Beth Revis, author of Across the Universe, A Million Suns, and Shades of Earth is doing something amazing: she is giving away almost FIFTY YA books from her personal collection, and they are all SIGNED. Pretty cool, right? These are the books:
But there’s a reason she’s doing this. She wants to spread her love for Young Adult Books, and she’s asking other bloggers to do the same. I have to admit when I started this blog, my main focus was to read and review adult fiction, primarily horror, fantasy and science fiction. But more and more I am drawn to all the wonderful choices that YA has to offer, and I find myself reading just as many YA titles as adult. Over the past few years, YA fiction has practically taken over the publishing industry and spread like wildfire. It’s a cultural phenomenon that doesn’t seem to be slowing down, and I think that’s a great thing. I won’t tell you how old I am, but I can tell you I have teens of my own and we often read the same books! My love of YA grows with every new author I run across, and every original voice and idea that I read. I read a survey recently that said there are more adults buying and reading YA books than young adults! Why are there so many adults reading these books? Well, I certainly can’t answer for everyone else out there, but I can give you a few reasons why I read and love YA books. I love the way authors are brave enough to tackle serious subject matters about growing up in today’s world. I love it when authors can capture the innocence of youth and the emotional challenges of growing up. But mostly I love that there are so many choices available for tweens and teens to read these days.
When I was growing up, there was no such thing as “young adult.” I grew up reading wonderful stories from amazing authors like Zilpha Keatley Snyder, Edward Eager, and C. S. Lewis, but their books were categorized as “children’s books.” As far as I know, there wasn’t a category that bridged the gap between children and adults. I very clearly remember when I was about twelve, having read all the “children’s” fantasy books in the library, I turned to the adult section to find something new to read. But the librarian would not allow me to check out adult books because I was too young. What a frustrating time that was. All I wanted to do was read, but I found myself blocked by the one institution that was supposed to nurture my love of reading, the library! Of course, I was eventually allowed to check out the books I wanted to read, but that important transition period between being a child and becoming an adult would have been more enjoyable if I’d had the selection of books available to me that teens have today.
So help me celebrate the love of YA books! You can enter Beth’s contest here (or you can click the image above). Tell the world why you love YA books!
Leave a Reply