Of course there are books out there that are a bit like some Hollywood films: mass-produced, assembly line type things. They exist in almost every genre. But I doubt they’ll ever take over the realm of literature entirely. Writers, readers and even publishers demand more. (Which is not to knock publishers, but just to say that they are at the business end of things and must publish that which they think folks will buy.) From what little I know, the book business is quite different from the movie business in most arenas. Writers are humble little folks who pour themselves into something, create some world in their heads, and then pass it on to agents and publishers. I hope there will always be a certain sense of independence amongst writers, who will write what they need to regardless of what demographics demand.

I do appreciate and understand where you’re coming from. Thanks, Frank, for the clarification, and for stopping by.

I honestly don’t think that YA is limiting to a writer or even a reader- in fact, most YA writers say they love the YA genre because it’s so open and limitless. When you look through a shelf of YA books, there’s so many different genres there- romance, sci-fi, suspense, humor, horror, etc. Not only that, but a lot of YA authors write for adults as well, so they certainly don’t feel constricted to the YA genre.

Yes, we could go straight from children’s to adult books, but I think there’s that whole teenager part that’s forgotten about. Sure, some classics are about teenagers, but there’s so few of them. Now, there’s a whole plethora of teen books which means that there’s more opportunity for teenagers to be reading, and reading something that they actually like (I’m not a huge fan of classics) and can identify with, much like adults do with their books. Why shouldn’t teens be able to do the same? Teens can’t always relate to adults, so going to the adult section at 13 is not necessarily the best thing, in my opinion.

Read more YA books- they’re fantastic, and offer a lot to today’s teenagers. And because of the YA/adult fiction crossover that some authors have (like Meg Cabot and Sarah Mlynowski, mentioned earlier), teenagers are reading adult books as well because they love that author so much that they want to read everything by them. So fans of Meg Cabot’s Princess Diaries series will want to read more, and check out her Queen of Babble adult series or something. The YA section is not as limiting as you seem to think it is.

As far as what the demographics will do to writers … well, I imagine we’ll all sit back and say, “Wow. I have a lot of options.”

The existence of a sci fi genre doesn’t keep people from writing books that are not pure science fiction, or simple sci fi pulp. The existence of a romance genre doesn’t mean that all novels with a bit of a love story in them are shelved in the romance section of the book store. But in my opinion, the legitimization of young adult literature opens doors for writers rather than closing them. That, I think, is what you seem to be missing.

Your use of the term “young adult ghetto” is what got people’s hackles up to begin with; additionally, your suggestion that young adult books are like chicken nuggets has upset quite a few writers and readers. To Kill a Mockingbird is indeed shelved in the YA section, as well as the general fiction and literature section. The creation of a place where there is good literature for teens is not a bad thing. It’s amazing.

By the time I was twelve, I had graduated from what we today call YA. There simply wasn’t enough “scope for the imagination,” or enough writing that addressed teen issues in a realistic way. It’s wonderful that there are now hundreds of books that do speak to teenagers.

Your insistence that there should be no young adult literature is really another way of saying, “Don’t bother the grownups.”