Trends in YA
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Word of mouth.
That's why I think it happens. People read a book, love it, want to share it with others, sometimes even cramming it down their throats--figuratively, of course. Then the readership explodes. Other authors hear about it and take the genre for a ride. Do I think this is how it's always happened? No, I'm not sure, but it seems as if this is the way it happens. With Twilight, it seemed like everyone was suddenly wanting to publish stories that included as much angst as you could cram in one book and everyone was writing about some 'dangerous, slightly good, I'm-torn' creature falling for a 'plain Jane, fill-me-in-with-yourself, weak' character. The Hunger Games is the latest thing to explode, and now we see dystopian as a genre coming to the forefront.
I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. Certainly if you love these types of stories, then it's the best thing to happen in a while, as far as books go. I think there are powerful trends in YA because kids/teenagers talk. They exchange lots of information with each other and are practically controlling the internet world, which gives them a multitude of ways to advertise the things they love. They share these things with each other, and so I think that's why you see powerful trends in YA. Adults, on the other hand, I don't think share information with each other as much as teens do. They're generally leading busier lives and have more on their plate, and I just don't think they get or make the opportunity to share books they've enjoyed.
That's why I think it happens. People read a book, love it, want to share it with others, sometimes even cramming it down their throats--figuratively, of course. Then the readership explodes. Other authors hear about it and take the genre for a ride. Do I think this is how it's always happened? No, I'm not sure, but it seems as if this is the way it happens. With Twilight, it seemed like everyone was suddenly wanting to publish stories that included as much angst as you could cram in one book and everyone was writing about some 'dangerous, slightly good, I'm-torn' creature falling for a 'plain Jane, fill-me-in-with-yourself, weak' character. The Hunger Games is the latest thing to explode, and now we see dystopian as a genre coming to the forefront.
I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. Certainly if you love these types of stories, then it's the best thing to happen in a while, as far as books go. I think there are powerful trends in YA because kids/teenagers talk. They exchange lots of information with each other and are practically controlling the internet world, which gives them a multitude of ways to advertise the things they love. They share these things with each other, and so I think that's why you see powerful trends in YA. Adults, on the other hand, I don't think share information with each other as much as teens do. They're generally leading busier lives and have more on their plate, and I just don't think they get or make the opportunity to share books they've enjoyed.
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It happens a lot, it seems, because of the length of time between purchase and release. If something is popular, so many people scramble for it at once, that it the market floods. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but this recent dark fantasy/romance thing is getting pretty annoying to me.
I like it to a certain extent. It's great to see that people are actively seeking out books to read, but it sucks that this means bookshops stock less choice outside of those trends.
Yeah, I like to read and right YA contemporary/male POV, which was great for a while when John Green came out, but lately, with the exception of Will Grayson Will Grayson, there's nothing.
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I agree about the dark fantasy/romance thing being annoying. That actually used to be the books I went to, but now I find myself staying away from them simply because they're all so predictable, with flat storylines and aggravating characters. Sometimes I feel like, "You've read one, you're read them all." I think that's the downside to having trends in YA.
I think that's the problem with trends in general.
In terms of YA though, I find the most frustrating thing is the subsequent lack of choice as a reader. For instance, in supermarkets the YA section is ENTIRELY BLACK. as is most of the YA section in Waterstones.
It'll pass and the next big thing will be in. But it means that I, as a reader, have to resort to ordering off the internet more often than not.
In terms of YA though, I find the most frustrating thing is the subsequent lack of choice as a reader. For instance, in supermarkets the YA section is ENTIRELY BLACK. as is most of the YA section in Waterstones.
It'll pass and the next big thing will be in. But it means that I, as a reader, have to resort to ordering off the internet more often than not.
It's really something that happens with publishers. They see that a certain trend is selling for big money, they start offering more money for similar books, other publishers start doing the same thing, writers see that and start writing on-trend...it's a process.
I think it's also something that authors do. If someone reads a book they adore, they might want to write something in a similar vein, trying to catch the elements they loved about it in a different book. That's how we get werewolf and angel Twilights 
Me, I'm a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That's part of what led me to write urban and contemporary fantasy. And you can definitely see traces of Buffy-ness in my writing, I think (even though I've never written a vampire book).
Me, I'm a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That's part of what led me to write urban and contemporary fantasy. And you can definitely see traces of Buffy-ness in my writing, I think (even though I've never written a vampire book).
Teens who love to read LOVE to read. They get hooked on something and they want more and more and more of it. So those types of books sell well, there are lots of them out there because publishers keep buying what's selling, and authors see and get inspired (or try to capitalizes on) and the trend continues.
What sells sets the trend. What readers buy is what sells.
What sells sets the trend. What readers buy is what sells.
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I wouldn't call emo vamps/angels and love triangle a "powerful" trend, which is pretty much the only TOP commercial trend in YA. But I would say teens love to read, they blog as well, and they're able to encourage their peers to pick up books. That's pretty much what makes YA successful. The trend on the other hand, the current one at least, is pretty lame.
I'd LOVE to see a paranormal/urban fiction YA with a character that isn't a whining, unknowingly beautiful girl. Can't she have a lisp, or be missing a part of her ear, or at least be able to stand up for herself?
This whole 'I'm-in-love-with-someone-who-I-don't-deserve' thing got old about a year ago...
This whole 'I'm-in-love-with-someone-who-I-don't-deserve' thing got old about a year ago...
LOL!
My teen editors aka cousins want to see a YA book about a girl with powers of her own. They never bought into Twilight or any of the other YA books. They are also dying for some multicultural paranormal romance. Whenever I talk with them,that's what they want the most.
I want to see truly Gothic romance make a comeback. I am also tired of thise fake"I don't know I'm pretty" stuff. There's nothing wrong with being pretty or popular!
I get the feeling the vampires are on the way out, but paranormal hasn't burned out quite yet. Which I don't think is necessarily a bad thing, as I enjoy the genre itself, but there are a lot of books out there that are basically following a Twilight-set formula and are performing very well because of it (Hush, Hush and Shiver come to mind).
It's pleasing that Hunger Games has been so successful, though. It bears no resemblance to Twilight, but has become quite popular. I'm not sure it could ever overcome Twilight's popularity, but Hunger Games has something that Twilight doesn't: appeal to males. It's refreshing that a dystopian book about a teenage girl killing other teens in a brutal arena in the face of a corrupt government is so popular. Kind of sounds messed up to put it that way, but it's a far cry from sparkling vampires. I'm hoping that the next trend in YA follows Hunger Games--not necessarily that it follows the dystopian genre, but quality story and relevant themes.
Or I could be way off base and something unforeseen like historical fiction will make a splash in YA. XD
It's pleasing that Hunger Games has been so successful, though. It bears no resemblance to Twilight, but has become quite popular. I'm not sure it could ever overcome Twilight's popularity, but Hunger Games has something that Twilight doesn't: appeal to males. It's refreshing that a dystopian book about a teenage girl killing other teens in a brutal arena in the face of a corrupt government is so popular. Kind of sounds messed up to put it that way, but it's a far cry from sparkling vampires. I'm hoping that the next trend in YA follows Hunger Games--not necessarily that it follows the dystopian genre, but quality story and relevant themes.
Or I could be way off base and something unforeseen like historical fiction will make a splash in YA. XD
I follow a number of YA websites, authors, and agents & editors on Twitter. This has been a topic of much discussion as of late. It's interesting to see, from their perspective, what THEY'RE tired of trying to sell (which kinda coincides with what we're tired of reading), what they're excited about (many are very excited by the number of dystopian novels that are coming out in the next year and a half), and what they'd like to see (interestingly, male protags in romantic situations). There's a hashtag worth following (if you tweet and don't follow it already): #askYAeditor
I 've seen alot of agents and editors who state no vampires in their guidelines. But there will always be vamp novels, but I think the mainstream popularity of them is starting to fade slightly. Angels seems to be the hot topic at the minute. And gods are riding high.
Trends are so powerful in YA because teens have such strong opinions and such a huge influence on each other. If they love something, they LOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEE it and i mean omg omg you have to read it right now this instant go out and get it i'm not even kidding
This is one reason I loved Dia Reeves' Bleeding Violet so much. The MC is like "yeah, I'm hot, and?"
I couldn't agree more. And I'm the same way. If I read a book/watch a TV show/see a movie with a particular subject matter and LOVE it, I'm more likely to read another book/watch another show/see another movie with a similar topic.
me too. i want to read something really haunting and beautiful and a little frightening.
or fat. or short. or ugly. but i agreea bout the 'i don't know i'm pretty' it annoys me so much that the vast majority of YA heroines appear to have varying degrees of body dismorphia.
where are all the normal people? where are the 12 stone girls who are happy with how they look and know they are pretty to someone?
Where are all the freakishly tall girls who don't feel awkward about their height? or the girls with really bad acne who aren't reculses?
i want to read a book about someone with realistic views and opinions about themselves. not fishing for compliments and not blatantly a sue.
also, I want more ethnic minorities as MC's. I want to read a really good supernatural YA about Asian characters, or with an Indian villan who isn's a sterotype. I want more black guys to be evil, because there seems to be a fear of writing a black villan because that's somehow racist (i swear, if I hear one more person tell me this I think I will cry)
I write all my books set in and around Belfast, and here we have four large communities, we have the natives, we have a massive Chinese community, Polish and Indian. I have plans to write my next UF set in Belfast's Chinatown
I think it's also something that authors do. If someone reads a book they adore, they might want to write something in a similar vein, trying to catch the elements they loved about it in a different book. That's how we get werewolf and angel Twilights
From a writer's perspective, I think this is the case. Before THE HUNGER GAMES, I didn't even know what "dystopian" is, though I've read books in this genre before. But dystopian has definitely influenced my writings.
From a reader's perspective, it's the same. When I like a book, I tend to seek out more of the same. And if there aren't enough books in that popular niche, publishers will scramble to print more of them.
I give you a resounding AMEN!
There is an enormous market that is waiting to be tapped for multicultural fiction. I mean it's HUGE. Something has to change and these readers deserve a chance to see themselves represented positively in a genre that they love.
Curvy girls rock and I am tired of seeing these characters be there for comic relief or a sounding board to her skinny friend. As if no boy or girl would ever dare look at her. I will not even speak on the lack of GLBT characters and the equally detestable trope that a gay character cannot be happy or have a love interest,lest I truly rant.
I adore Gothic fiction. I am quite tired of sappy love stories with no real bite or darkness to them. The sap,it hurts.
Go for it,Shaldna! I wish you well.
I think you're right. There are too many novels out there, especially supernatural YA, where the MC's are comfortable white girls.
White people aren't the only ones who buy books.
White people aren't the only ones who buy books.
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