YA Kerfuffles.

I have lost all interest* in arguing with the The-YA-genre-is-solely-comprised-of-Sweet-Valley-High-and-Beatrice-Sparks-Books people or about whether or not YA Is Worthy Of Being Called Literature.  It detracts from my reading time.

And yet -- I can't help but notice related articles/essays.  So, a few for you this morning:

• "YA books are for the average readers, rarely for the readers who'll continually passionate reading as adults." (via Fuse)
• Liz B's response to (and roundup of links about) the latest WSJ article about YA.
• Recent YA vs. The Canon in classrooms.  Okay, brief comment on this one.  I'm all for using The YA in schools, but this quote from a high school junior -- "The themes are kind of dead now, and I don’t feel like any of the stories apply to me." -- makes me think that maybe there's a problem with the way the classics have been presented to her.  Which is unfortunate.  Because, while the dialogue and lifestyle of the characters in the classics are, yes, very different from today, and yes, the prose is quite different from most modern novels (but not Octavian!), the themes remain relevant.  That's part of the definition of being a classic.  Or part of my definition, anyway.

*At the moment.  As anyone who knows me, er... knows that could change by the time I finish this post.