June 10, 2011

TGIF! (7)



TGIF is brought to us by Ginger at GReads!

It's a way for bloggers to celebrate the end of the week with a nice re-cap of their weekly posts and to answer a random question.



YA Saves: How do you feel about the "dark" books filling our YA shelves today?

I don't think any of the YA books are "dark." At least, not in the sense "dark" is being taken these days. I think some YA books are "depressing" or "raw" or "insightful." Not "dark."  "Dark" - as it's been used in the past few days/weeks - undermines YA literature.  To say YA books are "dark" is to say that no good comes from them.  As an avid reader of YA literature, I have to disagree; the good comes in many different forms, but it's there, even in "dark" YA books.

Do I personally agree with every action or thought attributed to the heroes/heroines/characters in the "dark" books? No, of course not. There's always going to be that girl that feels she needs to be perfect. There's always going to be that guy (or many guys) looking for nothing but sex. There's always going to be the overlooked best friend that needs you in times of trouble, even though you're fighting. There's always going to be the damsel in distress that makes men appear superior.  There's always going to be the fighter.  There's always going to be the winner and the loser.  But just because there's always going to be these things - these types of characters - it doesn't mean that I have to be, or will be, like any of them. It doesn't mean one, two, three books are going to overturn my own sense of reality and identity.

Even if the issues/problems have never personally happened to me before, it doesn't mean I should be ignorant of them. 

I don't think there's anything wrong with "dark" books filling our shelves. I think it's about time people tackle the issues few are willing to discuss/express out loud or in person. The good's always there. Some just refuse to see it.

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Coming up this week:

Review of Going Bovine by Libba Bray!

10 comments:

  1. Hi, new follower here from the hop. Nice blog!

    :)

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  2. Just blogging by.

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  3. Hello! Stopping by via the Hop. I've always loved your yellow background!! :D Already a follower My post this week is here.

    Don't miss loads of fun!

    ~Zakiya LadyWings

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  4. Those are some good points. I think it's funny that YA is being labeled "dark" when a lot of it isn't, and the ones that are, aren't any more dark than other genres, or movies, or video games.

    Have a great weekend!
    kathy from Read This Instead

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  5. Stopping by from the Hop. I guess everyone's having problems with the Google Followers widget today. Good timing Google!

    Discover new authors at Indie Snippets!

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  6. Great answer! I agree with you so much. I wrote a post about it last week but we share similar thoughts on the subject. I love this line from your answer "the good comes in many forms, but it's there, even in the "dark" YA books" ...it's so much like life and our experiences. And literature reflects life...to ignore the good or the dark would be such a misrepresentation of life. It's not all sunshine and lollipops but nor is it all doom and gloom.

    Love your layout by the way! I looove bright yellow.

    --Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner

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  7. For me calling something 'dark' is a bit of a cop-out. It's like saying, "Oh, they're books about vampires and werewolves and things like real life problems - they must be up to no good."

    Yes, there will be books that may be a little above a child's level, but I believe kids do a pretty good job policing which books they should and shouldn't read on their own.

    In short, I agree with you.

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  8. Hopping through. It's amazing how dark Harry Potter is and no one seems to question that. Classic literature is often dark and it's still "good."
    My Hop

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  9. Hoping through via Parajunkee's hop. My pick would be Elena from Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series. Not only is she the only female werewolf but she's also married to Clay. Yum! I'm your newest follower, happy weekend!

    Carmel @ Rabid Reads (Twitter)
    Join the Midnight Summer Festival.

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  10. Thanks for visiting my blog!
    Sometimes I think the people who complain about supposedly 'dark' books don't even read them. They just assume that because it's about a particular subject it must be 'bad'.
    Have a nice weekend!

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