In order to preserve my sanity after reading too many books about gender theory and nationalist philosophy and post-modern/post-structural/post-understandable manifestos, I read young adult fiction. Now, I read lots of other things too, but mainly I read books written for teenagers and (occasionally) children. Yes, that includes Harry Potter. No, that doesn't include Twilight. I love fantasy, but I'm always willing to stray from the genre. I adore strong female protagonists, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to read a book simply because the lead character is female (or that I won't read books about boys).
Most of the reviews of YA fiction give at least some sort of nod toward the intended readership. I'm not going to do that. I'm not a teenager anymore and I'd like to hope that I don't think like one. I'm not friends with many teenagers. The only developmental psychology that know I learned in 11th grade and it's been long enough that I don't remember most of it. Most importantly, I don't want the same things from a book that I wanted as a teenager. So, there will be no nods, no vague references to what a hypothetical teenager might or might not get out of a specific book. I don't know. If you want to know, go ask a teenager.
From this point forward, this blog will be devoted to reviews of young adult fiction. I won't go back and review anything that I read years ago. It's a little late for a Harry Potter review (and that's probably the last time I'll mention it). But if I've just read it for the first time, regardless of the publication date, I'll probably write a review. In the same vein, if I read something that isn't YA fiction but it blows my mind, I'll probably write about that too.
So ends my introduction. I'll probably have a real book review by the end of next week. I'm in the middle of reading The Strongbow Saga by Judson Roberts and that seems like a good place to start.
