Books: Young adult fiction has become 'power porn' for some adults | Nissa Enos
I’m in the minority. I think adults, for the most part, shouldn’t read young adult (YA) fiction. YA-lovers inaccurately characterize us skeptics as thinking that YA literature only deals with simple issues. They say if we only knew that YA deals with weighty issues, we’d be more understanding.
On the contrary, the very root of the problem is that YA does crackling business in extreme moral quandaries, life-or-death situations and exhilarating first-times. After getting addicted to such a high emotional tenor, who can cool down enough to withstand the measured unfurling of a history book or a biography?
When we come to depend upon sex, death and ideology, which are common in YA fiction, to entice us around the corner of every page, we become incapable of maintaining interest in, say, an Ursula K. Le Guin, who might seem boring during the exposition but who turns out to be one of the most generative thinkers of our time.
Defense of adult YA readership largely amounts to “you have no right to deny me my instant gratification.” I guess I don’t, but I also don’t see the appeal in this “race to the bottom” mentality regarding the cultivation of the mind.
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Illinois State University English literature professor and children’s literature specialist Roberta Seelinger Trites in her book, “Disturbing the Universe: Power and Repression in Adolescent Literature,” identifies that “predictable and unpredictable patterns in adolescent literature share one thing. They can all be linked to issues of power.” One might think that growth is the key issue, but to the extent that growth is an issue, it is growth related to power.
With a battle cry of “you’re not the boss of me,” postmodernism, the fundamental theory underlying contemporary society, denies any and all external authority. Unfortunately for postmodernism, humans inherently want to place themselves within an authority structure.
The dissolution of respect for imposed authority combined with the biological drive for placement within authority creates a psychological power vacuum that causes today’s adults to hoover up the power-centric narratives common to YA fiction.
Instead of getting our dose of hierarchy by reading “power porn,” like "The Hunger Games" and "The Maze Runner," I propose we get a more subtle and refined dose of structure by voluntarily adhering to a higher standard where adults, to the best of each individual’s make-up, read at or near the highest level they can, much of the time.
The initial childhood thrills at reading happen during self-transformation. They result from the achieved reach. The heart quickens; the stomach gets butterflies. We glimpse what was previously occluded. There is no need to retrogress in this once we hit adulthood.
It is not our fault that no one ever taught us how to read better. Adult pedagogy for the already capable reader is scant. Reading lists abound, but a list is not a method. Hence, I will share what has worked for me.
Commit yourself to one book. Put down everything else. Pick something half within and half outside of your grasp. Fiction and non-fiction are equally valid. Be realistic. Don’t talk about it until you’re done. This is to change you, not to impress others.
Read as excruciatingly slowly as possible, especially the difficult passages. Don’t skim over one line without comprehension. When you lose heart and crave easy diversion, remember your promise. Read to completion. This is a surefire way to grow as an adult reader.
There is still latitude to take in children’s and YA literature, but it would be great to regain the ground of adult books as the primary object of adult reading efforts.
Community columnist Nissa Enos is a Manitowoc resident.