I've been meaning to delve into 'proper' adult fiction for a while now, so when my Dad told me I absolutely had to read Time and Time Again by Ben Elton, I decided I could give it a go. With some serious trepidation, of course, because I am a YA pumpkin and do not feel grown up yet.
But I had a good time. It's amazing. And although it's an absolute trap that will melt your brain with the horrible possibilities, you need to read it. Mostly so I can yell at you because OH MY BOOKWORM GOSH THE WORLD IS ENDING.
The stakes are high - the main character in this one is travelling back in time to stop World War I, for heck's sake, so it wasn't going to be light.
But I'm not just here to fangirl over a Ben Elton novel. I also want to have a very serious debate about when one should read adult and when one should read YA. Are you guys ready? Have you cracked your knuckles yet?
You'd better. Because it's so one-sided it's practically a rant.
Especially when I was younger, I would freak out if someone told me to read an adult book. I mean, I did it for school, but when I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and then realised it was for adults, I got very upset, because I thought it meant I couldn't read YA any more.
Which was a bit stupid, now I look back. Just because you watch one 12A film doesn't mean you can't choose Us any more. The whole point of reading is that we read what we feel like, and if it's appropriate (I wouldn't recommend Time and Time Again to anyone younger than me) why shouldn't that be Adult and YA?
I know a lot of adults who will scorn YA as 'kids' books', which they kinda are, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't read them. In fact, for my Mum's book club, they accidentally chose The Chimes by Anna Smaill, and now they've realised it's YA, they've got me to read it and give my opinions. Because sometimes a book doesn't speak to you if it's not for your age group, and sometimes it does.
What I'm trying to say here is that we can read any book we choose. Adult Lit. shouldn't be scary, in the same way that Middle Grade shouldn't be scary.
AND NO-ONE SHOULD JUDGE A PERSON BASED ON WHAT THEY READ. Please, peoples. It's just another way to be superficial.
So, if you are a teen reader, here are a couple of brilliant Adult books you could try. The ones with asterisks contain slightly raunchy scenes, but frankly there's not anything more than you'd see in a YA book. I promise.
- Time and Time Again by Ben Elton* I won't repeat this anymore. All you need to know is that time travel + World War 1 + a broken future = mind-melting magnificence.
- To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper LeeThe only reason I read this is because we had to for English. But I absolutely love the whole thing with its cultural interesting-ness, and you have to read it because it's the height of innocence and poignancy.
- Airframe by Michael Crichton*Wow. Wow wow wow. I'm a sucker for anything even remotely to do with investigation, including aircraft investigation, and I love that the main character is a strong woman in a male-dominated field.
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark HaddonIf you'd like an insight into life when you think differently, I am reliably informed that this is very realistic. Plus there's the whole investigation thing I mentioned earlier.
Also, did you know that the title is a Sherlock Holmes quote?
- Landline by Rainbow RowellThis is the one I haven't read, but have been constantly reminded of its utter amazing brilliance. I mean, it's Rainbow Rowell. And the characters meet via email.
I LOVE IT when characters meet by email.
So I would like you guys to take two things away from this blog post. First, you can read whatever you want, but second, you have to read this list first.
I never said I wasn't a hypocrite. :-)
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for commenting! ;-D