Here we go again. In a fairly rambling article written by Katie Crouch and Grady Hendrix (co-authors of The Magnolia League) that appeared on slate.com this morning, another round of generalizations and ridicule has begun. What is absolutely baffling is that the people casting these aspersions are, themselves, writers of a YA series. This does not compute. From the beginning, the article left me with a continuously raised eyebrow as I tried to make sense of the somewhat incoherent rambling that took place. Then, the insulting of my and my fellow readers' intelligence and the writings of the authors we read began.
It's news to me that I don't care about rumination. I suppose the two days I spent thinking about all of the nuances of Maggie Stiefvater's latest novel were a hallucination. I suppose my appreciation for a well-constructed sentence is all in my imagination, as well. What I don't understand is why these two writers thought it would be a good idea to ridicule and insult their readership along with their fellow authors. If they feel themselves to be so superior to YA writing, why do they do it? Why is likening a writer of YA literature to a pedophile A-OK to these people? If they had hoped to come across as tongue-in-cheek, they failed miserably. All they have succeeded in doing is denigrating the readership that includes the readers of their own books. I am just thankful that I hadn't read The Magnolia League yet. I would have hated to have written a review for them only to regret it later.
It seems to me that perhaps they have shed a light on their own writing habits. It is just unfortunate that they thought to drag down their fellow YA authors along with them. Fortunately, authors and readers alike were not content to take their nonsense lying down and made their displeasure known. Crouch and Hendrix summed up my reception of this article very well with their own words: "Of course, we know that eventually they'll turn on us." Indeed. Self-fulfilling prophecy, anyone?
@Lindsay
ReplyDeleteIt just makes you wonder if they're trying to drive away their readership. Honestly, why say things like that?
Wow. That's just...incredible that YA authors are saying such about their own genre. You know, I've heard about the first book, and I really wasn't interested in it. Now, I'm even more inclined not to read it. I just don't understand how they can insult other YA authors without feeling as though they're insulting themselves. It's bad enough when other "professionals" try to tear down YA literature, but it's even worse when it's a YA author. And you know what the kicker is? The blogging grapevine will most likely slow if not halt their sales. Oh, well, their title was never on my TBR list and never will be.
ReplyDeleteApparently, they are unaware of that fact that the largest percentage of YA readers are between the ages of 20 and 35 (I, thankfully, still fall in that group for another year), which means that many HAVE, in fact, sat through loads of college lit classes... I didn't think the article was THAT offensive, and there is a good amount of truth to a few of the things they mentioned (it seemed like most of the jabs were at the publishing side, and at themselves). Still, I think you're right. Dumbasses. What author writes that their readers are basically ignorant, immature, and flaky? And by the way, I think most Literary Fiction is painfully boring and basically blows, which is why I read YA. I feel no need to have to analyze my escape from the grind of daily life. On a side note, I did read The Magnolia League, and quite liked it, and will read the next one. I don't like most Hollywood actors as people because they are usually ignorant idiots, but I still see their movies because they are good at their jobs. Same holds true here...
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This slate article was so annoying. I had The Magnolia League on my wishlist and deleted it after reading it. I will not support an author who pretty much insults the genre he/she's writing for.
ReplyDeleteJennie
My Cute Bookshelf
I feel a teensy bit bad for those authors - I'm sure they didn't expect the reaction they got! I do think the article was meant to be light-hearted and tongue-in-cheek, but they shot themselves in the foot, big-time. And of course, it shows their ignorance even more, that they seem to be unaware that actually, people do take YA seriously. I'm not that offended by it, though. I just think: they'll learn it's not so simple and easy. I think they've probably already started to!
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