Week 7: Not Just for Teens

• The "What to Read Next" flowchart is a really cool way to find out what to read if you loved the Hunger Games trilogy. I like that it starts out with the very obvious options like, The Maze Runner and Divergent, but then it delves into themes of environmental disaster, authoritarian government types, and "social control." This would really be great for someone who loves the dystopian society types, but wants to read more or something different within the same group.

• The first article I decided to read, was about the "new" term "new adult." The article explains why the term was created and what it means for readers. The new adult sub-genre was created for those who were transitioning out of YA books, but were still looking for the same kind of relate-able story-line. I think it's really interesting because YA books have gotten so many readers of all ages and publishers want to hold on to those readers, hopefully with the help of the "new adult" genre.
• The second article I chose was a "Not-So-Young Audience for Young Adult Books", which discusses the fact that there is a large number of adults that read and are interested in YA books.  The author of the article, Meg Wolitzer, discusses, that some people believe that an adult reading YA books is something to be "embarrassed" about. Wolitzer goes on to discuss her book group, which focuses on YA and children's fiction and she states, "My group definitely takes pleasure in the shared experience of reading Y.A. titles, but for me, the books and conversation also serve as a continuation of my education." I think that Wolizter makes an excellent point: it doesn't matter what you're reading, reading is good for you and you should read what you want.

• The two blogs/websites I decided to follow for a week are: John Green's Tumblr and Stacked

• Teens at Random : featured James Dashner, in the authors section, on the front page and a couple of his books, in the "fun" section. They are promoting him and his new book series, as well as, some of his older, but popular series. Dashner is popular for his dystopian themed books for young adults. This site is also promoting Brandon Sanderson who is a popular YA (and Adult) novelist for his fantasy/ science fiction.
• Penguin Teen : has a "What's Trending" section. Currently, it is showcasing The 5th Wave series by Rick Yancey. This series is extremely popular, and trending, at the moment because of the release of the movie and it being part of the popular genre of apocalyptic sci-fi.