An Introduction

Hello all,

My name is Alex Kelley, and I've made this blog (arrogant though it seems) in order to help out those of you who have problems looking for a good book. I, myself, found this to be a problem when I was first getting into the "Reading Scene." That's why I'm here. I wish someone had made a blog to help ME out.

My genre of choice, though I'll confess to reading almost anything, is Young Adult literature. As both a writer of it and a person wanting to get into the publishing industry involving it, you could say I'm a bit of a fan. Or you could be truthful. Yes, I have a Peter Pan complex.

There's something about YA lit that dives into the inescapable reality of accepting maturity. I guess this dive into leaving behind adolescence is an obsession of mine. All children, except one, grow up. Thank you, J.M. Barrie.

Whether a character is growing up by learning what it means to care about more than themselves, understanding sexuality, or discovering what it means to move on, YA lit is there to lead the reader along.

YA lit comes in all shapes and sizes—short stories, poetry, individual novels, book series. YA lit is for young readers out there, helping them to cope with problems they might face in the real world. However, YA lit isn't just for the young. It's for everyone.

Young Adult literature is oftentimes, let's be honest, straight up laughed at. However, I believe the people who laugh at it are wrong to judge. Many a book aimed at a younger audience has more than a love triangle, high school drama, and an angsty comment or eighty. That's why I'm here. I'm here to tell you what YA is great to read and what YA is... not so much.

It would be untruthful to say that all YA literature is truly literature. Some of it isn't. There is a difference between literature and fiction, and that difference will always stand. On a weekly basis, I will read as often as I can, and I will report to you, readers, what books are not just works of fiction, but what books are also literature. It is not wrong to step away from deep, life-changing stories for a brush with a juicy mystery or love story. That is why, not only will I separate literature from fiction, I will separate good fiction from bad.

Hope to see you around readers,
Alex ;)