I read a lot of young adult books, if you look at my books in Goodreads you'll see how many I read. I have always enjoyed young adult books but for me there is one big turn off. Granted I don't know how big of an issue this is with teenage readers but it is something to keep in mind when writing for young adults. Don't alienate the adults too much because there are a lot of adults out there who read YA and there are a lot of adults who purchase books for teens.
Why is it that in YA books many times the adult characters do nothing but hinder the protagonist? The adults are too stupid, don't want to believe, too controlling, the antagonists, or even non-existent. For example, in A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS the adults that are helpful end up dead (though there aren't many) and all the rest are conniving or spineless. I'm not saying that the adults have to be the heroes, but they should at least be more than 2D characters. An example of a series that has intelligent adults is 13TH REALITY, by James Dashner. Teenage protagonists are a good thing but don't make them seem more intelligent by stupifying the adults around them.
I am so with you on this one. I hate how the kids can save the world and yet all the adults are just sitting around twiddling their thumbs or worse they don't know how to solve it. If the kids are the heroes explain (realistically) why they are.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one that feels this way. I liked the adults in your story. They were really cool.
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