In Which I Read a YA Novel

This was actually a post that I'd written about a year ago, before I even started my blog. However, my thoughts on Cinder by Marissa Meyer remain the same, so with a few touch-ups, I present my roast post. :'D

Yes, I did it. I read a YA novel. In two days, no less.

First of all, as a homeschooler and lover of classic literature, I am generally opposed to this newfangled sci-fi young adult genre. I'm scared that I'll make Charlotte Mason or Shakespeare or Jane Austen turn in their graves if I check one out under my library card (which would be the only way to go, because there's none in my library at home). But when the library gives you books in a Teen LitLoot box, you feel obligated to give it a go.

So, I embarked upon a 387-page journey called Cinder by Marissa Meyer, a less-than-jolly tale about a teenage girl who's actually a cyborg trying to find her place on futuristic Earth. It's a retelling of the original Cinderella fairy tale.

From the moment I read the word "cyborg," I was convinced this was no Jane Eyre.

One thing I have noticed is that YA novels have a way of drawing me in, because they aren't as long-winded as classics. Short, easy dialogues, basic, simple plots- teen novels aren't normally complex, which makes them easy for me to whip through in a day or two. It also makes it more desirable to pick up than something slower like Louisa May Alcott.

However, faster isn't always better. In this context, it rarely is. I found the story zooming around, the heroine (Cinder) flashing from place to place so fast that I could never keep up, and the narrative so choppy that it cut out all of the beauty of description and the thrill of suspense. Because there was rarely any descriptive language, the characters seemed not as developed as they could have been, leaving the story drained of emotion. It, however, was a thrilling tale, and an interesting adaption of the original fairy story. I don't regret spending most of my Friday reading it, if only to be able to write this.

Not all YA fiction is "junk" or "twaddle." In fact, I firmly believe that there is some beauty in every novel, even if over all the book ends up getting my two-star review. The world Meyer created in Cinder is a great example for writing inspiration; a futuristic world with technology that has drastically changed it for better and worse, where they have communication with worlds outside of Earth, and consequences from those connections. While this book did not give enough detail of its world for plot holes to be be easily dug out, its setting seemed to work really well with the story.

When all is said and done, I won't be reading the rest of the series. I don't think that it will have much more to give me than Cinder did, and I don't think that it's going to cultivate my literary brain. It's worth a weekend read, but don't pick it up thinking that it'll change your reading world.

do you agree with my opinion of ya literature? have you read cinder or the rest of the series? what did you think?

Toodeloo, friends!

~Lily May