teen issues very seriously. I recognize this is a blind spot for me. It’s why shows like Glee just make me sigh wearily and /eyeroll. I want to shake them and say ‘You think this is hard? We’re doing you no favors with this coddling. Get out there and earn your way.’
I recognize that teens are in-training to be full-grown humans. I think YA novels are an excellent way to do that, but ONLY when the novels don’t pull punches. Real consequences for real errors. If the majority of YA fiction is like that, then excellent. Unfortunately, the popular stuff seems to be on the fluffy side. Maybe I don’t know enought to comment intelligently, but that’s never stopped me before!
As for the complexity issue, I see nothing wrong with straightforward stories. There’s nothing wrong with the dime-store detective novel, even when the detective is a 16-year-old.
Have you read much YA, or only looked at the covers at bookstores? For sure there is plenty of fluffy fare (just as there is plenty of the same in the adult sections), but there are also some very hard-hitting novels. The writing can be very tight in YA with superior pacing. But it’s all over the map in terms of tone, subject matter, etc.
Also, isn’t Glee supposed to make you roll your eyes? No, wait…. 😉
Just looked at the covers, I admit. As I say, I just find teen issues all that compelling. Hell, half the time the story looks like it could be resolved simply by talking to an adult. Or calling the cops. Or half a dozen other things on the ‘when shit hits the fan’ list that adults consult in those circumstances. Perhaps those are the poorly written books. I just haven’t read enough, which I think disqualifies me to speak on this topic. Hell, even when I was a teen I didn’t read YA. I’ll just nod sagely from the corner and pretend competence. 🙂
And while I’m at it (see me ignore my own recusation?) I really hate the way adults are often portrayed as ‘the enemy’. I know that kids see the parents as a limiting factor, and it’s true. Parents are trying to help the teens NOT mess up their lives. You and Danielle talk about the possibilities, and you’re right. They have SO much they CAN do. But ONLY if they don’t make horrible, life-limiting choices early on. It’s like a sentence. Get someone pregnant? Twenty years. Get an addiction? Five to life. Bollix your grades? Here’s your spatula, hope you like the smell of grease. Do these books portray that? I’m sure the good ones do, but why is it that when I see/hear about these stories the parents end up as the antagonists over what are very essential life lessons. Maybe the better books DO end up showing the bitter sides to those pills. I don’t know. And with that admission, I’ll recuse myself once more. And put down my cane.
I’m with you on the snobbery, though. I don’t believe there is any genre that is the pinnacle of storytelling. A good story is a good story. I recall your post about speculative fiction getting looked down upon by literary fiction types. I’ve run into that some, so I’m right there with you on YA. My own issues with it come from the subject matter and my personal blind spots. I am happy to acknowledge that there are some very good authors writing some very good stories in the genre. Or at least take your word for it! I know your writing, for instance. I think you’re a perfectly cromulent author, regardless of genre. I’ll always read anything you do because I know it won’t be trite.
First of all, you seem to be mostly talking about contemporary YA novels.
Second of all, sometimes, I hate to say it, but adults are the bad guys. Sometimes parents fail in spectacular ways. Hopefully this is not the norm, but it certainly happens. So it really depends on whether you’re reading a story about a teen with a pretty okay family life who is angsty about it anyway, or whether you’re reading about a teen who actually has a pretty unpleasant family life. Or sometimes the adult hasn’t necessarily done anything horrible but the teen is unable to communicate with the adult. Or sometimes the adult is absent. I could go on, but really my point is there are many possibilities, so while there are definitely books that portray the adult as “enemy”, there are also books that don’t do this, and books that do this in a compelling way.
I have found that more MG stories could be resolved by speaking to an adult than YA, but that is based only on my own reading.
In any case, I’m not actually trying to convince you to give YA a shot since it doesn’t sound like it’s your thing. But I can’t help going on about it anyway. 🙂
True, parenting failures can make for some very interesting stories.
If you run across any titles that you particularly enjoy or you feel are representative of the genre at its best, I’d be happy to give them a look. As I say, I enjoy good stories regardless of genre.
Gack at the photo!
I find that I more easily identify with YA protagonists than I do adult protags, even now. I think you make a good point about all the questioning that happens during the teenage years, and this certainly contributes to interesting narrators.
I also think there’s a lot more possibilities – or perceived possibilities – when you’re younger. So many doors to choose from.
I don’t understand how you can’t adore Veronica Mars, but I will turn a blind eye and bond over Buffy instead. 🙂
I love all the possibilities! It’s a time when there’s a highly likelihood of following a legion of dreams instead of suffering from the “I can’t” syndrome. 🙂
“I think the reason for this preference is that I love teenagers.”
I’m glad someone does. I remember being one and dealing with my peers and it will probably make me always dislike them.
I’m pretty sure you’re not alone in this assessment. 🙂
Romance always reminds me of fairy tales. Even if the world is in chaos, I can always have my happy ending since I can experience them in romance books. It’s the idea that things always works out. That’s why I love romance.
I’m a sucker for happy endings myself. 🙂