{ArmchairBEA Day 5}: Genre Discussion---Middle Grade & YA

 

Design by Amber of Shelf Notes

Today's topic:  Our final genre of discussion is one that we know is a popular one these days: books for the younger crowd, from middle grade to young adult. If you do not normally talk about this genre on your site, maybe you want to feature books that you remember impacting you during this stage in your life. If this is where you tend to gravitate, maybe you want to list your favorites, make recommendations based on genres, or feature some titles that you are excited to read coming later this year.

I thought that today, instead of talking about my favorites, since I mainly blog about children's-YA books, I'd talk about WHY.

I started this blog to become more aware of great children's books that I can use in my classroom.  And I am.  I have just too many running around in my head to be more specific (though, if you have a specific genre or subject you'd like a book about, let me know, I'll give you some suggestions).

But, I find myself reading MG and YA in my "spare" time, too, since I've started blogging.  I could probably count on both hands the number of "adult" books I've read in the past 3 years. 

With "adult" books (which, when I say that, makes my mind go to a naughty place, but I do it anyway), I don't like being pushed into a genre---fantasy, romance, whatever.  In YA, I feel like the characters have much more depth and the stories are more interesting.  I also find myself identifying more with characters in YA books than women in--let's call them---grown up books. 

I think once people look past the label of YA, they'd find a wonderful world of complex stories and characters that I have a hard time finding in grown-up books.