Welcome to Thoughts for Thursday! This feature is our outlet to talk with you about whatever we currently have on our minds. It might be bookish, it might not! Now for this week's thought:
Am I Being Unfair to YA?
Sometimes I criticize books for being too juvenile, or too simple, or having stupid female leads, typically accompanied by a low rating. Usually I think I have a right to. These are my opinions based on my reading experience and I am allowed to express them. But occasionally I wonder if I am being unfair. Unfair to the author, to the book, and to the YA genre in general.
I am an adult reading young adult. I am reading books that are generally targeted for an audience younger than myself. Should I take that into greater consideration when reading young adult? What might annoy present day Nicole, might not have bothered High School Nicole. Back then my life was simple and my problems were juvenile and I'm sure I acted stupidly on more than one occasion. So do I have a right to sit here and say this book is no good because of A, B, and C based on my life now when the author might be speaking to the me I was then? Or should I take greater care to judge a book from a younger perspective? Maybe I should adjust my baseline? Is that even possible? I don't know but I do know that I don't want to do any book a disservice.
I know these are my opinions, and this is my blog, so to some extent, I should be able to say whatever I want, right? And I do. But sometimes I wonder if I would be a better reviewer if I put my feelings in context, rather than expect readers to put my review in context.
Have you guys ever thought about this? Let me know what you think.
I will leave you with one of my favorite youtube videos at the moment, which popped into my head when thinking about being unfair. Enjoy.
