The Problem with YA (and New Adult) Fantasy...
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- Опубліковано 11 тра 2024
- #books #yafantasybooks #fantasybooks #fantasy
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I feel like some authors are using the YA label (and maybe even some publishers, too, tbh) to put out poorly-edited books because the readers are young and "won't see how bad it is" (not true at all!). Younger readers deserve good writing just as much as older readers do! I have found some good modern YA books, but most of them I found through recommendations from other people.
Yeah, its like with children books, young adult is just a style that is more emotional direct and less literate high. It does not mean that it shouldnt tell a solid taken serious emotional compelling story with engaging fleshed out hopefully characters.
Its no excuse to write bad. Godamn ther eare amazing ya books that you easy could read and think, oh yeah its ya, but its also pretty engaging and engaging and even dealing well with complex themes.
And i am ffine if ya books skip over sex scenes rather than, write just bad fanfic smut?! YA isnt same as bad romance, it still needs a coming of age theme and growth and character developement and emotion and sensitivity, not bad romance tropes done badly. And i respect author who dont delve too detailed in sexscenes if they, cant write it. .
There has always been pulp genre fiction, and lots of stuff that won’t stick around, even back to the Victorian times when it became easier to get ahold of it, but I don’t understand the lack of editorial oversight. No fixed structure to series, copy editing mistakes, no cutting repetitive scenes.
I feel like fantasy YA as a genre has shifted significantly since I was getting into the genre when I was a teen in 2003. Tamora Pierce introduced me to strong female characters that I really embraced and fun fantasy worlds and interesting plots. The fantasy YA now seems not as well written and the characters seem poorly developed. At first I thought it's because I'm reading these as an adult now, but I recently read Garth Nix's Sabriel for the first time (published in 1995) and THIS is the quality YA I remember. And the male love interest isn't a misogynist a-hole.
I have no issue with YA books exploring sexuality, but my issue with the new crop of YA romantasy, is that it seems the books are just churned out quickly with less development and quality. It feels like fast food. Which is fine, I just don't wanna eat fast food all the time.
Gotta have some soul food and something more nutritious too.
It feels like everyone’s trying to recreate the next Twilight or ACOTAR rather than actually trying to write something new or interesting :/ Maybe it’s just me, but it feels that way lol. Like, even if you do want to write something like those books, more power to you, but you can always do it better 😅
i love 'the lioness quartet' & the old kingdom trilogy. i'm still waiting for book ten of 'night world'
Yep, ya has a theme of coming of age and deal with growing up and thats usually a core with some other themes , and the messyness, th edifficulties, relationships.
Not bad romance thats really more smut than a coming of age story, not every ya hass to be coming of age, some vcan just be dealing with stuff and also developement or exploring. You know emotional teenager stuff , growing up, growing pains, maybe way graver problems and trauma.
Which isnt just smutty bad romance tropes that are just , erotica. Erotica has itrs own genre, that has enough audience, leave ya alone. Nothing against ya sex scenes but smut is terrible there.
I had confusing friendships as a kid and not sexual relationships. I love Tamora Pierce for giving me something to read that didn't focus on being in love and a sexual relationship as the main story.
I love Alison Croggan's series The Books of Pellinor for the same reason.
I just finished the Six of Crows duology a few hours ago, and I literally thought I myself that there were two things that would have made these great books perfect. The first one is a major spoiler so I won’t mention it, but the second was that I wish the characters could’ve been aged up to maybe mid-twenties. They all have rich backstories and I understand that people who go through what they do mature faster, so it makes sense that they are young but making them late teens still felt too young for how mature they are. I also agree Rhysand is not a feminine king at all. Like what, he’s the opposite 😂 (haven’t read fourth wing or the other one though). If you are looking for a YA that has an amazing male lead character, try Strange the Dreamer. Lazlo Strange should be the role model for more men out there!
So true, it almost felt like the characters were aged as late teens instead of young adults just because the genre/publishing category called for it. While reading i eventually just chose to forget about it.
It also seems to me like many book ideas might not start out as strictly YA, but have to be marketed that way and the story and characters are changed accordingly throughout the writing and editing process. Or it's the other way around entirely and agents are so dead-set on having that next hot YA series that it leaves little room to deviate from commom tropes and story beats. Not to call it 'creatively bankrupt' but i haven't picked up a single YA title published in the last years (apart from Six of Crows) that didn't read like a checklist of things that have already been done to death
EDIT: Ohh how could i forget Strange the Dreamer!! That duology was so good
@@calico3202 I would forget but then the text would occasionally remind me of their youth and it was jarring 😅 Shadow & Bone was vey YA to me and Alina was as intelligent and interesting as a doormat. Everyone in Six of Crows was smarter and more well rounded a character than she ever was. They really would have made more sense as characters in their mid twenties. If you like six of crows and strange the dreamer, you may enjoy the sands of arawiya duology! I enjoyed that one and it’s YA. And if you’re not completely tired of tropes yet, Heartless Hunter is (imo) a book that picked its tropes and aced them. It’s well done, well paced, the female MC has a brain, and the tension makes sense instead of just being there to get from point a to b in the plot.
I agree with you on a lot of these points. I really strongly agree with you on the misogyny point. It takes me right out of the story and I get really frustrated, because all I can think is that if this person supposedly likes you, why are they acting this way, and why aren't you telling them not to act this way? I had a hard time as I grew up learning that I needed to speak up and ask for the things I want and deserve, and that I might even need to argue to get it from my partner, and I wish that was displayed more in books aimed at young people, because it's really important and can be really difficult to do. Definitely a great video here as always.
This inspires me to keep making my own fantasy stories for what I will enjoy and no longer caring if it appeals to others. I’ll make stories that would make me not ever put the book down! Thanks for that ;)
Best of luck
While I DO agree that using the Euro-Medieval setting for a fantasy story HAS been overused, a lot of people (like me,) see it as timeless. While the setting may seem to look the same, some of them offer a new FEEL to it
I think that's the issue of it feeling overused, because a lot of the time it feels generic and not interesting or used in a new way.
@@Ashbrash1998 For me, it's not really a problem; especially when a lot of fantasy films I've seen feature cities inhabited by other creatures.
Rivendell and Erebor from Peter Jackson's movies are two examples of this
It’s only timeless because you’re used to Eurocentric reading experiences. I’m not so I find it boring
@@Nothereforit174 but that implies that you're NOT used to reading Eurocentric stuff
so... how can it be boring to you... when you've barely read any of it?
the math's not mathing
Something I’ve seen a few times with badass female characters is when instead of her being mistreated by the guy and not caring, she ‘s actually a horrible person to the male love interest. One example being Mare from Red Queen who honestly abused Cal and I was thinking like my guy run, she’s awful as a person. Also Grace in the Crave series who has two different love interests, Jaxon and Hudson, and whichever one she’s with at that point in the series, she’ll just constantly start arguments over the smallest issues that didn’t make sense at all. They would be having a good time and it’s like you blink and suddenly Grace is angry about something that happened forever ago and probably isn’t relevant at the moment. I know I’m not the only one to notice this in certain fmc’s but I also feel crazy for thinking it because I see so many positive opinions on these books and the relationships in them.
Literally just rambling lmao but if you wanna give something superhero related, I’d recommend Renegades by Marissa Meyer. It’s a legit enemies to lovers and the way their powers work is really interesting to me. Some people are born with them but a lot of people who don’t can get powers later in life due to some sort of trauma they experienced. It’s one of my favorite trilogies, reread it last year and I think it was almost better than the first time in a way since I had forgotten a lot and I think the writing and descriptions paint a really vivid image so it’s a series I think about often and compare other books to
renegades by Marissa Meyer is hype!! I’ve read that series twice 😅
Incredibly minor point in the video, but i love Blue-Eyed Samurai in part because Mizu's gender identity is never pinned into one particular modern label, which feels accurate to both the character and the general idea of a historical setting where strict gender roles exist with very few exceptions. One could read Mizu as a cis woman in disguise who would have otherwise been happy if [she] wasn't restricted into a very narrow definition of Woman/ her life circumstance, but there are for sure SUPER HEAVY tones of transmasculinity and/or genderqueerness and/or gender nonconformity if you even kind of look for them lol, and that rocks so hard. I choose to generally address Mizu with he/him, since that's what he very firmly insists on using in the show, but imo almost every read on his gender could be a valid interpretation as presented by the text
Haven't watched the video yet but just from the thumbnail, I wanna chime in that Daughter of the Moon Goddess isn't YA or NA! A big trend with female fantasy authors is that they're immediately assumed to be YA even if they aren't😅
Oh that’s my mistake! I thought it was because when my patrons and I read it the story beats were pretty similar to a lot of YA books and the characters felt pretty young (like they’re immortal but act like early 20s).
Hard agree. If a setting is European it better be doing something extremely interesting to set itself apart. Like, why should I read this European fantasy over any other one? The author’s gotta earn it.
@@dontfretreadbooks definitely an easy mistake to make! I think younger protagonists in adult fantasy are becoming increasingly common, partially because that gets teenagers to read adult books! Crossover appeal is a big deal for marketing!
All of the books feeling similar is a direct result of publishing not being willing to take risks. Edgy shadow boo sells-- why have a book with a nerdy stem love interest? 💀 They recycle the same tropes for the sake of money instead of putting out anything inventive and it’s exhausting. Part of why I found iron widow enjoyable (despite its flaws) is that it was simply UNIQUE for a YA fantasy.
If it's marketed as YA, i immediately lose interest nowadays. I feel like I'm just past that point....and thats okay..
yes, damn, the love interests should at least pretend to like the MC!!!
Young Adult is a marketing category more than it is descriptive of the age range the content is appropriate for. It's like how boys and girls toys get separated, even though it doesn't matter the gender of the child playing with a toy, because it makes them more money to separate them. That's how I understand it. But also, young adults and kids can handle more dark themes than we give them credit for, especially in a medium like books.
Agreeing with your points, just trying to work out what the YA/NA/Adult distinction is.
The marketing categories for books aren’t as arbitrary as gendered toy categories, it’s about age ranges, so a closer comparison would be the rating system for movies/TV.
YA is a marketing category specifically because it functions as a descriptor of what age range the content is appropriate for, which is inclusive of how difficult the prose is, the level of violence and/or sexually explicit content, with publishers also having strong preferences for keeping the main character the same age as the category’s primary readership due to correlations with this level of character/reader relatability and increased sale/market success.
New Adult is only recognised within self publishing, which has unfortunately lead traditionally published NA to get put out as YA when it really breaks the rules of that category, it’s honestly baffling why they’re so resistant to recognising it when it’s got such explosive popularity.
Regardless, NA it’s basically YA but for adults, the characters are often younger than the readers and still in their teens tho occasionally are as old as 20 but the maturity of these characters is still very much teenage level, the difficulty of the prose is at a YA level not an Adult level (which suits many casual readers), it also has the level of violence and sexually explicit content as Adult books do, so another way to summarise NA is it’s the adultificafion of YA.
As for dark themes, it’s a bit too general to say kids can handle dark themes, as they can handle these themes when they’re deliberately presented to them in a way their age range can best comprehend it and with a level of sensitivity necessary to prevent the exposure to it being traumatic. There’s a lot of psychological studies on the subject regarding the necessity for safe/age appropriate exposure to certain content, which shouldn’t be misconstrued as just the moralistic tyranny of ultra conservative parents.
As of right now, there’s definitely a fair argument to be made against mainstream published YA introducing young teenage girls to normalised and/or fetishised depictions of abusive relationships, especially when these YA novels handle this subject matter with the same level of tact as an Adult BDSM Erotic novel.
@@Sanakudou You're mostly right, but also a lot of books that should have just been in the adult section ended up in YA when they shouldn't have, age-range-wise. So instead of writing an entire article in comments, I simplified down to one thing that I didn't see mentioned in the video or in comments yet.
@@antiformsoraa lot of books and no example means nothing. YA books have always handled any topic aside from the heavily violent or erotic but can be very honest about anything from drug addiction, sex, suicide, and more. The character age and coming of age theme is what makes it YA. We’re supposed to see the character shift over time or learn some reality about life generally speaking
NA is older than 18 through 25 but some put it out to 30. It’s just focusing on a protagonist that age dealing with new experiences and challenges that come with being a responsible adult. So it’s not usually the books with someone struggling in their second marriage with five kids, on the way to divorce with a nasty custody battle ahead and maybe the book is retracing the end of it all
I was raised in abuse and extreme poverty (no food, no running water). Growing up, reading was my ONLY escape. I already knew about abuse, I knew that other people had feelings, I was extremely empathetic, I even knew I wasn't the only one being hurt because I spoke to other kids and hurt attracts hurt ... I never met a book that taught me something I didn't already know about life/people (growing up).
When I was a kid, books were the ONLY way I could get away from the horrors of my life. And BOY did I get away. I could read a book a day and DID.
I wasn't interested in serious books or sad books or books that were about life. I only wanted fantasy books and fantastical books and books that had no relation at all to my life. I never wanted books that had 'me' in them because I wanted nothing to do with me.
BUT EVEN SAYING THAT, I understand that different kids may want different things from their books.
There's a place for all kinds of books. Escapism is fine and some of us needed it.
Serious or sad books are good for people who have had good childhoods. They're a wonderful exercise in empathy.
@@annaa3772 Yeah. I don't know. I can't relate to having such a privileged childhood. But I CAN relate to having those idealized childhoods plastered all over media and how harmful that was because it made me envious. I just know there IS a place for these highly fantastical stories and unrealistic stories too. We need it all. :D
I do agree toxic masculinity/forced toxic masculinity is a problem in a lot of books
It's so sexists and I'm so godamn tired that in books or just in media - a women can’t be badass if she has feminine traits. For some reason she can't be both. It's so frustrating.
Let her love makeup and be kind while also kicking ass.
I got so excited when I finally picked up THRONE OF GLASS and Celaena was like "I love clothes." I was like YES! A girl who's allowed to have a "girly" passion!! (Haven't finished the book yet but that's a side note.)
It’s not sexist. I wasn’t that girl in school so why would I pander to you and your western ideas about femininity? Write the books you want to see
@@Nothereforit174I agree like let the tomboy authors live out their fantasies
What’s sad is YA fantasy used to be great. YA fantasy from the 1900’s and very early 2000’s had a great library of ya fantasy that still holds up really well. Most ya fantasy today is just awful romantasy and hunger games knock offs.
i exclusively started reading older young adult books because they have so much thought put into them as compared to trope - pandering romantasy but some recent fantasy written by some bipoc authors is good
You just don’t read much YA fantasy aside from the same famous white women getting pushed
@@Nothereforit174 I actually don’t read fantasy much at all aside from gritty grimdark fantasy. I’m more of a horror fan in general. Even a lot of modern middle grade and YA horror is really good if you know where to look.
And last I checked stuff like Wizard of Earthsea, Song of the Lioness, Harry Potter etc is YA fantasy written by white women and they’re all great. There’s tons of others like them out there too.
I was mostly criticizing the ya fantasy that gets most popular, passed around on TikTok, gets millions of reviews and Goodreads awards, stuff like that. Most ya fantasy that gets in the spotlight is terrible compared to many others that don’t get any recognition at all and compared to the classics like the ones I just mentioned.
I just find the genre's current present-tense gimmick kinda annoying. I know the traditional use of past tense is arguably arbitrary, but it's what I'm used to, and I don't get why so many YA authors have switched to present tense instead.
I do agree with your preference for non-Eurocentric fantasy settings though.
This! Very few authors do it well.
Diverse fantasy YA recs: SO LET THEM BURN (Jamaican inspired) and THE LAST BLOODCARVER (Vietnamese inspired). (I'd say SPIN OF FATE for super creative fantasy but Rachel already covered that one.)
I have So Let Them Burn on my TBR and so many people want me to cover Spin of Fate too.
8:43
I’m against it because YA fantasies are HORRIBLE at presenting good healthy relationships
Even when I WAS the target audience the majority of YA felt like a low effort genre. There are gems, obviously, but mostly I felt like I was reading the same book constantly and always knew how it would go. I feel like now even more, the entire genre is considered the fantasy sphere for authors who'd prefer to write anything but fantasy so they don't have to grind about that aspect of it, and focus on the romance/drama bit.
It was middle grade before it shades into YA, but Bartimaeus sequence was one of those 2000’s YA books that was really good and had a unique feel, while still holding up for older audiences
4:36 same. I'm so tired of superheros.
I'd watch that video.
A fantasy book series that I would highly recommend is The Shades of Magic series by V. E. Schwab.
Love that series.
8:40 Absolutely this!! I suspect that 95% of the time, the ones saying this are just trying to push their own agendas. They're not ACTUALLY thinking of the kids as human beings who will one day become adults and learn these things. It's suuper weird.
Great video! First time watcher and I appreciate the AtLA shoutout
Young Adult is a marketing category cultivated by the publishing industry and libraries. Generally, for a book to be marketed as YA, the protagonist should be between the ages of 16 (although finding none this young is becoming increasingly rare) and MAYBE 19 or 20. (This is partly because young protagonists get the freedom to experience a lot of the world and interpersonal dynamics for the first time, and be a little naïve and clumsy about it.) YA is also, generally, way more interested in the internal feelings/emotional state of the protagonist, part of why it lends itself to being written in first person.
So New Adult has the trappings of YA - first person pov, a heavy focus on the character’s emotions - but characters can be in their mid to late twenties, or older! +much spicier sex lol
NA isn’t really a category publishers have picked up yet - they’re very slow to change and adapt after all. But it’s huge in self publishing!
Thanks for watching! I accidentally shout out ATLA a lot 😅
I highly recommend reading The Sword of Kaigen. It's adult fantasy and one of the best book I have ever read. So good and so meaningful. I pray for it to become more mainstream!
This book is lit! But it’s super popular now and the author signed to a big traditional publisher so I expect her books to get more traction.
Swooping in for the algo (and to say 'Go write that book!')
Thanks for reminding me about the clothes in the dryer.
You’re welcome
Fantasy in general, is a compromise between imagination (that's what we're here for) and familiarity (this is what helps us get an initial grasp on what's going on). In YA novels I read, this compromise is quite strictly codified - specific parts are going to be familiar, and other specific parts will be trying to impress you with creativity. This formulaic approach definitely helps beginner writers to get a "functional" story and work on stuff they enjoy working on instead - but it is detrimental to the final result, is heavily influenced by publishing industry, and isn't particularly enjoyable if the length gets out of hand (ACOTAR, again?).
Interestingly, Hero's Journey theory claims that all stories are essentially that - but even stories that explicitly try to follow the formula, fail to do so (Star Wars, where Luke most certainly does not, in any way, "return home with elixir").
When YA works, it works not because the quality of individual aspects is high, but because the sum of its parts managed to sweep you off your feet long enough to ignore the flaws.
For example, I enjoyed Shadow and Bone (but not Six of Crows) - despite its lack of worldbuilding (until quite late into the trilogy, it's focused on a single character getting held in a room, more or less) and overreliance on SUDDEN plot twists (that happen because the point of view character has very limited information).
Overall, I enjoy hearing people talk about the books they read a lot more than to actually read books. Many books rely on reading speed, something I struggle with. It's not very fun to end a reading session without any meaningful progression in the story.
Your channel is so chill lol idk how people can even summon the energy to be negative to you. But I loved this video and keep doing you.
Somehow people find a way. It’s a lot of dude-bro types who just don’t agree with my opinions and they say some racist stuff. Thankfully most of my viewers are really nice and cool like you ☮️💜
Talking about being inspired by a previous piece but still managing to do something original, I think you might enjoy spin of fate. It's YA and it just came out on may 7th and I found the worldbuiling very original and the characters, at least, to me, managed to be original while still being reminiscent of the dynamics you'll find in stuffs like Naruto
I’ve gotten a lot of requests for a Spin of Fate review.
Cool video! I really like how chill you are. I think some of these points are not necessarily only prevalent in YA but definitely come up in many popular books. I have moved away from YA fantasy more and more over the years. Maybe you might enjoy Raybearer and the sequel Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko which is a YA fantasy I loved and which subverts some popular YA tropes.
One of my patrons was just gushing about Raybearer the other day so it’s on my list.
My upcoming fantasy book deals a lot with race relations (and other magic based things), but they are made up races. It's also not YA. I was sick of the tropes too, and i do have a feminine character that kicks butt and doesnt have a misogynist boyfriend lol😊 i just hope someday my book will rise from the sea of tropes and capture readers
Just got back from work. Fabulous video to come home to hell yeahhh
I, too,am a big fan of The Night Circus
YA/NA are confusing. I'm kinda annoyed when I pick up an adult/NA book that reads like a YA. Not overtly mad about it, but it irks me.
Anyway, the categories are new or new-ish, so i get that it's not always clear cut which category books can fall in. Also, I saw a case of an adult/NA series getting marketed as YA only coz it would sell better if marketed that way, so I find that wild.
Omg I feel you so much on romance and what I want. Sweetness. Yes. Consent can be sexy. Yes it can. My husband has proven this to me over and over again starting from when we were teens and I couldn’t stand him to now having been married to him for nearly 17 years. She’s always been respectful yet in the sexiest ways. I honestly don’t read a lot of YA romance in general but I read Urban Fantasy and it suffers from the same problem.
I’ve only recently begun reading YA again because my youngest has started reading YA fantasy and science fiction so I’ve read the books. In tandem so he has someone to discuss the books with. He has definitely complained about some of these topics and he’s in middle school. The range of 12-18 is vast and sometimes go over his head and others he has to grow up a little to read. He has commented on the weird relationships in some and if that’s how relationships are supposed to work. Eek
Really love this video. I write adult fantasy and sci fi not YA but agree so much on these even beyond YA.
I love Eurocentric fantasy of the old days because it’s setting the trends like LOTR developed the genre. But nowadays I look for more diversity for sure
i loved 'rivers of london' there's : 9 main books, 5 comic books and 4/5 short stories [i think, i'm not sure.....it's been a while since i read them. got them from the library]. so rivers of london is about a police officer called peter grant & he stumbles into the world of magic when he starts talking to a ghost, in the first book. in the 2nd book he falls in love with an energy vampire [i think....] the 3rd one is something about a murder underground. the 4th one is about.......tree spirts [i think]. the 5th one is about child abduction and changelings. the 6th one peter has to investigate a murder. the 7th one .....[sorry i can't remember] the 8th one has something to do with computers and the 9th one there's a silver robbery and his girlfriend is about to give birth to twins. .......i've probably done a bad job of describing the books but i really like them and kobna holdbrook-smith does a really good job of the many voices
I love your energy dude you got a new sub
Thank you so much!
"Toxic masculinity but the main character is a woman" is a great way to put ut
When I read fantasy and scifi, there was no "young adult." I grew up on the imaginative side of the genre. I would like to suggest Tanith Lee. Anne McCaffrey. Classics. They wrote it all. Also, I write fantasy and do character driven books. Have 6 fantasy novels out (Verna McKinnon). I would be curious to hear your response to my heroines. Most YA books I have tried are elaborate dystopia with bad toxic relationships. YA fantasy is mucked up. Mine is for all ages, as if Tanith lee and Anne McCaffrey.
has anyone tried : 'Astrid - murders in Paris'?
1. The characters never have loving parents they are always crappy or dead. The family dynamic is always toxic, the siblings also hate the protagonist. Can we get a loving family that cares about each other.
2. In YA I always feel like the characters feel older than their actual age and in New Adult, I always feel like the characters are younger than their actual age.
Example: Violet in Fourth Wing feels 16 when she actually 20. And Feyre (ACOTAR) is 19 and feels like she is in her late 20s and having her in a relationship with someone who is 600 years old did not help.
3. The Protagonist always has to be a special little snowflake, they are always completely OP.
While I am at it, for the love of God, can we leave shadow magic alone.
4. Can we get some plot with the romance, and can that plot actually make sense. I cannot count the number of times I've read YA and NA books and asked myself Why? or How?
Can I use this comment in my follow up video?
Re: 1, I have thought many times how much I want to see someone who has positive relationships with both parents. (Of course then I write kids who hate one or both, so I'm not helping my case.)
@@dontfretreadbooks yes
When I first heard the term "young adult", I thought it literally meant young adult... as in 18-22 years old or something.. but I guess that's "new adult"? What is the "teen" label for then if "young adult" covers 12-18? I do not consider teenagers to be young adults and honestly I find it a little concerning they would be marketed to that way. There should be teen 13-17 then young adult 18-22..
That makes the most sense to me.
I don't really see a reason for a young adult genre like that, then. Why wouldn't people in their early 20s just read adult novels?
If I were to write a European Medieval-inspired fantasy setting, I would try to really research the history and depict aspects that pop culture has typically ignored.
Funnily enough I felt the opposite of your example about six of crows. Ik you haven't read it so no comment on your opinions on the book but I just finished it so the book was on my mind. I found six of crows to be a really simplified surface level exploration of serious and darker themes and I really disliked the book for that. I'm 18 and my take away is that a 12 year old me would have probably really enjoyed it. That inability to be sure which end of the 12-18 year old spectrum YA books are trying to target has been driving me away from YA as a whole. Some of my favorite books are children's books, for example the little prince and the phantom tollbooth, but that balance of being good for all age groups is a hard balance and isn't often pulled off well imo
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on Six of Crows. Honestly I keep hearing it’s SO good and I HAVE to read it. It’s kinda nice to hear somebody say something a lil different.
I get the superhero genre fatigue, but with that said The Boys is the only 'superhero' show I still watch. Maybe because it makes fun of it.
If they ever remade or adapted Static Shock I’d be there tho. I haven’t seen The Boys my ex best friend was obsessed with it and now it just reminds me of bad times.
honestly your channel is getting me the closest i have ever been to actually watching avatar: the last airbender lmao
lol 😂 imma take that as a compliment
Do it! It's worth it. I finally watched the whole thing a few years ago after seeing about half of the first season when it first aired. I don't watch much TV but it grabbed me. It's really good!
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You think fairy tales were for kids?
Have you seen how many iterations of those fairy stories out there, in olden languages?
Kids, or teenagers more specifically, as a concept didn't exist back then. You're either a baby, or you are a member of you community.
No. I don’t. When I was a kid other kids were into fairy tales. I wasn’t. That’s what I said.
A few books that came to mind: Legendborn is a unique take on an Authorian legend and one of the best books I've ever read; I'm currently reading A Spin of Fate which has a unique magic system based on karma and is being compared to Avatar the Last Air Bender.
I hear a lot about Spin of Fate
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