137-trimetilxantin t1_ja77igy wrote
You had me until the woke culture part, but then again, I've never read much YA. If We Were Villains and Ninth House were pretty good though. You should maybe try Anne Rice, and I've heard good things about the Priory of the Orange Tree.
badmanmadmansadman t1_ja782hs wrote
This may be super duper left field here but when I say " woke culture" I mean the subject matter of most YA books has heavily shifted from dystopian future and fantasy to more real things.. like school and conflicts with abusive parents and relationships. Which is more real world. Now there's more of a push to have heavy subject matter of representation of the marginalized. Which is wonderful and can be cool and is very much needed. I think the market has become over saturated and uncreative. Sometimes too serious and sometimes too sticky sweet. Just not my jam
Illustrious_Archer16 t1_ja7h7d0 wrote
Being marginalized and dealing with abuse aren't new... Like, I assume you've heard of X-Men lol they're especially not new in young adult stuff, but I was also reading weird stuff as a kid, so perhaps you've read the random stuff from 10 years ago, and not just the hits that stood the test of time.
carolineecouture t1_ja7nk8r wrote
OP, Anne Rice might have content you've said you don't want to engage with. I'd read descriptions or download free samples from Kindle to see. She has lots of books so you may or may not find something you'd like.
badmanmadmansadman t1_ja78dy1 wrote
Literally at the fault of Harry Potter. The whole market use to be just different bizarre fantasy novels all competing to be the next big thing. And I feel like when there was an influx and push for those books it was kinda fun. Yah you had your copy cats with witches or vampires to mirror twilight.. but there was a huge sense of being different and there where so many different Types of fantasy settings to be lost into. World building was a huge focus. High stakes with passionate characters. Who has unusual aspects of their respective worlds.
Griffen_07 t1_ja7e40j wrote
There still is on the adult side. The problem is that the YA side is more geared to simple and blunt. If you are willing to read older books most of epic and adventure fantasy used to be about the teen from nowhere that saved the world.
badmanmadmansadman t1_ja7eqou wrote
I guess I gotta grow up and check out some adult novels then.
Griffen_07 t1_ja7g13q wrote
It's not growing up so much as sidestepping. The space that YA now fills used to be a part of the adult section. It's just that Potter showed how much money you could make explicitly marketing to teens. Since most American adults read at around the 6th grade level the normal level of complexity doesn't change across age groups. All you are changing is the trope set.
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