YA trends
Updated: Jan 7, 2020
Young adult fiction is a magical world filled with books that are fun, fast, and don't take themselves too seriously. It's the perfect genre to read when you want something straightforward and light.
Like all things, the trends for YA books have shifted and changed over the years. Growing up I loved going to Barnes & Noble, seeing what kind of books were most popular at the time. But what's trendy in fiction has changed over the years. Here are most popular topics from the past two decades.
Early 2000s: Snobby Girl Groups
Mirroring pop culture's obsession with teen magazines, Paris Hilton, and reality TV, 2000s YA fiction centered around overprivileged teen cliques.
Popular Series: The Clique, Gossip Girl, The A-List, Private, Pretty Little Liars, The Ashleys, The It Girl
Key Features:
-Nice, new girl who we're supposed to root for.
-Mean antagonist who is secretly insecure. Probably the head of the coolest clique in school.
-Extravagant lifestyles and designer clothes. Everyone is rich (except maybe the new girl).
-Underage drinking, smoking, and hooking up.
-Sometimes murder.
Late 2000s: Supernatural Romance
Team Edward vs. Team Jacob dominated the literary scene for young teen girls as they debated who Bella should end up with. Vampires, werewolves, and everything in between were hot.
Popular Series: Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, The Mortal Instruments, Vampire Academy, Beautiful Creatures
Key Features:
-Vampires, always vampires.
-Sometimes werewolves.
-A normal girl who wants to be transformed into a supernatural creature because she's either bored or crazy.
-Maybe a demon or two.
Early 2010s: Dystopian Society
Grown-ups and the government are always the bad guys in dystopian teen fiction. Strong females dominate this genre as well as high-tech weapons and life or death situations.
Popular Series: The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Maze Runner, The City of Ember, The Program
Key Features:
-Teen heroes who braid their hair and wear futuristic body suits.
-Corrupt governments with evil presidents, hell bent on murdering said teen heroes.
-Gratuitous violence and often kids killing other kids.
Mid 2010s: Illness
Whether it be physical or mental, teens with problems was a big deal during this time. Get your box of tissues ready because this genre is 100% going to make you cry.
Popular Series: The Fault in Our Stars, Me Earl and the Dying Girl, It's Kind of a Funny Story, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Thirteen Reasons Why
Key Features:
-A teenager who's dying from some terminal disease.
-Love that can't last.
-Last wishes and possibly, probably death.
I don't read as much YA as I used to, now that I'm not a teen. I think the genre is going through a romantic renaissance of sorts with authors like Nicola Yoon and Rainbow Rowell, as well as books like Holding Up the Universe and All The Bright Places both by Jennifer Niven.
Do you read YA books? What do you think is hot right now in young adult fiction?
Comments