I wasted an inordinate amount of time both as a teenager and well into my adult life being bitter that I wasn't living in a young adult novel. No love triangles, no dystopian governments threatening my family, no cryptic prophecies rendering me the Chosen One — my life was basically the pits, yo. But I feel a lot less angst about it now that Twitter user John Hansen got #VeryRealisticYA trending on Twitter, depicting, as the hashtag would suggest, what young adult novels would look like if they were based on real life. Judging by all the tweets I've seen rolling down my dash all weekend, it seems that everyone else's pubescent period was as unglamorous and beautifully awkward as mine.
Look, I'm not ashamed of the fact that I am a grown-ass woman with a full-blown YA lit addiction. There are currently six books next to my bed and my actual age is not the target audience for any of them. But when you're dedicated to reading everything from teenage heartbreak to teenage dystopian rebellion, you start to notice a few tropes that get just a ~tad~ recycled in this particular genre. I shan't complain, because to some degree, it is what I live for. But I will mercilessly help everyone poke fun at ourselves, because duh.
The tweets that got sent out in the past 48 hours are a true testament to the somewhat fantastical nature of YA, and why we feel so compulsively drawn to it even as adults. (There is no escape, guys. Stop trying to fight it and submit to your YA overlord.) But more than that, the tweets also opened up an important dialogue not just on the typical tropes of YA, but on the importance of representation and making strides toward a more diverse and widely relatable genre. This hashtag became every bit a source of laughter as it did a rally for change.
Here is the tweet that started it all:
Shortly after tweeting a few other hilarious scenarios, John invited the rest of the internet to join in, unleashing a beautiful Twitter storm of YA addicts who have been waiting for this moment practically since birth.
We had a LOT to say and so much internet to do it with.
Here are some thoughts on love:
On tropes:
On representation:
On everyday teenage life:
And it was on this day that YA addicts everywhere broke the internet. Katniss would be so proud.
Images: Lionsgate
