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nssutton's review against another edition
4.0
i will just cut & paste what i said for class:
I wasn't surprised with the content of Marc Arsonson's Exploding the Myths, but I did find the progression of the articles themselves to be incredibly revealing. I think that we take the post-Harry Potter/Gossip Girls/Twilight YA section for granted. I enjoyed reading about the process that brought acceptance for these titles forward from someone who was clearly on the outskirts of mainstream.
I chose this book in particular, because I was a teenager during the time he was writing. I found his insights into teenager readers, as well as those who fought against their existance, so spot-on. Many of these myths he talks about are self-fulfilling prophecies. I still argue that during the time I was a teenager, YA did not exist, merely because adults entrusted with placing those sort of books in the right hands believed they did not exist. I had fabulous English teachers in high school, all who pushed classics and adult authors above the titles aimed specficially for teenagers. I was also surprised by how much he talked about early twenty-somethings as YA readers. This was something that had caused me much friction when we spoke of it earlier in the semester, because I am a 25 year old trying to establish myself as an adult and it feels sort of demeaning to be told that despite my rent, undergraduate loan payments and annual wedding schedule I'm still grouped in with children as young as 12. It's like being told that you're on your 13th year of sitting at the kids table for Thanksgiving. I understand much clearer now that all of the above actually includes me, rather than separates me, from the group, as it is comprised of individuals who are learning to be who they are, who are still figuring things out.
It's amazing to see how quickly how much of what he wished for came to fruition, but also made me sad that so much of the "recent" research is outdated. The internet is mentioned frequently, but user generated content (a buzz word I've only been hearing on a daily basis since graduating college 4 years ago) is not. Aronson talks about giving teenagers access, but not about giving them ownership. I think the latter will become an interesting part of the trend going forward and I'm excited that now I know a name to always be on the lookout for in the future.
I wasn't surprised with the content of Marc Arsonson's Exploding the Myths, but I did find the progression of the articles themselves to be incredibly revealing. I think that we take the post-Harry Potter/Gossip Girls/Twilight YA section for granted. I enjoyed reading about the process that brought acceptance for these titles forward from someone who was clearly on the outskirts of mainstream.
I chose this book in particular, because I was a teenager during the time he was writing. I found his insights into teenager readers, as well as those who fought against their existance, so spot-on. Many of these myths he talks about are self-fulfilling prophecies. I still argue that during the time I was a teenager, YA did not exist, merely because adults entrusted with placing those sort of books in the right hands believed they did not exist. I had fabulous English teachers in high school, all who pushed classics and adult authors above the titles aimed specficially for teenagers. I was also surprised by how much he talked about early twenty-somethings as YA readers. This was something that had caused me much friction when we spoke of it earlier in the semester, because I am a 25 year old trying to establish myself as an adult and it feels sort of demeaning to be told that despite my rent, undergraduate loan payments and annual wedding schedule I'm still grouped in with children as young as 12. It's like being told that you're on your 13th year of sitting at the kids table for Thanksgiving. I understand much clearer now that all of the above actually includes me, rather than separates me, from the group, as it is comprised of individuals who are learning to be who they are, who are still figuring things out.
It's amazing to see how quickly how much of what he wished for came to fruition, but also made me sad that so much of the "recent" research is outdated. The internet is mentioned frequently, but user generated content (a buzz word I've only been hearing on a daily basis since graduating college 4 years ago) is not. Aronson talks about giving teenagers access, but not about giving them ownership. I think the latter will become an interesting part of the trend going forward and I'm excited that now I know a name to always be on the lookout for in the future.
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