What Was I Reading?

So, I came up with the idea for this blog when I realized how very many "young adult" books I owned, how very terrible "young adult" books have gotten in the past few years, and how very creepy I look checking out books intended for the middle school set from the library (see here and here).

“What Was I Reading?" will cover three categories of young adult and juvenile literature, mostly for the lulz, but sometimes for the heavy thoughts and analysis of what these books are teaching kids.

I'm digging through my library in search of the ridiculous: hilarious outdated slang and fashion, unbelievable plot lines, and crappy dialogue. As for my collection of old textbooks and pre-war literature, it's all of the above, minus any sort of political correctness. It's bad. Sometimes there are pictures. You'll see.

That's categories one and two, but what about the third one? Teen literature in the 21st century is where it's at. Actually, it's not, because books written for teens and "tweens" (I just threw up a little) these days are awful. I don't actually own any of this shitty literature, or, as I call it, "shlit", so I have to get it from the library. 

I don't mean they're awful in a Fox-News-anti-sex-education-conservative kind of way. Some very good YA books deal with serious topics in a mature and responsible way (the Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, many books by Judy Blume), that can teach kids the right way to handle and understand these subjects. I mean they're awful because they're so completely vapid and devoid of any literary or social value. They encourage kids (mostly young girls) to be narcissistic, calculating social climbers who value conformity, materialism, and having a boyfriend above all else. 

Now it's time for a rant. Most of today's young adult authors are focused on one thing: selling books. Not writing good stories, or giving kids positive role models, or simulating situations that will help kids navigate a confusing world; nope, just making money.

What books were around when we were kids? I remember The Baby-sitters Club, Little House on the Prairie series, Animorphs, The Saddle Club, Dear America -- admittedly I was a huge nerd and picked the history and sci fi books, but even Captain Underpants had a cool story with good characters. Regardless, YA of the '80s and '90s generally dealt with relatable characters and realistic situations, and you ended up learning something. Not so anymore.

What do kids read now? Twilight (who needs opinions or goals when you have a man?)?  Anything by the fake writer Zoey Dean (a pseudonym for a media packaging company that has produced Gossip Girl, The A-list, The Clique, and other travesties)? Anything with a vampire on the cover or implied in the title (sorry, but this particular genre has been fetishized into meaninglessness)? Now that Harry Potter's over and done with, the future looks bleak for kids who have more on their minds than getting revenge on the leader of the opposing playground clique (what is this I don't even).

Regardless, I will be wading through some truly terrible shlit in this blog. I'm laughing and crying over one already: laughing for the unbelievable stupidity, crying for the future of America if this is what sells.

Stay tuned.