In response to the Slate Book Review Against YA mentioning “…you should feel embarrassed when what you’re reading was written for children.”
Bologna.
1. I’m a firm believer that unless a person has a legitimate impediment, EVERYONE can enjoy reading IF he or she discovers WHAT he or she enjoys.
The beauty of reading is that each reader experiences the words and scenarios uniquely. Certainly, the writer’s intent (regardless of reading level) is part of the experience, but the reader’s own collective experiences tint understanding and perceptions. As such, reading a story when younger WILL be a different experience from reading the story as an adult with additional life experiences.
NO ONE should say you can only read a book once or ONLY at a specific age.
2. The “Young Adult” category is NOT solely based on readability level OR intended audience. Often, a story is categorized as YA solely because the main characters are not adults. Y’all DO realize that Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer would be (and often are) categorized as YA, right? Would anyone REALLY say, “Oh, sorry. You’re an adult now. You really shouldn’t read Mark Twain.”
Do most readers or writers even know what a story’s Flesch-Kincaid readability level is? I doubt it, and I doubt most readers or writers care. I’ve read many examples of YA and Adult fiction across the readability spectrum. It is NOT necessarily vocabulary or literary complexity that determine a great story. It’s the reading experience that matters.
Ashamed of what I, or what anyone else, may read based on its category?
Bologna.