Cels Says: The Golden Age of YA

Cels Says:

The time of the rise of urban fantasy/paranormal YA fiction (1970s to mid-80s) has been described as the “Golden Age” of YA fiction; and, those of us old enough to have been around when Dolly fiction seemed to dominate every school library shelf can hardly disagree.

For me, the “Golden Age” of fantasy and paranormal YA kicked off fully in the mid-90s, and I would like to think it’s still only getting started. It officially began for me in 1996, when my local library put in a YA section and I discovered the delights of Garth Nix’s Sabriel.

Finally, my thirst for fantasy could be quenched without sneaking into the children’s section and hoping no one saw me with my guilty treasures… Or sneaking home the Stephen King and Anne Rice novels, hoping the Parental Units wouldn’t pitch a fit. In my part of the world, unless you were recommended an author (since they were all bunched in with the children’s section), finding YA in the genre was like mining for gold.

Early 2000 saw Harry Potter fever grip adults, teens and children alike, and, love them or hate them, they really thrust the whole genre into the mainstream. I grew up in a town with only one bookstore, and our store’s range was limited to what was hot at the time. It was a welcome relief when a world of fabulous new authorswas  finally opened up to me. The recent trend of turning paranormal book series, such as L.J. Smith’s The Vampire Diaries (which I first read way back in the mid-90s… yep–I’m old), into TV shows has also introduced a whole new audience of readers to the genre.

Over the last few years, just about every major bookstore (as well as the department chains) has started stocking an increasingly diverse selection of YA. This is a good sign for books in such a computer game-dominated world. The fact that the Internet plays such a large part in our everyday lives has certainly aided in spreading the word about the wonderful range of writing talent out there.

Now, we have the added bonus of well-read adult authors, such as Kathy Reichs (creator of Bones,) Tara Moss and our very own Marianne de Pierres bringing their magic and creativity into the YA field, as well as a talented group of debut authors to delight (hopefully) at least another generation. Let the “Golden Age” truly begin.