Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Where's My YA?

Recently, I visited a bookstore.

This used to be something I did all the time. But as I stated in a previous post, I've been on ... sabbatical? Hiatus? Take your pick of nice, colorful words. I was still reading, but not as much, and definitely not as much fiction. I had some healing to do. My focus was on getting my head back on straight and catching all that life was punting at me.

Back to the bookstore. Having finally decided it was time to get my arse in the saddle again, I headed to my nearest retail literature outlet to stock up on some juicy pages. I made a bee line for the YA aisle(s), as that has always been my favored cup of proverbial tea. And then I proceeded to wander restlessly up and down, picking up novels, slamming them back on the shelves, nodding my head, and muttering under my breath. Several teens fled for fear of the "mentally unstable lady talking to herself".

What happened to YA while I was gone?

Where were the angst ridden tomes of my past?

What's all this crap written in verse? Why are the paranormal creatures so woefully underrepresented? Where's the fantasy? The imagination? The sweeping landscapes and over-the-top romances this genre is known for?

Now, hear me out. I'm sure there's a lot of wonderful work on those shelves. I'm not criticizing the work of other authors. But I definitely felt like a major shift had happened, and the YA I fell in love with was gone. I'm curious if anyone else feels the same. Or maybe my particular bookstore is not a solid representative. In any case, please, please fill me in on what you've been reading and loving. Because I am lost in this new sea of contemporary fiction and thrillers. I need guidance. And if you've got a secret stash of PNR, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and their hybrids somewhere, let me in on the password!