Oh dear publishing, what have you done? Penguin released a statement recently that they will be publishing a “YA edition” of Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code. What makes it YA? It’s going to be abridged and presumably “rewritten” for YA. So dumbed down and shortened is what I’m hearing, and I don’t like it.
Mine thing most of us can agree on is that YA is a special category. It’s MC’s should really be all young adults and they shouldn’t be overly sexualized. At least that’s how I see it. What I don’t see a need for in YA is short, condescending versions of adult books. The YA audience is not stupid. We read plenty of long books (A Court of Mists and Fury is over 600 pages, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix clocked in somewhere around 870) and it does seem to bother us.
Not only that, but Dan Brown’s writing isn’t Shakespeare. I’ve read plenty of YA novels that were written more complex than his are. Give me a break. I started reading the DaVinci Code and its subsequent books when I was in Middle School. They’re not difficult reads, trust me. If a young adult felt to urge to read them they wouldn’t likely have much trouble.
What I found most offensive was that this was thought of as something to be celebrated. It’s not, it’s a huge step backwards. We don’t need to talk or write down to our young adults. We don’t need to decide what they can handle. They can do that pretty well on their own. I believe we need to give them a little bit more credit, and a hell of a lot more respect. That’s not what Penguin is doing here.
So here’s the thing, will YA editions of adult books become a trend? I truly hope not. What’s your opinion on the subject? Share in the comments.
From my shelf to yours,
Erin
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