YA has gone overlooked, undervalued, and ill-defined for too long. In breaking away from a narrow age-constricted definition, the picture of YA comes into focus. This category started as a marketing invention; the category did well—and continues to do well—as such. However, to limit our understanding of these books to the narrow definition created for money-making purposes is to disregard the complexities of these books.

After listening, you can access my full thesis by clicking here.

Episode 15: The End of the Beginning

In this, our final episode, I discuss some of the project’s highlights and the potentials of What Is YA Anyway? I muse, too, on the future of YA and why the conversation cannot, and will not, stop here.

Conclusion

YA has gone overlooked, undervalued, and ill-defined for too long. In breaking away from a narrow age-constricted definition, the picture of YA comes into focus. This category started as a marketing invention; the category did well—and continues to do well—as such. However, to limit our understanding of these books to the narrow definition created for money-making purposes is to disregard the complexities of these books.

The YA conversation cannot—and will not—stop here. While my podcast series on YA is limited, it could easily be expanded to an ongoing project wherein these conversations continue to build on one another and respond to contemporary arguments on YA. As new authors rise in popularity and scholars continue to note the rich possibilities of studying these books, there will be more and more to say. The louder the conversation becomes, the less likely it will be for others to dismiss or ignore this category’s impact. In the future, What Is YA Anyway? could join forces with other notable bookish podcasts like Book Riot- The Podcast or David Naimon’s Between the Covers or The New Yorker’s:Fiction. As I was completing my podcast, Christine Riccio and Natasha Polis announced their podcast, Those Forking Fangirls, dedicated to “all things nerdy pop culture and how fandom factors into adult life.” There are more and more people hungry for this kind of content, and as the numbers show those people are not only young adults. People hold these books near and dear; YA books have changed people’s lives. They have defined people. They have stood in for lost pieces of identity. And continue to do so.  If that were not the case, then there would be no group of adults chasing the feeling YA books gave them as a teenager. 

That adult readers continue to chase the feeling that comes along with reading YA and that YA books have—and continue—to leave indelible marks on readers’ lives is a testament to the craft of these novels. The history of YA is rich, and there is much that literary scholars, adults, and adolescents can learn from it. Digging into these books, scholars can learn about craft and notice the many intentional choices YA authors make in order to comment on the peculiarities of adolescence, the importance of parents, and the power of youth to disturb and change cultural and political landscapes. Reading these books adults can once again feel and relish in the magic of finding a book that wholly absorbs and understands them. By validating the importance of these stories youth can be empowered to claim what they enjoy and share it. Amplifying the conversations I have had here ensures that these important voices—and the books they champion—are heard. YA books are much more than flimsy whims of the youth. They are pedagogical tools. They are ripe fields for literary analysis. They are watershed moments. They are cultural touchstones. 

In presenting a piece of scholarship that touches on the many elements of YA, I have shown traditional understandings to be inadequate. Through conversations with those who know the field best, I have shown that there is a lively array of researchers, authors, and readers whose voices we can learn from. I, too, learned and continue to learn by listening. Let us continue to listen to every voice, to every reader, to every author, to every scholar, no matter the literature they love. And why not start by listening to my podcast?

Gone are the days of simplifying YA; the days of overlooking this category; the days of academic hierarchy getting in the way of examining YA’s craft; the days of dismissing readers who love YA. Today, every type of literature has a place in the academic conversation. 

Thank you for listening! 🖤