My hopes for YA literature are pretty simple:
1. No more"fall in love at first site, and I get physically sick to be aways from my boyfriend" girls. I know teenage girls are emotional roller coasters (so are boys!)m but enough is enough with this "Bella Syndrome". I would love to see the desperateness slip down a few notches. Maybe wait until the third or fourth time characters meet before they fall head over heels.
2. More male protagonist's written BY males! I can think of around 10 YA authors who are male that write for males. We need more! Something needs to be written for these reluctant readers and boys who don't fancy vampires. Jon Skovorn, Kenneth Oppel, James Dashner, and Sherman Alexie are fantastic and we need others to join them.
3. Lessen the amount of series. We talked about this a little this year, but I'll say it again, "Seems like everything I read is part of a series." For me, 9 times out of 10 a book I am dying to read is part of a collection. We need some good solid stand alones out there!
4. Zombies, we need more zombies! I'm done with vampires, I won't even begin to tell you about how many times I've been scorned by angel books, and I don't do dragons (okay, I love draki - Firelight). I need zombies!
5. Lastly, we need AUTHENTIC, contemporary, multicultural books with an insiders perspective. Meaning, a Native American Indian writing about Indians in today's society that are actually Native American. Doesn't too hard does it, but you will be amazed how many Caucasians (try) writing with an African American or Mexican American voice. Although these stories may be outstanding, we need more titles written with first-hand experience.
That's it!
Happy Reading!
