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For 10 extra entries she has asked to explain something that I get asked A LOT. And it's sad to say, but every time someone asks me this questions I get tongue tied. My heart starts pounding and a million things run through my mind at once and I want to blurt my answer out, but at the same time I'm scared that I won't be able to describe why I truly love YA. There are just so many reasons. So many reasons that I can't possibly even try to describe. Even though I will try.
My love for YA started a very long time ago. I don't even really truly remember where I crossed the line from middle grade fiction into young adult fiction. Does it even matter? All I can say is it has been a LONG time, so it has been there with me through my teenage years and is still there for me.
When I get sad, or depressed, or even when I'm extremely happy I turn to YA books; no matter what my current emotion is. Because as soon as I start reading a YA book. A GREAT YA book, I don't feel my emotions anymore. All I feel are the character's emotions. I AM the character. And what makes it so much more special, and that most of the time --at least 95% of the time-- I can relate to the character in some way. No matter what world the character is from. No matter the character's circumstance, I can relate.
Don't get me wrong, I love some Adult books. But I'd much rather be reading a YA book. I read that 99.9% of the time anyway.
They allow me to step into another character's point-of-view and become someone else. It allows me to feel a lot of things for the first time again. Say a character is falling madly in love with another character, so am I. I'm allowed to have that feeling of falling in love with someone for the first time. Again.
And not only that, but I get to experience magic. I don't have REAL magic in my life, like magical powers and magical beings and magical worlds, etc. So I can experience that just by picking up the right YA book. Some of my favorites, for example, are Harry Potter, Hex Hall, Vampire Academy, Paranormalcy, and so many more.
And I get to experience some worlds that are interesting to me, but I'd never want to live in because it's too terrifying, such as The Hunger Games, Starters, The Demon Trappers, Chemical Garden series, Shatter Me, and more.
And I get to feel like I'm living in a different era! With historical YA fiction. Like The Season, The Cahill Witch Chronicles, The Vespertine trilogy, and more.
There are so many genres and sub-genres under YA. So many great ones that you just can't keep up! I never fail at knowing what I'm going to read next. I have way too many YA books on my list that I can't possibly ever even attempt to make a dent in! For every book I finally read off my list, I add 5 more new ones.
I'll add some of my favorites now. And just so you know this is definitely not all of them. Just a few that pop off the top of my head immediately that are favorites.
Favorite books/series: Vampire Academy, Harry Potter, Hex Hall, Hourglass by Myra McEntire, Incarnate by Jodi Meadows, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, The Chemical Garden trilogy, Timeless by Alexandra Monir, Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood, Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly, and more.
Favorite Authors: Richelle Mead, Rachel Vincent, J.K Rowling, Rachel Hawkins, Scott Westerfeld, Lauren DeStefano, Claudia Gray, Meg Cabot, Sarah Dessen, Libba Bray, Rachel Caine, Sarah Shepard, and more.
Favorite genres: Romance, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, Dystopian, Historical Romance.
I know I probably didn't explain it very well. But that's the best I can explain it at the moment. I love YA. :) It's helped me through a lot and continues to put a smile on my face. Continues to make me cry like a baby and make my husband walk in and walk away slowly while giving me odd looks. Continues to make me laugh so hard that my side aches. Continues to let me relive firsts. :)
Thank you Beth Revis for making me try and explain this. :)
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